The Originator - Article, Developing Web Sites with Usability in Mind

The easiest information to get to should be the information that people need the most. Infrequently accessed information or "one-time" information (such as a welcome message) should be relegated to a sub-page.

Feature Article: Posted 08/19/01 Developing Web Sites with Usability in Mind by Todd R. Johnson
I've have tried to pull together what I know about designing Web sites to be usable. Some information is general and other more specific. I'm sure you're familiar with much of it. Additional guidelines on what to do and what to avoid in Web design can be found at: http://www.useit.com/alterbox/991003.html

1.	Web sites should be redesigned to be aesthetically pleasing, but without detracting from usability. The aesthetics should enhance usability and also convey useful characteristics of the University, such as integrity and scholarship.

2.	Graphic images should be kept to a minimum and should be relevant to the site content and navigation.

3.	The content of the main page should duplicate the main navigation bar. Eye tracking studies of Web use, show that people look at the content of a page first --- they initially ignore anything that looks like a navigation bar, banner ad, or picture.

4.	The amount of content, navigation links, images, etc., on the pages should be limited Every extra item on the page competes for the user's attention, making it harder for him or her to find information. Most pages contain too much information. Try to avoid scrolling. Make the clickable regions obvious and make sure they explain where they take the user.

5.	The names of navigation items should be in the user's terms and should correspond to the way the user organizes information.

6.	The easiest information to get to should be the information that people need the most. Infrequently accessed information or "one-time" information (such as a welcome message) should be relegated to a sub-page.

7.	Since we have a diverse set of users, and they have many different tasks, no single navigation structure (based on a content hierarchy) will be perfect. Therefore, we should include "information for..." links on he main page (and Possibly sub-pages) for each of our major user groups. These pages should organize information specifically for the particular type of user. See the SHIS Web page for and example: http://shis.uth.tmc.edu

8.	The page should follow the Web conventions used by major sites. Place a search box near the top. Logo can be the left (probably best), center, or to the right (probably the worst), but should not be surrounded by a lot of white space: we need to have content on the line with it, otherwise we will waste too much space. Use the default link colors for un-visited and visited links.

9.	Make it easy to see what is under each main navigation heading, consider some form of roll over menu. Unfortunately, these are very difficult to get right.. They should not obscure the other navigation items. They must work on all major browsers and on all major platforms (at least Unix, Windows, and Mac), meaning at least IE, Netscape and a few other like OmniWeb. The rollover must remain open as the user moves the mouse in a straight line from any point in the active region to any item in the rollover. The rollover needs to clearly indicate what navigation item it is associated with. The rollover needs to get out of the way quickly.

10.	The main navigation structure must be duplicated on sub pages of the main site. The main page and sub-pages should use the same look and feel (and Navigation structure). Sub pages must include a clear link back to the home page, as well as give a clear indication of the location of the sub page in the hierarchy. Clicking on the UT logo should always take the viewer back to the main UTH page.

11.	Incorporate the necessary mechanisms to collect data that you can use to refine the site. The log files are useful, but we also need to know what people are searching for in the search engine, especially if nothing is found. Include a user feedback link so that users can tell us if they are having trouble finding something..

12.	Incorporate the necessary mechanisms to collect data that we can use to refine the site. The log files are useful, but we also need to know what people are searching for in the search engine, especially if nothing is found. Include a user feedback link so that users can tell us if they are having trouble finding something.