The usefulness of back to top links in certain situations is undeniable. They’re also easy to implement and can be useful for a number of users. Like anything there are down sides that you might need to consider so it’s about weighing up your options and pros and cons on a case by case basis. Personally I find them extremely handy on longer pages, but yes in-page links can be a little confusing to some users.
Alexa at Adaptive Path has experimented with using printable magnetic sheets to create playful and interactive magnetic prototypes. While they are not the answer for all situations it might be worth the experiment.
Evolt has some research in an article titled Optimizing by Color which investigates how colour can affect site activity and performance.
Web Directions South Government 08 have their podcasts and presentation slides online. It would be nice to see improvement in the Tasmanian e-Government, maybe I’ll flick this link around.
On Boxes and Arrows the article Prototyping with XHTML by Anders Ramsay and Leah Buley explains how you can work more efficiently by adopting a layered methodology (often referred to as web standards best practices) and building on the underlying information architecture in the XHTML, rather than creating Photoshop mockups and then doing XHTML and then cutting up the mockups and pasting on the facade.
Jared Spool has written Failure is Not an Option - It’s a Requirement discussing the vital need to fail if you’re going to innovate or improve our game. And it’s no secret that organisations that support, even applaud, failure in their employees are usually more successful. The article has a list of 8 common mistakes that lead to failure.
Dmitry is asking what you think works better and why - arrows before a link or after a link? My take is context but I’d like to see any studies done on this one. While we’re dealing with affordances to a virtual action like turning to the next page, I wonder how much of that is affected by convention, cultural interpretation and arrow design. Context is everything - it depends.
Maybe the reason why persuasive web site design fascinates me so much is because I'm a cold call sales person's worst nightmare. The best invention ever made was "Caller ID". They want me at the wrong time. For a web...
Maybe the reason why persuasive web site design fascinates me so much is because I'm a cold call sales person's worst nightmare. The best invention ever made was "Caller ID". They want me at the wrong time. For a web...
Dmitry has a list of 7 Big Usability Mistakes that might be on your website, but they are by no means the only ones. If users find your site difficult to use it’s not because they’re dumb, it’s because the design has issues. One of my favourite angst features is the dreaded Flash navigation that wants to be a slippery little snake or a butterfly - anything but a navigation bar.
Categories are more appropriate to blogs and tags seem more appropriate to sites with user generated content - Categories versus Tags. Dmitry explains the difference between them and wants to know your opinion. What do you use tags for on your site?
It’s not until you work with a usability expert that you can really appreciate the value of having them on your team (graphic designers and managers please read this one).
Designing the best interface is not always about beauty but about understanding the context of the user experience. Sometimes beautiful isn’t always best, and sometimes it is.
Matt Chisolm’s article What reading Tufte won’t teach you: Interface design guidelines provides a nice set of interface design guidelines that go beyond the presentation of information. As written by a despairing traveller. Really a must read.
Steven Heller asked seven interaction designers and information architects to give their opinion on John McCain’s and Barrack Obama’s web sites - Jared Spool, Jason Santa Maria, David Womack, Jessica Helfand, Hillman Curtis and Liz Danzico.
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