Nielsen, Jakob (116 links)
Items by Nielsen, Jakob.
Design for Process, Not Products
http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,14833,FF.html
B2B advice from studying office equipment purchases.
Destination: Business 2.0 (12)
Find more like this
July 7, 2001
Intranets Save Time: But for Whom?
http://www.business2.com/ebusiness/2001/04/29409.htm
Topic:
Intranet (11)
Destination: Business 2.0 (12)
Find more like this
April 9, 2001
Books about Web Design and Usability
http://www.useit.com/books/index.html
Other pages about user interface design, visual design and hypertext.
Topic:
Books (12)
Destination: useit.com (9)
Find more like this
February 14, 2001
Building Web Sites With Depth
http://www.webtechniques.com/archives/2001/02/nielsen/
Topic:
Ecommerce (25)
Destination: Web Techniques (20)
Author:
Tahir, Marie (2)
Find more like this
January 12, 2001
The Web in 2001: Paying Customers
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001224.html
Sites will start charging customers for service.
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
December 24, 2000
Keep Your Users In Mind
http://www.internetworld.com/m ... 1500/12.15.00feature2long.html
Topic:
Methods (16)
Destination: Internet World (5)
Author:
Tahir, Marie (2)
Find more like this
December 15, 2000
Regulatory Usability
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000903.html
Usability-based legal requirements for the web.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
September 4, 2000
Sales Paradox
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000806.html
Topic:
Ecommerce (25)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
August 6, 2000
End of Web Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000723.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
July 23, 2000
Why You Only Need to Test With 5 Users
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html
Test with 5, iterate.
A mathematical model of usability problems is presented to show the value of testing with about 5 users: any more and you are getting diminishing returns that are not worth the investment.
Alertbox, March 19, 2000.
Topic:
User Testing (17)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 20, 2000
Novice vs. Expert Users
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000206.html
Time for the pendulum to swing a bit back towards expert users.
Expert performance on the web will become more important because:
- Loyalty means return visitors, who will want to do things more efficiently over time
- Mission-critical applications will become more common
- Cross-site applications will be used on a daily basis
Jakob Nielsen Alertbox, February 7, 2000.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 7, 2000
How to Handle Missing Features
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000123.html
Anticipate user needs: tell them what you do not have.
Make the experience of your site as good as possible, even if that means having people hit the back button on your home page because they see your site does not have what they want.
Even better however, is to have a placeholder for what they are looking for, and explaining why that feature is missing.
January 23, 2000, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
January 23, 2000
Usability On The Web Isn't A Luxury
http://www.informationweek.com/773/web.htm
Topic:
Ecommerce (25)
Destination: InformationWeek (7)
Author:
Norman, Don (1)
Find more like this
January 14, 2000
Is Navigation Useful?
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000109.html
Navigation is overdone on many sites; all pages do not have to link to everything.
Jakob Nielsen offers more advice on conservative design: have pages only contain useful navigation. For example:
- Overly generic links do not help users, because the chances of needing any given link is small.
- Strucutural links are good because they help users figure out where they are and how to go 'up'.
- Links to related content are good because users often get close but then need to 'fine tune' where they are.
A solid information architecture is crucial, and the navigation can convey this structure to users.
From Alertbox, January 9, 2000.
Topic:
Navigation (14)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
January 11, 2000
When Bad Design Elements Become the Standard
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991114.html
When to follow a common design, even if it is bad.
Topic:
Bad Design (12)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
November 19, 1999
Designing For Disaster
http://www.business2.com/marketing/1999/12/20498.htm
Internet users are about as patient as New York cabbies.
Destination: Business 2.0 (12)
Find more like this
October 1, 1999
Prioritize: Good Content Bubbles to the Top
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991017.html
'When everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized.'
