The body of terms used with a particular technical application in a subject of study, theory, profession, etc.
8
votes
4answers
451 views
What is the name of this combined button/popupbutton?
This button is in the new Firefox, but what is the name of it?
8
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13answers
568 views
What's a better way to refer to an Intranet site?
I've found most of our users are totally unaware of the term, though it's plastered on the front page of our Intranet site and the desktop icon they use to get to the site is labeled "(Company) ...
8
votes
3answers
258 views
Should we call our achievement system something else?
The company I work for has two public sites; one is just our main WWW site and the other is a site dedicated to our members. I'm a developer there and I'm working on an achievement system for our ...
8
votes
2answers
364 views
What do you call websites that make heavy use of vertical scrolling?
This question is similar to Why did scrolling vertically became a pattern?
I see a lot of modern websites moving to larger, singular pages with more content and more vertical scrolling. This is often ...
8
votes
10answers
512 views
What should I call content that drops down, without call it a dropdown?
I'm sketching out an interface in which links, which clicked, reveal a group of configuration options for that item. (slides down, accordion style)
One element in that group of the configuration ...
8
votes
2answers
600 views
What is the name for the technique used on Yammer, LinkedIn etc profile pages?
The technique I mean is where the profile page will say "You have completed 60% of your profile, fill in your x, y and z to get to 100%." I think this is a very powerful technique but I can't remember ...
8
votes
5answers
440 views
Is there a name for this instant filter search pattern?
I've been trying to find a jQuery plugin which creates behavior similar to that of Stack Exchange user searches. The user search used on Stack Exchange sites is not an auto complete, but is more akin ...
8
votes
4answers
861 views
What is the top navigation called when it is common to a network or suite of websites?
What is the top navigation bar called when it is common to a suite or network of sites with a common login, as in StackExchange, 37 Signals (Basecamp, Backpack, etc.), or Google Apps for Your Domain?
...
7
votes
3answers
382 views
Help or support?
I'm interested in the difference between using the words help or support when used in the context of customer help/support on a website or application.
Which would you use and why? As always any ...
7
votes
8answers
256 views
Labeling of lightbox settings
Suppose we have a UI where the settings of a lightbox showing an image can be adjusted. It might look something like this:
By "background" in the mockup above is really referred to overlay, but ...
7
votes
3answers
264 views
Does your average web user understand the concept of the clipboard?
I'm designing a web site where I would expect the intended audience to have limited computer skills.
An important part of my site's functionality will require the end user to copy an URL that my site ...
7
votes
2answers
568 views
Why is it called a breadcrumb?
When Hansel and Gretel laid down a bread crumb trail, the birds ate it and they got lost. The pebble trail is what got them home.
7
votes
3answers
326 views
Is there a difference between “blocked” and “banned”?
I've been requested to make a UI that allows to block/ban users from logging in. In the wireframes I've been provided, they use the term "blocked". But I feel like a better term for this would be ...
7
votes
6answers
269 views
How to convey a true/false value to a user?
I'm developing an application where users will be allowed to create custom fields that are part of a record, in addition to the fields that are provided by default. Users will be able to choose names ...
7
votes
2answers
386 views
What is modal about a modal dialog?
I'm reading a lot about modal dialogs.
I know(?) what modal means, having read Raskin's "The Humane Interface". I can understand what's modal about a toolbar in a drawing program (select mode, draw ...
7
votes
4answers
147 views
What do you call the method for ranking a set of items using a series of questions comparing just 2 at each time
I have n-items (n being somewhere between 5 and 9) that I would like participants to sort in relative order of importance.
Although I have used visual 'drag and drop' approaches before, I found that ...
7
votes
3answers
312 views
What do you call the screens/pages/interfaces within software?
Websites have pages. Does software? I'm mainly thinking of smartphone apps.
'Interface's is probably technically correct, but 'interface' could equally refer to sub-menu that appear within a given ...
7
votes
10answers
187 views
Does the average user understand the median?
I have a bunch of statistical data and I want to present a short summary to the user (non-technical consumer). Now I want to show an average and need to decide between arithmetic mean and median. From ...
7
votes
3answers
287 views
What is the UI/UX term for in-view content “jumping” up/down due to changes out of view?
E.g., when reading an article in a feed and an out-of-view div expands or collapses, moving the current article up or down
Alternatively (if included in this definition), when entering text in a ...
6
votes
4answers
620 views
What do you call non-retina displays?
With the introduction of high density pixel displays (Retina being the brand name Apple uses) what do we now call non-retina (low pixel density) displays?
Legacy Displays
Low Pixel Density Displays
...
6
votes
4answers
696 views
What is the difference between “Task Analysis” and “User Journey”?
I been recently reading about User Journey - as a Methodology to capture how user would use a website or interface - a journey as such broadly. But is it synonymous to "Task Analysis" - because both ...
6
votes
3answers
170 views
Should we use Microsoft's feature names, or our own? “Autofilter” vs “Column filter”
Many Microsoft softwares, like the Office suite and the Windows Explorer, feature a type of column filter that they have dubbed the Autofilter.
It filters rows based on column content.
It adapts the ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
What does “end-user” mean?
UX folks like to talk of the "end user" (examples in 1 2 3), because that is whom they are advocating for. However, the term is somewhat ambiguous: assuming I write an UI library, is the end-user the ...
6
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4answers
1k views
Technical Word for “time spent on website”?
Is there a technical word to reference the total time a user spends on a website in one session? Something like "Time-on-Site (TOS)"?
6
votes
3answers
230 views
What is the term for numeric textboxes with arrows?
I was wondering whether there was a standard UI term for numeric textboxes with arrows that allow you to change the numeric value up or down, provided by some UI toolkits like Winforms. Here's an ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What is a scamp, UX? [closed]
My Googling powers are failing me. Does anyone have an an example or definition of a scamp? It appears to be some kind of wireframe, but careless?
