the way user interacts with an artifact and the reaction and/or behavior to the environment
114
votes
12answers
6k views
Why shouldn't we use words such as 'here' and 'this' in textlinks?
Over the years of surfing on the web I have found numerous examples of people saying that you shouldn't use the word "here" in a textlink etc. Personally I like the idea of using the word, because it ...
10
votes
5answers
883 views
Should i use country flags in language selection fields?
My users can create content in different languages, and i need to provide an option to choose the language when they enter new content.
Right now there are only 5 languages (en, fr, de, pt, es), and ...
13
votes
7answers
774 views
Are hover menus in headers easy to use?
Do users find it easy to use headers/menus like the one displayed below?
21
votes
9answers
899 views
How can you make a user experience addictive? [closed]
What factors and techniques contribute to making a user experience addictive?
I ask this in the context of websites, games and other software. What makes people want to keep coming back for more?
25
votes
3answers
577 views
What to do when a page's content doesn't fill up enough of a fixed area?
An application has a fixed size, i.e 800x600 px. However, a problem I often run in to is that the page's content isn't enough. It's simply too little content on a big area.
Consider the mockup below, ...
29
votes
4answers
2k views
Where should the GUI light source come from?
I know that historically the light source on GUIs is in the upper left, casting a shadow on the bottom-right of buttons and the upper left of fields. Now, I see some places (like Apple) use a top ...
42
votes
10answers
2k views
What is the best way to inspire users to choose strong password?
Most of the users use weak passwords. They may use weak passwords even for services where they store sensitive information. I think it's because they don't believe that their password may be ...
19
votes
7answers
962 views
Is it ok to style a label as a link to “trick” users into hover it?
The title alone would probably result in a chanting "NO!" as a popular answer, but please let me elaborate.
Background
We have a table of Something:s. Each Something can hold 1-5 Items. In the table ...
23
votes
15answers
1k views
Should personal data be asked at the beginning or end of an online survey
Given a 10-step online survey (mostly yes/no radio buttons), where is it best to ask for the users' personal data e.g. name, age, contact details?
My intuition says putting it at the end will yield ...
7
votes
3answers
491 views
How to better name modal buttons “Cancel Request” (submit), “Cancel” (cancel)? [duplicate]
One modal-box asks the user wether they want to really cancel the request. Now there are two buttons (submit) and (cancel), but how to best name them? All other modals use text like "proceed" (submit) ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
When is a right-handed navigation sidebar appropriate?
When is a right-handed sidebar for navigation a good choice? If possible, I would like some examples where it has been used, such as this sidebar from Google's official blog.
11
votes
3answers
722 views
How can the classic footer elements be integrated into an infinite scrolling layout?
Infinite Scrolling is a fairly new and effective way to display practically infinite amounts of data in a user's window, but one page element simply does not suit itself to this method; the footer. A ...
4
votes
3answers
241 views
Is offering more than one openid/social-sign-in option a good idea?
Lots of sites nowadays offer the option to log in via Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on, and sometimes a standard username/password option as well.
While this goes a long way toward helping users ...
2
votes
3answers
430 views
Should I use customized social buttons
I am facing a cornelian choice.
Should I use custom social sharing buttons for UI consistency or should I keep them original for better recognition ?
2
votes
1answer
354 views
How do interstitial ads impact site UX?
(Spawned by How should Ad splash pages be handled for those with ads disabled?)
Has any data been published on the impact of interstitial (whole page ads between content) on the user's experience? Is ...
26
votes
7answers
976 views
How patient are users at wait dialogs?
What is the length of time the average user will wait at a wait indicator (i.e. a spinning circle, beach-ball-of-death, egg-timer) before they think something has gone wrong?
If anybody can point to ...
72
votes
18answers
6k views
Are age verification banners effective?
I'm curious as to whether or not these Age Verification banners that appear on some sites are really "effective". That is to say, do these really help to deter/prevent users that are underage from ...
23
votes
6answers
1k views
activation email message optimization
I've got a site (e.g FooBar) and 1 out of 2 users registering never activate their account (via clicking on an email link) so I'm trying to improve this.