Alertbox for October 17, 1999. For lists, make sure the best items are at the top of the list. Add links at high levels of the site to feature deep content. Other tips to prioritize content for users:
- Have editors highlight certain stories
- Use sales numbers to bump up relevance
- Track server traffic
- Highlight the most popular items in a list
- Use 'new' for recent adds to an older page
Finally, do not think customization is an easy solution for prioritization. Customization is good because it lets users pick what they want, but a solid understanding of your users and your content will help you give them what they need.
Topics:
Writing Styles (13),
Personalization (6)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 18, 1999
Ten Good Deeds in Web Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991003.html
Alertbox of 10 do's to go with 30 of Nielsen's don'ts.
Topic:
Design Tips (41)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 4, 1999
User-Supportive Internet Architecture
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990919.html
New ideologies are needed to adapt Internet to needs of today's users.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
September 19, 1999
Reputation Managers are Happening
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990905.html
Usable way to assess the quality of products and services.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
September 10, 1999
Intranet Portals: The Corporate Information Infrastructure
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990404.html
Under-funded intranets need a single starting page for all employees.
Companies need to realize the value of an effective intranet and devote more resources to helping their employees find information and be more productive. The cost of poor navigation and lack of design standards cost millions.
An intranet portal should contain a topical hierarchy, search and archived news.
April 4, 1999, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topics:
Intranet (11),
Value (10)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
July 17, 1999
Web Research: Believe the Data
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990711.html
Topic:
Research (35)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
July 11, 1999
Content Integration
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990627.html
Topic:
Content (15)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
June 27, 1999
Disabled Accessibility: The Pragmatic Approach
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990613.html
Topic:
Accessibility (19)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
June 13, 1999
Trust is a Must
http://www.business2.com/marketing/1999/06/19676.htm
Destination: Business 2.0 (12)
Find more like this
June 1, 1999
The Top Ten New Mistakes of Web Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990530.html
Topic:
Bad Design (12)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 30, 1999
Who Commits The "Top Ten Mistakes" of Web Design?
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990516.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 16, 1999
"Top Ten Mistakes" Revisited Three Years Later
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990502.html
Topic:
Bad Design (12)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 2, 1999
Improving the Dreaded 404 Error Message
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/404_improvement.html
Sidebar to Alertbox column on linkrot.
Topic:
Error Messages (6)
Find more like this
April 28, 1999
Stuck With Old Browsers Until 2003
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990418.html
Topic:
Browsers (15)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
April 18, 1999
URL as UI
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990321.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 21, 1999
Trustworthiness in Web Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990307.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 7, 1999
When to Outsource the Recruiting of Test Users
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/outsource_recruiting.html
For intranets, use your own employees.
For tests where a broad range of users is needed, you may want to use an outside source to recruit participants. Finding and scheduling subjects for a usability test can be time-consuming.
Sidebar to 'Cost of user testing' Alertbox, May 3, 1998, by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
User Testing (17)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 24, 1999
iCab: New Browser With Structural Navigation
http://www.useit.com/papers/icab.html
Topic:
Browsers (15)
Destination: useit.com (9)
Find more like this
February 23, 1999
Misleading Results from Study Methodology
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990221.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 21, 1999
Why People Shop on the Web
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990207.html
Topic:
Ecommerce (25)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 7, 1999
Why Yahoo is Good (But May Get Worse)
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981101.html
It embraces the characteristics of the Internet medium.
Yahoo has great usability and huge traffic because of its minimalist design and many structured links.
But Yahoo may not scale to keep up with the growth of the net. In particular, Yahoo needs much better search and a quality rating scheme.
Many companies want to build a 'mini-Yahoo' for their intranets: they should learn from the strengths of the real Yahoo and avoid its mistakes.
November 1, 1998, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 5, 1999
Web Pages Must Live Forever
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981129.html
Old content keeps users.
Keeping old content alive will more than double the value of a site and only cost a small investment in content gardening. Removed pages equal lost users.
