10 Tips to Create a More Usable Web
Whether it’s your portfolio, a blog, a marketing web site, or a collection of games, we all want to attract visitors to our website and to ensure that they have a pleasant experience. Usability measures the level of a user’s experience and can be characterized by how easily a given task can be completed; whether it’s done with prior knowledge, or by having the user learn a new way to interact. I think Jakob Nielson probably explained it best when he said: “Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word “usability” also refers to methods for improving ease–of–use during the design process.” In this article I hope to give you some form of a usability checklist, covering topics from form design to simple navigation tips that you can apply to any Web project.
Mobile Apps vs. the Mobile Web: "It Doesn't Matter to Consumers"
The latest in its series of discussions about the future of the internet, the Pew Internet Project released a new report this morning that wades into the mobile “apps vs. web” debate. It’s positioned as a metaphor or surrogate for a larger argument about the battle of platforms and the internet’s future: It is in part a debate about the future of the personal computer vs. smaller, portable mobile devices.
What Makes A Great Cover Letter, According To Companies?
Advertisement Ah, the dreaded cover letter. Boring to write, difficult to get right, and you’re usually preoccupied by other things (such as the portfolio and resume, which are also really important). Unfortunately, your cover letter is a company’s first exposure to you, and it determines whether your application is trashed or fast-tracked to the company’s to-hire list. The status of the cover letter is changing in the Web industry. While a well-formed cover letter still has a place, some companies believe that Web folk who rely on this archaic tool never make it to the next round.
Design To Sell: 8 Useful Tips To Help Your Website Convert
Advertisement As we see more and more businesses move their services online, and even more that begin their life on the Web, a greater need arises for websites that are designed and built to sell. A great-looking website may achieve the goal of shaping and delivering a strong brand, but its good looks alone aren’t enough to sell the products or services on offer. For that, you need to introduce the element of marketing. You may want to take a look at the following related articles:
Mobile URLs vs. Single URLs: Making The Right Decision For Your Company
The Bing statement about mobile SEO last month, which followed Google’s announcement about the new smartphone crawler in December, has sparked some discussion, and given mobile SEO some time in the spotlight. The debate has been interesting, but all of it seems to focus a bit too much on the wrong question. The search engines all emphatically instruct webmasters not to make decisions purely on the SEO implications, but to also consider the user experience.
Emphasize meaning over price = More paid sales
If you are a performing musician that sells CDs at your shows, please consider this: Terry McBride of Nettwerk told this story at a recent conference: A band he was managing (Griffin House) was doing the usual thing of selling CDs for $15. They'd mention it once or twice from the stage, and sell about $300 per night on average.
30 Essential Controls
By Theresa Neil As Bill mentioned in an earlier post, we don’t want to limit this blog to just the principles and patterns found in the book. For that you can check out our Explore the Book section. This is the second article in a three part series on patterns and principles for RIA design. Standard Screen Patterns: 12 patterns w/100 examplesEssential Controls: 30 controls for RIA design and developmentComponents for Commonly Requested Features: 15 patterns and examples Every designer has a set of controls they rely on to communicate an effective UI.
Gamification And UX: Where Users Win Or Lose
Advertisement The gaming industry is huge, and it can keep its audience consumed for hours, days and even weeks. Some play the same game over and over again — and occasionally, they even get out their 15-year-old Nintendo 64 to play some Zelda. Now, I am not a game designer. I actually don’t even play games that often.
Negotiation Tactics
Disciplines > Negotiation > Negotiation Tactics In negotiation, there are many tactics that you may meet or use. They can be fair, foul or something in between, depending on the competitive or collaborative style of the people involved and the seriousness of the outcomes. All I've Got: Limit apparent availability. Auction: Set sellers or buyers against one another. Bad Publicity: Indicate bad publicity of not agreeing.
» 10 Brilliant Multi Level Navigation Menu Techniques
Web-developers can create user-friendly horizontal or vertical navigation menus using CSS. Javascript makes it possible to create more interactive, more responsive and more flexible navigation to any website. Today we wanted to highlight 10 brilliant Multi Level Navigation Menu Techniques built using different Javascript Libraries including jQuery, Mootools along with some CSS magic to give us what you see below. 1. Create Vimeo-like top navigation
4 Tips For Getting More Site Conversions
Getting people to your Web site is one thing. Getting them to do something while they’re there is another. And then, of course, getting them to do what you want them to do is another beast entirely. But, as a marketer, that’s your job; to get someone to your Web site in order to take a desired action.
12 Mind-Blowing Statistics Every Marketer Should Know
It's no secret that the marketing landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years as social and mobile technologies have gone from early-adopter novelties to mainstream essentials. Still, there are plenty of traditional marketing stalwarts out there who aren't buying all of the social media hype or can't convince their boss or marketing team to experiment in the brave new world of inbound marketing . So we've rounded up a dozen powerful stats that are sure to be eye-openers, if not total mind-changers. 1. 78% of Internet users conduct product research online.
10 Useful Techniques To Improve Your User Interface Designs
Advertisement Web design consists, for the most part, of interface design. There are many techniques involved in crafting beautiful and functional interfaces. Here’s my collection of 10 that I think you’ll find useful in your work. They’re not related to any particular theme, but are rather a collection of techniques I use in my own projects. Without further ado, let’s get started.
