Usability Archives
By Justin
Posted on Jun 5, 2008
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Silverlight and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) provide an outstanding architecture on which to design and implement custom user interfaces and controls. Through the use of the XAML specification, the creation of UI's and custom controls has never been easier or more rewarding. In this post I'll be showcasing a very useful and completely custom new control built within Silverlight, the InetSolution File Uploader control.
Continue reading "What is Silverlight? - Part 2: A Custom Control Using Silverlight" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jan 4, 2008
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Last week I got a new computer (IBM ThinkPad T60p), which means I retired my old ThinkPad T41. Today is the first time that I've tried to logon to my Chase online account to pay my credit card bill, which is due today. I've never had a problem logging on, but today the Chase online banking site has recognized that my computer fingerprint has changed. The hair-pulling experience I'm in the middle of right now has reminded me that it's a fine line we as software developers walk between creating tough-to-crack security while continuing to make sure our software is user friendly.
Continue reading "Tough Security vs. Good Usability on Chase Bank Website" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Nov 26, 2007
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Now that you've weened yourself off of using <font> tags to set the font attributes on your web site, it's time to refine your style sheet even further. It may be easier to just use the point (pt) or pixel (px) size, especially when converting a Photoshop mockup, but if you use percent (%) for your font-size, you'll greatly improve accessibility.
Continue reading "Improve your web site's accessibility by using percentages for font size" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Oct 30, 2007
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The goal of ads on your website is to generate clicks. As marketers, we have trouble limiting ourselves to just one ad on our home page, and eventually our home pages become a cluttered carnival of ads. Each additional ad dilutes the impact of the other ads on the page and thus click-through rates decline.
Donovan and I are working with a client whose home page has this exact problem. Our new design will show only one large graphic ad (instead of the five it shows now) on the home page, but the company still needs to show multiple ads throughout the campaign period. We had to decide whether to show a single, but different, ad on each page refresh, or to use code to change the ads every X seconds while the user sits on the page. How did we decide?
Continue reading "Rotating versus Static Ads - Which to Use On Your Website?" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Oct 10, 2007
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On the NYTimes.com website, they've added a new E*Trade advertisement in a rather questionable location that makes me wonder whether their designers are just careless, or if they're intentionally trying to trick visitors into clicking the ad.
Continue reading "Shady Advertising Motives or Just Thoughtless Design?" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Sep 29, 2007
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Do you have a long form on your web site that might be intimidating to users? After all, you only require about half of the fields on your form? Now you can use XHTML and JavaScript to allow your users to hide the optional fields and only fill out what is required of them. Heck, you could even hide the optional fields by default.
Continue reading "How To Hide Optional Fields on Long Web Forms" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 18, 2007
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Many site owners use Google's Co-Op Custom Search widget to allow visitors to search for content on their website. It works well and it's free, but seeing your competitors' Google Ads in the search results on YOUR website is irritating. Now, for $100 per year, you can eliminate those ads and also customize your search results using Google's Custom Search Business Edition that Google launched yesterday.
Continue reading "CSBE Puts Google's Search Technology On Your Website, with No Ads" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 7, 2007
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If you've ever sat through one of my "Writing for the Web" lectures, you've heard these statements:
- After you've written your first draft, rewrite it, but use 1/2 as many words (hint: destroy adjectives and eradicate passive voice)
- Eliminate flowery words. Your readers will decide whether your products are "great" or "exceptional" or "valuable".
- Don't write a paragraph when a list will do
This advice is equally applicable to offline writing as well, as the following cake mix instructions illustrate.
Continue reading "make each word more valuable on your website" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 7, 2007
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Your home page is the most valuable real estate on your website, but also the hardest page to choose content for and layout. A good home page will drive visitors into your site, while a poor home page will drive visitors away. But how can you tell exactly how visitors are using your home page?
Continue reading "Using heat maps to see how visitors use your website" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 5, 2007
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We first wrote this article in 2004 to provide answers to this common website usability problem. I stumbled upon it again today and was surprised to see that not much has changed in the past three years. Not only is the problem prevalent throughout the internet today, but the solutions that we recommended three years ago are still valid today.
