Happy Links - Best of Jakob Nielson
February 26, 2008 in Happy Links
Taking Jakob Nielson seriously is difficult when he has his glamour shots done by Deb. But, this perennial curmudgeon manages to stay relevant and important when it comes to researched findings on web usability. Here are a few of his recent gems.
- Amazon: No Longer the Role Model for E-Commerce Design
Many design elements work for Amazon.com mainly because of its status as the world's largest and most established e-commerce site. Normal sites should not copy Amazon's design. - Web 2.0 Can Be Dangerous...
AJAX, rich Internet UIs, mashups, communities, and user-generated content often add more complexity than they're worth. They also divert design resources and prove (once again) that what's hyped is rarely what's most profitable. - Top-10 Application-Design Mistakes
Application usability is enhanced when users know how to operate the UI and it guides them through the workflow. Violating common guidelines prevents both. - Usability ROI Declining, But Still Strong
The average business metrics improvement after a usability redesign is now 83%. This is substantially less than 6 years ago, but ROI remains high because usability is still cheap relative to gains.