November 29, 1998, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Content (15)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 5, 1999
Bill Gates' Shopping List to Build the Internet Desktop
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981213.html
Time for a new interface optimized for Web access.
It is time for the Macintosh interface and its clones to die and be replaced by a new interface optimized for Web access. This new design must be based on explicit quality ratings, micropayments, non-linear authoring, and a scriptable Web. There are lots of good solutions already for anybody with a few billions to spend.
December 13, 1998, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 5, 1999
Collecting Feedback From Users of an Archive
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990110.html
How to collect usability feedback from site users.
Uses a historical archive as the case study. This is the result of the 'reader challenge' and includes advice from several Alertbox readers.
January 10, 1999, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Case Studies (8)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 5, 1999
Predictions for the Web in 1999
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981227.html
What lies ahead for the web.
- Mobile access becomes 3rd Killer App for the Internet
- Web standards rebound
- Customer service is automated
- Many e-commerce patents are issued, encouraging new futurist visioneering projects
- The Web will face its own Y2K problems
December 27, 1998, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 5, 1999
2D is Better Than 3D
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981115.html
People are not frogs, making it difficult to navigate 3D computer spaces.
Stick to 2D for visualizing abstract information spaces and sitemaps. Shun virtual reality gimmicks (e.g., shopping malls) that distract from users' goals. Guidelines are given for when to use 3D (answer: rarely).
November 15, 1998, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
User Interfaces (8)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 5, 1999
Differences Between Print Design and Web Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html
A great print design is likely to be a lousy web design.
The big canvas size and controlled layout makes print visually superior; Web interaction can be more engaging, if only designs would focus on the strength of the Web rather than its weaknesses.
January 24, 1999, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Design Tips (41)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
January 24, 1999
Failure of Corporate Websites
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981018.html
On the average, the Web doesn't work.
Reports about Forrester Research finding from 20 major sites: half of the major usability principles were violated.
The impact on companies is millions in lost revenue from people not returning to the sites and not buying their products.
Alertbox, October 18, 1998, by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Value (10)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 28, 1998
Personalization
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981004.html
Poor excuse for bad design.
Jakob Nielsen contrasts customization and over-hyped personalization. Options and natural intelligence win out over artifical intelligence.
Some of the limited cases where personalization can work are mentioned.
October 4, 1998, Alertbox.
Topic:
Personalization (6)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 5, 1998
Does Internet = Web?
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980920.html
Differences between network and hypertext interface.
The Internet is defined as the network that specific user interfaces can be delivered over. The Web, on the other hand, works well for browsing documents.
Implementing services as Web sites versus stand-alone applications is discussed.
September 20, 1998, Alertbox.
Topic:
Applets (6)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 5, 1998
Microcontent: Headlines and Subject Lines
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980906.html
Pearls of clarity to explain page titles and other microcontent.
How to explain the larger content in about 50 characters:
- Make it an abstract
- Plain language, no teasing
- Make first word significant
Provides several exampels and points out the main difference between paper and online headlines: online often taken out of context.
September 6, 1998, Alertbox.
Topic:
Writing Styles (13)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
September 9, 1998
The Web Usage Paradox
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980809.html
Why do people use something this bad?
Jakob Nielsen's view on why people use the Web even though 9 out of 10 sites are harder to use than they need to be:
- People gravitate toward the easier to use sites, ignoring the harder-to-use ones
- They do not know how good it could be
- Sometimes they hit a good service that is better than anything off-Web
- They are continually looking for another good site
Alertbox for August 9, 1998.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
August 18, 1998
Impact of Data Quality on the Web User Experience
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980712.html
Effect of small data errors on usefulness of a site.
Incorrect data can foil searches and make it hard to find things. How to deal with data quality:
- Do not retype and be sure to validate the data (especially the important stuff)
- Make it easy for users to report errors
- Work despite errors, like with spelling checks
July 12, 1998 Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topics:
Content (15),
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
August 18, 1998
Fighting Linkrot
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980614.html
Importance of keeping old URLs working.
