Usability Prepared by: The NYS Forum for Information Resource Management IT Accessibility Committee

Usability OBJECTIVE: the learner will list three ways to make a web site easier to use

Usability Tip 1 The purpose of your site should be instantly clear to your visitors. Clearly establish on your home page what you hope to accomplish on your web site. Page titles should clearly describe the content of the page – used in search engines.

Usability Tip 2 It should be instantly apparent how to reach the key content of your site. Highlight the main sections of your site and make it clear how to reach them. Jakob's Law of the Web User Experience states that "users spend most of their time on other websites." If it doesnt work the way people expect, expect them to leave.

Usability Tip 3 Your site should be easy to navigate Navigation should be clear and consistent. Change the color of visited links Dont open new windows – visitors HATE that. Pirates commandeer ships – new age pirates commandeer your screen and desktop Users know what the back button is for and how to use it.

Usability Tip 4 Avoid PDF Files for Online Reading Because PDFs behave differently than HTML pages, users hate coming across them. It breaks the flow of their web browsing experience. PDFs are hard to navigate. PDF is great for printing and for distributing manuals. Convert information that needs to be browsed or read on the screen into real web pages.

Usability Tip 5 Avoid the wall of text Walls of text are deadly for the online experience Use bullets, highlights, short paragraphs, headlines Use simple, direct language Jakob Nielson calls this de-fluffed language

Usability Tip 6 Make the computer do the work, not your visitors. SSN fields in one box, not three Telephone numbers in one box, not three Accept (518) or or or Credit card numbers with or without spaces

Usability Tip 7 Avoid Horizontal scrolling Visitors have been conditioned to scroll down, but find scrolling across both unexpected and annoying.

Usability Tip 8 Avoid unexpected links If its an link, make it look like an link. Its annoying to expect to go to a page for, say, help, only to discover that not only is help unavailable, but you have to write and stuff.

Usability Tip 9 Avoid anything that looks like an ad Users have learned to ignore banner advertisements They dont check to see what the content is – they just ignore it They block pop-ups, or kill them off before they render They ignore anything with animation

Usability Tip 10 Allow the visitor to change the font size Dont use tiny fonts Use relative sizes, not absolute, in style sheets

Following Up