Post by Stephanie Nelson on Jan 29, 2015 12:50:31 GMT -8
Unit 2: Web Usability Part I
1. User-Friendly: A website should be self-evident, obvious, and self-explanatory. Every visitor to a website should never be confused about where to click or how to find what they’re looking for. The point is that every ‘question mark’ adds to the visitor’s cognitive workload, distracting their attention from the task at hand. Krug explains that “the appearance of things (like size, color, and layout), their well-chosen names, and the small amounts of carefully crafted text should all work together to create a sense of nearly effortless understanding.”
2. Simplicity: The average person will not go to a website and read every bit of information. Visual hierarchies are used to enhance a user’s ability to browse effectively. A typical user will scan information to find what they were looking for. Krug explains that the ideal website should be useful, learnable, memorable, effective, efficient, desirable, and delightful.
3. Mobile Design: Nowadays, it is crucial to have a user-friendly mobile version of your website for use on cell phones and tablet devices. As Krug explains, “Many useful interface features that depended on hover are no longer available, like tool tips, buttons that change shape or color to indicate that they’re clickable, and menus that drop down to reveal their contents without forcing you to make a choice. As a designer, you need to be aware that these elements don’t exist for mobile users and try to find ways to replace them.”
4. Navigation and Breadcrumbs: "People won’t use your Web site if they can’t find their way around it.” Having user friendly navigation throughout a website is very important so that the user doesn’t get lost. Simply using the “back” button to navigate is not an effective function. A website should also use breadcrumbs which show a path of tabs or subcategories of which you are searching with. A well-constructed navigation bar and breadcrumbs serve as a compass for a website, allowing the user to easily find their way without struggle.
5. Utilities: Having accessible utilities and search tools on a website help a visitor use the site with functions such as Sign in/Register, Help, Site Map, & Search. They can also be used to provide information to the publisher by using About Us or Contact Us.
Unit 2: Web Usability Part II
Website: www.youtube.com/
1. User-Friendly: This site uses different size fonts and colors but still maintains a simple font family and design. The layout is very clean and easy to use.
2. Simplicity: The site is a great example of simplicity, with the title, navigation bar, and site content. My eye is not distracted by meaningless advertisements or blurbs.
3. Mobile Design: Not only does this site have an amazing mobile site, but they also have their own app. I love when sites like these offer an app that users can easily access and use.
4. Navigation and Breadcrumbs: On the left of the page is a clear navigation bar that catches the user’s eye immediately. Here the page makes suggestions of categories that the user can search with which I think is great. Another feature that I find useful is that you can actually hide the navigation bar to be able to see and browse the media with a larger screen size.
5. Utilities: The site has two different “sign in” tabs which are highlighted in blue, which make them stand out on the page. The bottom of the page features information tabs and settings. Having these options accessible from every page you’re browsing on is very user friendly.
1. User-Friendly: A website should be self-evident, obvious, and self-explanatory. Every visitor to a website should never be confused about where to click or how to find what they’re looking for. The point is that every ‘question mark’ adds to the visitor’s cognitive workload, distracting their attention from the task at hand. Krug explains that “the appearance of things (like size, color, and layout), their well-chosen names, and the small amounts of carefully crafted text should all work together to create a sense of nearly effortless understanding.”
2. Simplicity: The average person will not go to a website and read every bit of information. Visual hierarchies are used to enhance a user’s ability to browse effectively. A typical user will scan information to find what they were looking for. Krug explains that the ideal website should be useful, learnable, memorable, effective, efficient, desirable, and delightful.
3. Mobile Design: Nowadays, it is crucial to have a user-friendly mobile version of your website for use on cell phones and tablet devices. As Krug explains, “Many useful interface features that depended on hover are no longer available, like tool tips, buttons that change shape or color to indicate that they’re clickable, and menus that drop down to reveal their contents without forcing you to make a choice. As a designer, you need to be aware that these elements don’t exist for mobile users and try to find ways to replace them.”
4. Navigation and Breadcrumbs: "People won’t use your Web site if they can’t find their way around it.” Having user friendly navigation throughout a website is very important so that the user doesn’t get lost. Simply using the “back” button to navigate is not an effective function. A website should also use breadcrumbs which show a path of tabs or subcategories of which you are searching with. A well-constructed navigation bar and breadcrumbs serve as a compass for a website, allowing the user to easily find their way without struggle.
5. Utilities: Having accessible utilities and search tools on a website help a visitor use the site with functions such as Sign in/Register, Help, Site Map, & Search. They can also be used to provide information to the publisher by using About Us or Contact Us.
Unit 2: Web Usability Part II
Website: www.youtube.com/
1. User-Friendly: This site uses different size fonts and colors but still maintains a simple font family and design. The layout is very clean and easy to use.
2. Simplicity: The site is a great example of simplicity, with the title, navigation bar, and site content. My eye is not distracted by meaningless advertisements or blurbs.
3. Mobile Design: Not only does this site have an amazing mobile site, but they also have their own app. I love when sites like these offer an app that users can easily access and use.
4. Navigation and Breadcrumbs: On the left of the page is a clear navigation bar that catches the user’s eye immediately. Here the page makes suggestions of categories that the user can search with which I think is great. Another feature that I find useful is that you can actually hide the navigation bar to be able to see and browse the media with a larger screen size.
5. Utilities: The site has two different “sign in” tabs which are highlighted in blue, which make them stand out on the page. The bottom of the page features information tabs and settings. Having these options accessible from every page you’re browsing on is very user friendly.