Broken links threaten to dissolve the freely-linked nature of the Web. Two ways to keep the Web freer from linkrot:
- Check outgoing links from your site
- Keep your URLs working for others to point to
June 14, 1998, Alertbox.
Topic:
Linking (10)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
June 21, 1998
Testing Templates for Web Pages
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980517.html
Research on testing template layout by Greeking content.
Fidelity Investments (intranet) study where content was literally turned to gibberish in order to test page layouts. Tests with users pointed out which standard page elements could be correctly identified with each version. A composite template was used.
Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen, May 17, 1998.
Topic:
Methods (16)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 30, 1998
Cost of User Testing a Website
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980503.html
Beginners need a week to test a site with users.
With experience, you can do it in 2 days.
Baseline given for your own usability studies, to help you get a feeling for how your tests are going:
- the average site has 11 usability catastrophes on average
- users are only able to complete 42% of the test tasks
- users' average subjective rating of websites is 4.9 on a 1-7 scale
Do user testing to find site-level usability problems and do heuristic evaluation for page-level improvements.
Alertbox, May 3, 1998, by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
User Testing (17)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 5, 1998
Nielsen's Law of Internet Bandwidth
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980405.html
You do not get to use the high-end bandwidth until 2003.
Bandwidth will not grow as fast as designers want it to. Thus, today we have these design implications of 50% annual bandwidth growth:
- Aim at optimal usability over a 28.8 kbps modem
- Minimalist design rules
Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for April 5, 1998.
Topic:
Speed (10)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 5, 1998
Global Web: Driving the International Network Economy
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980419.html
Culture, infrastructure, and geography are the biggest global Web problems.
In general, non-US sites are ahead of the game because they recognize international issues better.
Includes link to some reader comments.
Alertbox, April 19, 1998, by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Intercultural (6)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 5, 1998
Better Than Reality: A Fundamental Internet Principle
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980308.html
Emulating the physical world does not work on the Internet.
Ways to be better than reality:
- be non-linear
- customize service
- be asynchronous
- support anonymity
- link liberally
- support search and multiple views
- be small and cheap
- be free
- ignore geography
Alertbox for March 8, 1998.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 23, 1998
The Increasing Conservatism of Web Users
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980322.html
Users want their web sites to look alike and work with older browsers.
Instead of experimenting with sophisticated new designs, web sites would serve users better with fairly standard designs and making improvements 'behind the scenes': better writing or algorithms, more sophistication on the server side.
Also, users are now upgrading browsers slower than in the past, so new technology will not get in users' hands as fast as before.
Alertbox for March 22, 1998 by Jakob Nielsen.
Topics:
User Demographics (6),
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 23, 1998
The Reputation Manager
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980208.html
Using reputation, rather than brand, to help users locate quality.
By building on a strength of the Internet (diversity of users), we can build 'reputation managers' that collect opinions from users to help other users find quality sites and information.
Examples are thumbs up/down ratings and 'pages recommended by people with similar tastes'.
Alertbox for February 8, 1998.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 8, 1998
Tracking Site Growth
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980222.html
How to plot past traffic to estimate future capacity.
By using a logarithmic scale to plot exponential growth of page visits over time, you can guess at how much server capacity is needed to keep your site feeling fast.
Use of regression analysis also described so you can determine if spikes in usage are significant.
Ironically, Nielsen's own site was hit hard following this article and he had to upgrade!
Alertbox for February 22, 1998.
Topic:
Log Analysis (4)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 8, 1998
The Case for Micropayments
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980125.html
User interface issues with paying by the page.
Includes economic model showing that 1-cent per page makes sense.
Subscriptions do not work on the Web becasue they are all-or-nothing and discourage links.
Includes a sidebar on a spectrum of user interfaces for micropayments.
January 25, 1998, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
January 27, 1998
Link Titles help Users Predict where they are Going
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980111.html
Advice for using title attribute of A tag to keep users from getting lost.