Continue reading "are you ignoring the most critical element on your website?" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 4, 2007
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While shopping at a local Meijer store today, I watched a frail, elderly couple make their way, slowly, to the pharmacy at the back of the store. The woman moved a few inches with each shuffle of her feet, while the man rolled at a similar pace in an electric scooter; both looked as though a collision with a butterfly could hurl them to the floor. I glanced at the other people in line at the pharmacy, and saw several older folks whose days of running marathons are distant memories. Assuming that older folks account for a notable amount of pharmacy revenue, I wondered, "Why did Meijer put the pharmacy all the way back here?". I then recalled that the Rite-Aid stores, the Kroger's and a handful of other pharmacies in the area also have their pharmacies in the back of the store. Why?
Continue reading "place your pharmacy at the front of the store (aka, design for your users)" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Mar 16, 2007
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Recently, I was asked by one of our clients to come up with a way to make one set of input fields required if a particular radio button was checked and another set of input fields if the other radio button was checked. That would be just a simple JavaScript form check, however we also wanted to use CSS to visually let the user know that the field had just become required by making the text bold as well as adding a red asterisk (*) to the beginning.
Continue reading "Creating conditionally required input fields with visual feedback using DHTML, XHTML, and CSS" »
By
Posted on Sep 13, 2006
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In this example, I’m showcasing how we can use ASP and AJAX to check for whether a username exists before a user completes a website registration form. When registering to join a community website, such as www.digg.com, users must typically choose a username or handle. Normally such usernames must be unique to the community, and because of this new users often run into the problem of choosing a name that is already in use. A couple common results occur on a typical registration form when a user submits his data:
- The page reloads with a message indicating that the username is already in use, allowing him to choose another username and try again.
- In some very bad cases, the page is refreshed, destroying everything the user input on the form requiring him to start over.
I’ll be adding a feature that allows the user to enter a username and check immediately if the username is available before submitting the entire form. Through the use of AJAX and ASP, we will update only a small section of the page rather than reloading the entire page.
Continue reading "Using ASP and AJAX to check availability of a username" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Aug 26, 2006
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Today I hung a 38" x 38" framed picture in less than 30 seconds without nails, screws, a hammer or drill.
The Monkey Hook's design simplicity results in a very user friendly picture hanging experience.
Continue reading "Hang Pictures without Nails, Screws or Tools" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Aug 25, 2006
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We didn't have to search for too long to find someone perfect for our new Usability Evangelist position at InetSolution. We were looking for someone who could help people understand that usability is important, even more important than the CEO's favorite color.
Continue reading "Wanted: Usability Evangelist" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Aug 22, 2006
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How is a voice mail message like a website? Websites suffering from poor usability cause unnecessary work, delays and frustration for the recipient. Poorly crafted voice mail messages yield the same results.
On an average day I receive about 20 voice mail messages and 80% of them are what Guy Kawasaki would consider good voice mail messages (read number 12 on his post), but the 20% that aren't good create extra work, delays and frustration.
Continue reading "Help Me Help You - How to Leave A Good Voice Mail Message" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jun 28, 2006
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Before you begin to start switching CSS styles on your web site, it is very important that you have already developed it using structural XHTML. It is also necessary that you have created at least 1 style sheet, and for the purposes of this tutorial, 1 alternate style sheet.
Continue reading "CSS Style Switcher: A quick and dirty how-to" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 4, 2004
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Confusing forms with no guidance
Most credit union websites rely on forms as their primary interactive tool to allow members to conduct business. Unfortunately, most sites leave members in the dark in regards to properly completing forms or what to do when errors occur. We’ve even found forms that intentionally delete data input without warning users.
Continue reading "2004 Top Five Credit Union Website Usability Mistakes - #1" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 14, 2003
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It’s normal for a credit union to design a web site with its current situation in mind, but the web site architecture should allow for some reasonable level of expansion. In many cases, after the web site is launched, departments within the credit union emerge that insist upon being included in the main navigation. These items, not identified within the initial architecture, appear as a visual and functional afterthought, frequently crippling usability and cohesiveness that the initial web site had.
