Darin

1
Darin DavesINST 5240USABILITY PRESENTATIONon
?

• Jakob Nielsens
• TOP TEN WEB DESIGN MISTAKES OF 2003

2
Presented by

3
Top Ten Design Mistakes
Advances in web page design have created their
own usability problems. Jakob Nielsens Alertbox
gives his top ten for 2003.

• Unclear Statement of Purpose
• New URLs for Archived Content
• Undated Content
• Small Thumbnail Images of Big, Detailed Photos
• Overly Detailed ALT Text
• No What-If Support
• Long Lists that Cant Be Winnowed by Attributes
• Products Sorted Only by Brand
• Overly Restrictive Form Entry
• Pages That Link to Themselves

Continue with the slideshow to see detailed
explanations and examples of each.
4
INSTRUCTIONS

• Hypertext and many images in the presentation are
  active. Click on any hypertext or image to go to
  another site. Float over hypertext and images to
  view ALT text. Click on the slide to advance to
  the next slide.
• HAVE FUN!

5
1. Unclear Statement of Purpose
?

• The use of vague or generic language to describe
  the purpose of the site. Forces the user to work
  to discover the sites information and services.

SOLUTION Provide one hard fact that places all
other facts in context
BAD Welcome to Buds Western Page
GOOD Welcome to Buds Western Songs and Dances
Page
6
2. New URLs for Archived Content

• The practice of assigning new URLs to sites when
  they are moved from the main area into an archive
  area. Causes linkrot.

We found it ironic that the link supplied below
leads to an experts opinion on how to avoid
linkrot. The result is self-explanatory.
http//www.calpundit.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi?__modeview
entry_id2657
7
3. Undated Content

• Failure to supply dates with content that is
  date-dependent such as software versions, product
  recommendations, etc. Reader cant tell if dated
  information is current or obsolete.

Go to the page below and notice the dates listed
for several documents that were created at
different times.
http//www.broken.typepad.com/b/images/salon.html
8
4. Small Thumbnail Images of Big, Detailed Photos

• Using scaled-down versions of detailed pictures
  as thumbnail images. The meaning of the thumbnail
  may be incomprehensible.

9
5. Overly Detailed ALT Text

• Adding long, detailed, and/or irrelevant ALT text
  to hyperlinks and images that arent needed for
  site navigation.

SOLUTION Confine ALT text to content necessary
for screen reader to help someone navigate the
site.
Mouse over each image to view ALT text examples
10
6. No What-If Support

• Not allowing users to consider alternatives
  within the current location. Forcing users to
  return to the main page to choose new
  alternatives.

http//www.useit.com/alertbox/20010415.html
11
7. Long Lists That Cant Be Winnowed by Attributes

• It used to be that web sites offered one or two
  things. Now its common to find sites with
  thousands or millions of items. Wonderful, but
  that means that item listings are often very long
  and hard to use. J.N.

SOLUTION Allow filtering of desired elements
from undesired elements.
Go to the page below to see an example of a very
easy-to-use list (not). Beware . . . page takes a
long time to load, but its worth the wait.
http//www.fivestarbilliards.com/thestore/
12
8. Products Sorted Only by Brand

• Failure to allow sorting of products according to
  customer interests. Sorting allowed by brand name
  only.

Click on the image to go to EBAY, a site that
does a great job of allowing product sorting. Be
sure to mouse over the image and view the ALT
text.
13
9. Overly Restrictive Form Entry

• Allowing only one way to input data into forms.
  Especially awkward for senior citizens that are
  accustomed to certain formats.

SOLUTION Let users enter data in the format they
prefer.
Go to the page below to see really good examples
of overly restrictive form entry practices.
http//www.unixwiz.net/ndos-shame.html
14
10. Pages That Link to Themselves

• Allowing links on web pages that return the user
  to the same page. Causes confusion for users.

SOLUTION Remove or disable links that refer to
the currently occupied page. Turn off links in
navbars that indicate the current location.
Go to the page below to see a good example of how
linking should be done. Try to select HOME when
you get there and see what happens.
http//www.fish-jersey.com
15
See The Original Article
Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003 Jakob
Nielsens Alertbox
Just for fun, check out the following websites
that have broken many of these guidelines and
then some !

• http//www.webpagesthatsuck.com/oldsplash/index.ht
  ml
• http//www.angelfire.com/super/badwebs/main.htm
• http//www.state.fl.us/dms/betterwebsites/bad.html
  
• and for our seminary teacher friends, our
  favorite church site ever . . .
• http//www.lakeshorebaptist.net/hycws/

16
CREDITSProducer Darin The Duchesne Kid
TaylorDirector Dave Deadhead
ManningSpecial Effects Inverted Bird
ProductionsCasting Utah State
PrisonInstructional Technologist Nobody, we
havent graduated, yetTechnical
Consultants Mimi Recker and Company THE END