Although it was part of the HTML 2.0 specification, browsers are just starting to take advantage of the title attribute of the A tag, usually showing it in a pop-up field after the user has pointed to the link.
To help users figure out what each link will lead to, you should use this feature to tell people what site a link leads to or what kind of information a destination page contains.
Be sure not to merely repeat status bar content or the link text! I already see too many sites that use Javascript to wipe out the status bar with a copy of the same text in the link. Now those people will give me a third copy of the same thing in a pop-up window. Arg.
January 11, 1998, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Linking (10)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
January 13, 1998
Predictions for the Web in 1998
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980101.html
More international and more inter-site services predicted by Jakob Nielsen.
American users and sites will not dominate as much. Increased testing for a wider audience and more regional services will result.
More between-site cooperation will take place, such as linking to a geographical map site instead of making your own maps.
Usage statistics will be used more to help determine what people want, and don't want.
Do not miss the sidebars on how Nielsen's 1997 predictions turned out and what will not happen in 98.
January 1, 1998, Alertbox.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
January 6, 1998
Changes in Web Usability Since 1994
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9712a.html
After 3 years, most aspects of Web usability remain the same.
Still the same: users scan and are impatient. New things to worry about: animation, applets, frames and colors.
Scrolling and image maps are less of a problem now, but users now expect a comprehensive site.
December 1, 1997, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Research (35)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
December 1, 1997
Lack of Navigation Support in v. 4.0 Browsers
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9711a.html
Few features help users get around and manage their information needs better.
Browser advances have not been in the navigataion layer, but rather in layout and network access. Jakob Nielsen outlines their lack of structure support and what site designers need to do in order to overcome browser shortcomings.
November 1, 1997, Alertbox.
Topic:
Browsers (15)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
November 6, 1997
Applet Usability: Stepping Outside the Page
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710b.html
Functionality vs. Content Applets.
Functionality applets should appear in a separate window since they are mini-applications. Content applets should stay in the browser since they need to stay close to the page content.
Includes other applet usability issues:
- Progress indicator
- Double-click
October 15, 1997, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen.
Topic:
Applets (6)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 20, 1997
Writing for the Web
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/index.html
How users read on the Web, how authors should write their Web pages.
Conclusion: "Our study suggests that scannable, concise, and objective writing styles each make a positive difference in Web users' performance and subjective satisfaction."
Full paper, shorter report, and detailed study materials available.
Research project by John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen.
Topics:
Content (15),
Research (35)
Destination: useit.com (9)
Find more like this
October 1, 1997
Reading on the Web
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html
Make text easy to scan.
Since users do not read Web pages, make the text scannable by using keywords, meaningful sub-headings, bulleted lists, one idea per paragraph, the inverted pyramid style, half the word count.
Includes summary of an experiment on 4 differently-written versions of a site.
October 1, 1997 Alertbox.
Topic:
Writing Styles (13)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 1, 1997
Intranet vs. Internet Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9709b.html
Several dimensions where the two differ.
Users, tasks, types and amount of information, bandwidth and platform requirements are the key differences.
Also has details on how to manage intranets and extranets.
September 15, 1997 Alertbox.
Topic:
Intranet (11)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
September 16, 1997
Why Advertising Doesn't Work on the Web
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9709a.html
Few sites will survive on traditional advertising.
September 1997 Alertbox pointing out that most advertising money is wasted because this 'new media' is cognitively different than what advertisers are used to working with. The marketing that does work helps customers buy rather tries hard to sell.
Topic:
Advertising (4)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
September 4, 1997
Loyalty on the Web
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9708a.html
How to get repeat visitors and gain customer loyalty.
With the wide range of choices, and the ease of sampling them, Internet users are very fickle. Still, you can build loyalty with customers by providing fresh content and using a mailing list to let people know about it, make the pages easy to bookmark, avoid cumbersome user profiles, and reward loyalty.
