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Five signs you need to read this paper: - You want to incorporate a Flash intro page into your site (or can’t bear to part ways
with one!) - You believe that people are going to patiently pore over your site, marveling at how
you have crafted your content. - If you are fond of saying: “Everybody knows us – just put our non-descript tagline on
the home page as our introductory message” - You hate drop-down menus and don’t want them on your site – ever.
- You believe that by adhering to a set of standard web practices, your site will look like
everyone else’s
Introduction:
Over the last year or so, usability has become a big buzzword on the Internet. “Usable sites”
have become a phrase that most people who are redesigning or considering redesigning their
sites are used to hearing. On the surface, it is a concept that is easy to talk about, but difficult
to define and act on. Many people in companies try to enforce their own personal tastes into this subject, resulting
in sites that are no more usable that the previous iteration. The reasoning behind their
approach is that THEY are the norm - everyone uses a site the way they do and therefore the
site they build will be THE model of usability. But very few can define usability.
The problem is that unless you talk to people who actually build web sites professionally, it is
very easy to create a cool-looking site that isn’t as customer-focused as it should be. As you
sit in your first meetings, who on your team can speak about usability and what people expect
to see? Joe from IT? Carol from marketing? Dennis the CEO? Even better, who is going to do the research and background work? There are some good
resources out there. It is very easy to believe that you will find a book, take some time to do
the necessary legwork and present the team a solid case for placing certain elements in
certain locations. It is also simple to say: “It’s all really common sense – we don’t need any
help with this – besides, I know somebody who does web sites. They’ll know.” But who has
the time? In our experience, team members cannot separate their own personal feelings about web
sites – almost without exception. One person likes Flash movies, another hates them. Joe
from IT won’t use drop-down menus, but Carol in marketing favors them. Few really
understand how people use sites and what elements they are looking for. next >>
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