Continue reading "2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue Ten - Failure to Develop and Adhere to a Web site Growth Plan" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 13, 2003
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Something as simple as a link to a missing page can tarnish the credibility of a credit union web site. When links are broken or pages are no longer available, a reputation is at stake and business may go elsewhere. From intermittent outages by third party service providers like home banking, to loan application forms that don’t submit properly, credit unions are quick to point a finger at their service provider. In the end, it’s the member that loses faith in the on-line system. Credit unions need to be as mindful of their web site appearance as they are a clean, bright lobby. Housekeeping applies to all representations of the credit union.
Continue reading "2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue Nine - Insufficient Web site Maintenance" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 10, 2003
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After a member spends the better portion of his evening rounding up financial records, placing very sensitive information into an on-line loan application and submitting all of it in good faith he receives this confirmation: Thank you for your information, expect a reply sometime soon.
Continue reading "2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue Eight - Insufficient Communications Post-Transaction" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 9, 2003
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It’s much easier and less stressful for a member to walk away from an on-line transaction than from an in-branch transaction. Therefore if someone is frustrated with an on-line loan application, she’ll just close her browser and take her business elsewhere. Frustration is most often derived from unclear pathways and unclear progression in crucial forms and applications. Lengthy forms should be divided between two or more pages and present clearly to the member where in the process he is. Aside from a simplistic “next” button, there is often little in the way of feedback for members with regard to where they are in the process, how much work remains, or what to do at any point if there are questions.
Continue reading "2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue Seven - Leaving Dead End Pathways During Crucial Transactions" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 8, 2003
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Clearly there is demand by credit union members to have on-line access to their account information, the ability to pay bills on-line and review canceled checks. However, this is not the only reason to maintain a web site for a credit union. Maintaining this small-picture thinking will only position the web site as a welcome mat for third-party services. Web sites need to spark interest and invite members to return on a regular basis. They need to function as a resource that members refer to and rely on to provide instructive, practical information. Members rely on their credit unions for financial advice, but too few credit union web sites deliver on this member expectation.
Continue reading "2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue Six - Positioning the Credit Union Web site as a Narrow Gateway to Services" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 7, 2003
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Too many credit union web sites evaluated use navigation systems that frustrate more than help users. The worst offenders are drop-down or fly-out menus that are slow to display, but disappear quickly if the user does not exercise precise control over his mouse. Many of these menus are not compatible with many older version web browsers, especially Netscape. What members with these browsers get in return is navigation that fails to appear at all, and if it does, it flickers. Members who want to easily manage their finances on-line consider poor navigation a frustrating nuisance.
Continue reading "2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue Five - Navigation that Uses Temperamental Menus" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 6, 2003
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As credit union web sites grow, and are forced onto the same playing field as banks, the need to add services like on-line banking, bill payment and credit card statements is the cost of doing business. However as credit unions add this functionality to their web sites, it’s fair to say that the term “integrated” doesn’t always exist in these implementations. In many cases, the member must use a separate ID and password for each service, sometimes up to five IDs for a single credit union web site. Add to this equation the disparate interfaces that members must learn, and you have a system that is less than usable.
Continue reading "2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue Four - Use of Multiple Log-ins for On-line Services" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 2, 2003
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Think about how your member conducts business in your physical branch. If a member needs to withdraw or deposit funds, there is a form to complete. Are they applying for a loan? Another form. If they have a question, they ask to speak to a manager. Rarely do you need to teach a new member how to conduct business in person. But what works in person, doesn’t always translate to the Web.
Continue reading "2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue Two - Crucial Forms Lack Guidance" »
By Donovan Myers
Posted on Jan 1, 2003
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Surely these forms aren’t meant to be hidden intentionally…they are simply hard to locate, buried under layers of clicks. Blame poor web site architecture, lack of growth-management, non-standard maintenance or a new term, “link decay” which refers to shuffling pages and links without proper testing. Regardless, if a member has to search for a loan application, membership change of information or inquiry form that resides three or more clicks below the surface, research shows they are not likely to use them.
Continue reading "2002 Credit Union Website Usability Issue One - Crucial Forms Hidden from View" »
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