August 1 Alertbox.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
August 28, 1997
Community is Dead; Long Live Mega-Collaboration
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9708b.html
The Internet is more like a city of strangers than a collection of close-knit communities.
This August 15 Alertbox discusses how to provide value to users, rather than worry about 'building communities'. Edited discussion groups, instead of free-for-all chat rooms, is one example. Value can also be derived from analyzing the collective behavior of users (mega-collaboration).
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
August 20, 1997
Web Design and Usability Hotlist
http://www.useit.com/hotlist/index.html
Jakob Nielsen's collection of links.
The majority of the links are about Web design and usability but he also hilites research and general user interface design sources. Features a new link every few weeks.
Topic:
Link Collections (21)
Destination: useit.com (9)
Find more like this
July 20, 1997
Web Usability Study from 1994
http://www.useit.com/papers/1994_web_usability_report.html
Results of a 1994 usability test.
Jakob Nielsen studied the Sun, HP, IBM, Microsoft and Time-Warner sites. Users were not patient with things that did not work, they wanted search but were not good at it, and liked the human side of the sites.
The screen snapshots from 1994 are also interesting to look at.
Topic:
Research (35)
Destination: useit.com (9)
Find more like this
July 20, 1997
Discount Usability for the Web
http://www.useit.com/papers/web_discount_usability.html
Argument for teaching discount usability to amateur Web designers.
Jakob Nielsen presents some numbers to argue that it is economical to teach discount usability engineering techniques that are easy, fast and cheap to all Web authors.
Educating our young in elementary school may be the only way to avoid a Web usability meltdown.
Topic:
Value (10)
Destination: useit.com (9)
Find more like this
July 20, 1997
Search Usability
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9707b.html
Advice for search interfaces.
User testing of searching leads to these guidelines from Jakob Nielsen:
Search button on every page
Global, not scoped search
Simple, non-boolean search as the default
Alertbox for July 15, 1997.
Topic:
Searching (15)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
July 16, 1997
Effective Use of Style Sheets
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9707a.html
Implementation advice for CSS.
For Cascading Style Sheets to be used effectively, you should have a centralized style, provide examples for your authors, but allow some embedded style deviations. Plenty of implementation advice offered as well. July 1, 1997, Alertbox.
Topic:
Style Sheets (5)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
July 1, 1997
Top Ten Mistakes of Web Management
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9706b.html
Management errors that doom Web sites.
June 15, 1997, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen. The mistakes are:
- Not Knowing Why
- Designing for Your Own VPs
- Letting the Site Structure Mirror Your Orgchart
- Outsourcing to Multiple Agencies
- Forgetting to Budget for Maintenance
- Treating the Web as a Secondary Medium
- Wasting Linking Opportunities
- Treating Internet and Intranet Sites the Same
- Confusing Market Research and Usability Engineering
- Underestimating the Strategic Impact of the Web
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
June 15, 1997
The Fallacy of Atypical Web Examples
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9706a.html
What you should not learn from sites covered in the press.
June 1, 1997, Alertbox that points out the uniqueness of sites like Disney and Amazon.com and why it is not wise to draw too many conclusions about them.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
June 1, 1997
Alertbox Mailing List
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/subscribe.html
Hear about new Alertboxes as soon as they come out.
Get one email twice a month, as Jakob Nielsen announces his latest column addition.
Topic:
Communities (8)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 19, 1997
The Telephone is the Best Metaphor for the Web
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9705b.html
Web more like telephone than TV.
Features such as narrowcast, 1-to-1, and user initiated make the Internet more of a communication medium like the telephone system than a broadcast medium like TV. Alertbox, May 15, 1997.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 17, 1997
The Difference Between Web Design and GUI Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9705a.html
Designers give up full control on the Web.
Device diversity, user control, and being a part of the whole Web are the main differences between Web and standard GUI design. Alertbox for May 1, 1997.