6
votes
2answers
335 views
no-reply@yourdomain.com or a real address?
For authentication emails and various other one-way communication applications often use no-reply@yourdomain.com. This comes across as unfriendly when compared to something like hello@yourdomain.com.
...
6
votes
4answers
359 views
Common/accepted name for “dropdown menus” and related kin?
What is the proper name for the UI element created by the HTML <select>...</select>?
What is the name if the user is allowed to type in their own answer (not just autocomplete to pick ...
6
votes
4answers
192 views
What's the best terminology for switching from a mobile site to the “full” website?
I've seen links to switch to the "Classic" site or the "Standard" site and I was just wondering if anyone did any testing with this. I like the sound of "full" but I have nothing to back it up. Any ...
6
votes
3answers
219 views
Is ”User Friendly” a valid term in User Experience?
I remember that we had a fierce discussion in school around the term “User Friendly” where our lecturer with emphasis stated that “… there is no such thing as user friendly. The only valid term you ...
6
votes
6answers
695 views
Better Term for “Web Design and Development” Company
What term do you use to refer to a company / organization that helps other companies / organizations in the following areas?
Working with the product owner / manager to formulate abstract ideas into ...
6
votes
1answer
89 views
Name for a combo box that shows and edits multiple items?
Is there an accepted name for a UI element that allows the user to enter multiple values, displaying each value as visually distinct, and provides autocomplete matching like a combo box?
Examples ...
6
votes
3answers
126 views
Intuitive term for “tertiary data” or “list choices” in CRUD interfaces?
In CRUD-like applications, you often have tables that contain very few records, and only exist to assign a name to an id value (they have a one-to-many or many-to-many relationship to the "primary" ...
5
votes
5answers
460 views
What is the name of someone who does not know how to use a computer or the web?
People who cannot read or write are named "illiterate".
Does a word exist to qualify someone in the same position but about using a computer or a web application?
This term would be really usefull ...
5
votes
5answers
245 views
What is the preferrable name for the Jobs / Careers / 'Work For Us' area of a website?
I am trying to talk a client out of changing the label "Careers" to "Jobs" or "Working with [my clients rather long name]". I have not tested this (yet) but my intuition is that "Careers" is a very ...
5
votes
4answers
219 views
Is there a word that descibes a UX that has been added-to over time and as a result no longer reflects the designers original intent?
A common scenario: A UX is designed, it gets built and deployed.
Over time, people (for example execs, or devs) add new features, images, buttons etc without going through the design process. With ...
5
votes
4answers
157 views
Nomenclature: Folder or Directory in UI?
I often see the terms "folder" and "directory" being used in user interfaces as well as in programming almost as synonyms.
Do I have to stick with one? or can I use both interchangeably? Do users ...
5
votes
3answers
291 views
What would this widget be called?
What is this control that is used to select an item in this screenshot called?
This is also in the latest Facebook for Android update. What is it called?
5
votes
2answers
599 views
Hiring Web Designer/Usability Expert - What should I be looking for?
I work for a small data management/warehousing company that also focuses heavily on web applications. We are looking to "beautify" our existing web apps into something along the lines of mint.com or ...
5
votes
3answers
464 views
What is the UI pattern used for managing people in Google+ called?
I've tried to find more info on this particular UI pattern Google+ exposes, and I'm sure I've seen it before, but still, I haven't been able to find references to it.
If you go to the Circles section ...
5
votes
2answers
570 views
Correct terminology for that circle/bubble with number of notifications in it?
Some applications will overlay some colored bubble/circle with a number to show how many unread messages/notifications or "things to do" are currently available. For instance, it's on Skype to show ...
5
votes
1answer
195 views
Is Empathic Design a part of User Centered Design?
I stumbled across the Kano Model this morning, and didn’t know what it was. Searching for it I came across another term unknown to me; Empathic Design. Reading the characteristics of Empathic Design ...
5
votes
2answers
201 views
What is the difference between user journey and task flow
I was wondering if you could explain me what is the difference between a user journey and a task flow? I tried to read and look for example images in Google...and I can't find the difference between ...
5
votes
1answer
81 views
What's the term for expanding search results to include variations of a word?
It's not uncommon for a search engine to take a word that is searched for, say "vase" or "obscure", and extrapolate the results to include common versions of the word. So using the earlier examples, ...
5
votes
2answers
120 views
Does the UX of Obama's donate form demonstrate “phased obligation”?
I caught this term at a UX workshop recently, and jotted it down. A couple of weeks later, I can't find a reference for it - and I'm wondering if I misheard (miswrote?).
"Phased obligation", as I ...
4
votes
4answers
145 views
Is there any special term for the area in site that takes the utmost attention?
We know the part in a site that is to carry an action is called "Call to Action". Similarly, is there any name for the part on a site that takes the utmost attention of a user? Or is the action ...
4
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2answers
1k views
What is the difference between a 'slider', a 'gallery' and a 'carousel'?
From a pattern perspective is there a difference? Or are they really different names for the same thing?
4
votes
6answers
172 views
Explaining complex terms
I'm working on a financial services project, which includes a questionnaire. Some of the terms used in this questionnaire are financial and won't make sense to some users , but in order to explain ...
4
votes
2answers
214 views
Which is more likely to be understood, *Hover* or *Mouseover*?
We have a page where the content all has tool tips. There is a bit of explanatory text at the top of the page. We want to let visitors to the page know that they can hover their mouse over items for ...
4
votes
3answers
142 views
Is there a word for left-to-right and top-to-bottom?
When I was learning about web design, and I remember similar things from art classes, people said that the eye sees things the most on an object which are in a line from the top-left to bottom-right ...
