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Strength
of the evidence:  •How to interpret "strength of evidence" scale |
Source: | Bailey, R.W., Koyani, S. and Nall, J. (2000), Usability testing of several health information Web sites, National Cancer Institute Technical Report, September 7-8. |
Example:
Guideline: Use blue underlined text for all unused links when possible. Do not require users to move the mouse to see when the pointer changes to a hand (mine sweeping).
Comments: Some links are missed by users because the links are not evident. Links must be clearly designated so that there is little (or no) uncertainty on the part of the users as they click on a link. Research has shown that when users were given visual cues to locate links, as opposed to using the pointer to search for links, they were able to find the information seven times faster.
For text, users expect links to be blue and underlined.
For a graphic link, the term "click here" has been shown to increase recognition that the graphic is a link. However, some automatic screen readers may have problems deciphering what "click here" refers to.
| Strength
of the evidence: •How to interpret "strength of evidence" scale |
Sources: |
• Gerhardt-Lynch, P.J. and Horton, S. (1997), Yale Web Style Manual (www.info.med.yale.edu/caim/ manual/contents.html). • Lynch, P.J. And Horton, S. (1999), Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites, Yale University Press. • Bailey, R.W., Koyani, S. and Nall, J. (2000), Usability testing of several health information Web sites, National Cancer Institute Technical Report, September 7-8. |
Example:
Guideline: Clearly indicate when a link will move users to (a) the same page, (b) a different page in the same Web site or, (c) a page on a different Web site.
Comments: Users tend to assume that links will take them to another page within the same Web site.
| Strength
of the evidence: •How to interpret "strength of evidence" scale |
Source: | Spool, J.M., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Snyder, C. and DeAngelo, T. (1997), Web Site Usability: A Designer's Guide, North Andover, MA, User Interface Engineering. |
Example:
Guideline: Label links descriptively so that users can discriminate between similar links.
Comments: Users can be slowed when they must ponder the differences between similar link labels.
| Strength
of the evidence: •How to interpret "strength of evidence" scale |
Source: | Spool, J.M., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Snyder, C. and DeAngelo, T. (1997), Web Site Usability: A Designer's Guide, North Andover, MA, User Interface Engineering. |
Example:
Guideline: Use text links. Do not use image links.
Comments: Text links generally download faster, are preferred by users, and change colors after being selected.
| Strength
of the evidence: •How to interpret "strength of evidence" scale |
Source: | Spool, J.M., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Snyder, C. and DeAngelo, T. (1997), Web Site Usability: A Designer's Guide, North Andover, MA User Interface Engineering. |
Example:
Guideline: Do not rely on "mouseovers" for users to identify links. Always use underlines or some other visual indicator (e.g. a stacked list of items) to indicate that words are links.
Comments: Relying on mouseovers to designate links can confuse newer users and tend to slow them down because users are uncertain which links perform which functions.
| Strength
of the evidence: •How to interpret "strength of evidence" scale |
Source: | Bailey, R.W., Koyani, S. and Nall, J. (2000), Usability testing of several health information Web sites, National Cancer Institute Technical Report, September 7-8. |
Example:
Guideline: Ensure that the most important content can be accessed from more than one related text link.
Comments: Some users find important links easily when they have a certain label, while others may recognize the link best with an alternative name. When the information is critical to the success of the Web site, provide more than one link name (that satisfies all users) to the same content.
Strength
of the evidence:  •How to interpret "strength of evidence" scale |
Source: | Detweiler, M.C. And Omanson, R.C. (1996), Ameritech Web Page User Interface Standards and Design Guidelines (www.ameritech.com). |
Example:
Guideline: Place tabs that are used for links at the top of the page and ensure that they look like clickable, real-world tabs.
Comments: Research has shown that users are more likely to find and click appropriately on tabs that look like real-world tabs. Real-world tabs are those that look like the ones found in a file drawer (see the example below). Users can be confused when the tabs do not look like real-world tabs and/or the words are not underlined.
| Strength
of the evidence: •How to interpret "strength of evidence" scale |
Source: | Bailey, R.W., Koyani, S. and Nall, J. (2000), Usability testing of several health information Web sites, National Cancer Institute Technical Report, September 7-8. |
Example:
Guideline: Indicate to users when a link has been clicked. If a user selects one link, and there are other links to the same target, make sure all links change colors.
Comments: In a study of the speed with which users could find certain information, providing this type of feedback was the only aspect found to improve the speed of finding information. Make links that have not been clicked blue, and clicked links purple or red. Users continue to use link colors to understand which parts of a site they have visited. Where no evidence of link use, or non-standard colors are used, users repeatedly bounce among a set of pages not knowing that they are going back to the same page again and again.
Strength
of the evidence:  •How to interpret "strength of evidence" scale |
Sources: |
• Nielsen, J. (1996), Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design, www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html, May.
• Nielsen, J. (1999), Top Ten Mistakes Revisited Three Years Later, www.useit.com/alertbox/990502.html, May 2. • Nielsen, J. (1999), The Top Ten New Mistakes of Web Design, www.useit.com/alertbox/990530.html, May 30. • Spool, J.M., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Snyder, C. and DeAngelo, T. (1997), Web Site Usability: A Designer's Guide, North Andover, MA User Interface Engineering. |
Example:
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