Topic:
Design Tips (41)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 1, 1997
Do Websites Have Increasing Returns?
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9704b.html
Is bigger better for a Web site?
April 15, 1997, Alertbox about a model for how large, medium and small sites will survive in the future. The implication is that as a whole all of the small sites will be worth more (monetarily) than all of of the large sites.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
April 15, 1997
Internet Hard to Use for Novice Users
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9704a.html
Tech-support tales of simple ways users are getting tripped up.
Real-world examples of the difficulties novice users are having. April 1, 1997, Alertbox.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
April 1, 1997
Kill the 53-Day Growth Meme
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9509.html
Debunking some Web growth myths.
Jakob Nielsen's September 1995 Alertbox about guessing how fast the Web is growing.
Updated in March 1997 to state that 173 days is a better estimate for the rate of doubling for Web servers.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 31, 1997
Be Succinct! (Writing for the Web)
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html
Write less.
For the online world, write less, be easy to scan quickly, and use links to break up information. March 15, 1997, Alertbox.
Topic:
Writing Styles (13)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 16, 1997
The Need for Speed
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703a.html
Making page downloads faster.
Includes table that shows while individual bandwidth is increasing, average speed is decreasing. Alertbox for March 1, 1997.
Topic:
Speed (10)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 1, 1997
TV Meets the Web
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9702b.html
Comparison of TV and traditional computers and where the Web sits.
February 16, 1997, Alertbox. Uses example of television, movies, and theater to show how different media have different foci. Includes a table comparing TV and computers on a number of dimensions.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 16, 1997
WebTV Usability Review
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9702a.html
How easy is WebTV to use?
February 1, 1997 Alertbox that reviews WebTV usability. A great design, but given the enormous constraints, still not a great user experience.
Topics:
Platforms (4),
Reviews (14)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 1, 1997
Trends for the Web in 1997
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9701.html
Taking the Web seriously in business and a rebirth of semantic encoding.
Jakob Nielsen's predictions for 1997, from his January Alertbox.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
January 11, 1997
Relationships on the Web
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9601.html
Ideas on how to build relationships with customers.
With the death of surfing, this January 1996 Alertbox predicts the rise of relationship-building with customers as the way to stay in business. Analysis of the predictions added a year later.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
January 3, 1997
Why Frames Suck (Most of the Time)
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9612.html
Fundamental and implementation problems with frames.
December, 1996, Alertbox by Jakob Nielsen that provides advice on using frames properly.
Topics:
Frames (6),
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
December 2, 1996
Marginalia of Web Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9611.html
Covers some of the details to pay attention to.
Alertbox, November, 1996. Page titles, text size and color, thumbnails covered.
Topic:
User Interfaces (8)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
November 1, 1996
Slate Magazine - An Early Review
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9607.html
Usability analysis of Microsoft magazine.
July, 1996 Alertbox.
Updated several times as Slate was redesigned. Months after their debut, they reached similar conclusions that Jakob Nielsen saw in an afternoon.
Topic:
Reviews (14)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 23, 1996
Accessible Design for Users With Disabilities
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9610.html
Designing to accomodate visual, auditory, motor and cognitive disabilities.
December, 1996, Alertbox about using HTML to convey meaning rather than appearance to make sites more accessible to disabled users. Includes impact of visual, auditory, motor, cognitive disabilities.
Topic:
Accessibility (19)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 2, 1996
The Rise of the Sub-Site
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9609.html
Use of sub-sites as way of simplifying large sites.
Key is to make the sub-site customized for its special audience but not too different from the 'mother' site. Alertbox for September 1996.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
September 1, 1996
International Web Usability
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9608.html
International design issues specific to the Web.
Alertbox for August 1996. The problems of international user interfaces are exaggerated because of the nature of the Web. Still, old rules apply, like avoid offending other cultures with your terms or icons. The Web can make it easier to do usability testing with international audiences. Also covered are languages and printing.
Topic:
Intercultural (6)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
August 3, 1996
Inverted Pyramids in Cyberspace
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9606.html
How to write 'backwards' for the Web.
June 1996 Alertbox. Writing journalistically (conclusion first) is better suited for the Web because users often scan the text and do not like scrolling, and because authors can use links to more details.
Topic:
Writing Styles (13)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
June 6, 1996
Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html
Common errors that make Web sites hard to use.
May 1996 Alertbox. The errors are:
- Frames
- Bleeding-edge technology
- Over animation
- Complex URLs
- Orphan pages
- Long pages
- No navigation support
- Link colors
- Outdated information
- Slow
Topic:
Bad Design (12)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
May 7, 1996
The Web Backlash of 1996
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9604.html
Why the Web will get harder to use before it gets easier.
April 1996 Alertbox stating that since usage is growing faster than server can be upgraded, things are only going to get slower. And since new authors continue to flock to the Web, and since making usable sites is hard to do, more and more hard-to-use sites are expected to appear every day.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
April 12, 1996
Features for the Next Generation of Web Browsers
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9507.html
List of features needed in 1995.
Jakob Nielsen's list of browser improvements include some basic navigation features that are common in other hypermedia systems. July 1995 Alertbox.
Topic:
Browsers (15)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 12, 1996
The Internet Desktop
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9603.html
Glimpse at Internet-based user interfaces.
March 1996 Alertbox about how Web browser functionality will begin to be embedded in computer operating systems and applications. Also talks about the death of file systems.
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
March 2, 1996
In Defense of Print
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9602.html
Appropriate use of print and online technologies.
About the strengths and weaknesses of both kinds of publishing.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
February 1, 1996
Guidelines for Multimedia on the Web
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9512.html
Animation, audio, video guidelines.
December, 1995, Alertbox.
Animation advice focuses on only using it when it helps, such as showing change over time.
Video guidelines include advice on subtitles.
Audio is best used as an alternate communication channel, like background music to set the mood.
Also points out that response time is crucial for effective multimedia.
Topics:
Comprehensive Guidelines (7),
Multimedia (12),
Animation (3)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
December 25, 1995
How Much Bandwidth is Enough?
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9511.html
Estimate of bandwidth needed to support a usable connection to the Web.
Jakob Nielsen adds up the requirements for audio, screen size, and other aspects of the user interface and comes up with the need for a Tbps personal connection.
November 1995 Alertbox.
Topic:
Speed (10)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
November 1, 1995
Who Should You Hire to Design Your Web Site?
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9510.html
Team approach recommended.
In this October 1995 Alertbox, Nielsen warns against getting demos from potential hires. Instead go to the sites they have made by yourself and see how easy they are to use.
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
October 3, 1995
Directions for Online Publishing
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9508.html
Three ways for online publishers to survive on the Web.
Good UIs, eliminating user registrations and microtransactions are the keys for online publishing to porser on the Web, Jakob Nielsen states in his August 1995 Alertbox article.
Includes a taxonomy of five generations of online services.
Topic:
Strategic (22)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
August 10, 1995
History Lessons for Java
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9506.html
Warning of bad user interface design with the new technology.
In his first-ever Alertbox article (June 1995), Jakob Nielsen uses the lessons learned from HyperCard to warn about the proliferation of bad user interface design with the spread of Java.
Topic:
Issues (18)
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
June 22, 1995
http://www.useit.com/papers/international_usetest.html
http://www.useit.com/papers/international_usetest.html
Destination: useit.com (9)
Find more like this
----
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991128.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991128.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
----
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000709.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000709.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
----
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000625.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000625.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
----
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000611.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000611.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
----
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000528_boo.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000528_boo.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
----
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000528.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000528.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
----
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000514.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000514.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
----
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000430.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000430.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
----
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000416.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000416.html
Destination: Alertbox (101)
Find more like this
----