The flow is pretty standard:
user lands on ...
9
votes
2answers
389 views
Is duping the consumer really a good business practice?
I have had this at the back of my mind for sometime and I believe UX is the proper place to post this though I may not phrase the question right so please chime in if you have suggestions!
There are ...
13
votes
6answers
531 views
Greyed-Out vs Invisible
What is a good criterion or rule-of-thumb for determining when a control should be greyed-out and when should it be completely invisible?
13
votes
7answers
505 views
How do you go about convincing the stubborn “powers that be” to let you change a clumsy layout that users are used to?
How do you go about convincing the stubborn "powers that be" to let you change a clumsy layout that users are used to?
Say there was a layout in a previous version of software from years back and ...
11
votes
4answers
656 views
“Shaking” button leading to increase in conversion rate?
I'm just running an experiment on the UX Pin homepage. One group got a "shaking" button (the big orange sign up starts to shake after few seconds) and the other group got traditional "static" button.
...
7
votes
5answers
151 views
Alternatives to showing file size in a download?
I think I've seen somewhere that only showing the size of a file for download is not particularly useful for some users (in particular those less technical users). I guess the argument for this would ...
7
votes
7answers
753 views
How to measure self reported computer proficiency? Ideally with one item
For a usability test, I'd like to have a simple measure for computer proficiency, to be able to see, whether it has an impact on successfully handling the tasks.
How can we best measure that?
A ...
6
votes
7answers
975 views
Red buttons in an e-commerce site?
I'm designing an e-commerce site with red buttons. It has a yellow/white background and it looks quite good that way.
Now, my boss finds the same, he likes it, but he is doubtful, because red could ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
Easiest to read fonts
Has there been studies to determine what fonts make it easiest to read? I'm interested in the font type, but also size and color. For example, is dark gray better than pitch black?
Also of interest ...
14
votes
6answers
690 views
Consistent UI experience
Shouldn't a user interface be as consistent as possible?
I believe when a user uses an interface, he experiences certain behavior from the interface, and tries to couple those experiences to the rest ...
11
votes
5answers
741 views
Why do users erase all the password when they hit one wrong key, instead of just the last wrong character?
We login to applications almost every day. The password is stored in our fingers, as an automated process (if they have used it long enough). When users realize they have entered a wrong character ...
8
votes
3answers
142 views
Show the current votes before or after voting?
When votes are shown before someone votes, there seems to be crowd mentality that results in the post with the most votes (usually the first answer) getting disproportionally more votes - even when ...
5
votes
2answers
342 views
designing an “online / offline ” status indicator and examples of existing ones with good practice
Im trying to integrate an online / offline User Interface element in my application ( web app) I have some trouble getting it matches with the other user interface elements, and wonder what you guys ...
4
votes
6answers
254 views
In what situations is a “barrier to entry” training requirement before use appropriate?
Sparked by this discussion.
Is there ever an argument to be made that products should be deliberately made difficult to use as a barrier to entry for the use of that product?
If so, in what sorts of ...
2
votes
2answers
584 views
9
votes
3answers
132 views
What is better than top-posting and bottom-posting?
Chat programs usually put the most recent information or message below others (bottom posting). Forums and feeds put the most recent information above others (top posting). Is any one better than the ...
6
votes
5answers
294 views
How many social buttons?
There are millions of social networks out there. Of the top popular ones, like Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.,
Q: How many, in numbers, should be put up at all?
UPDATE: Organization ...
6
votes
3answers
125 views
Where should I display 'free shipping if payment by debit card'?
I've been working on an e-commerce website, and the stakeholders want to add the following text: 'free shipping if payment by debit card'. Where should I display this on the website?
I think the most ...
5
votes
3answers
230 views
Should field labels be nouns or verbs?
On a web form should field labels be nouns or verbs? This issue arose from two fields on an account request form that currently read:
Temporary Password
Re-Enter Temporary Password
There is debate ...
5
votes
3answers
520 views
Jumping progress bar or running process indicator?
I'm developing a process with a predefined number of steps to complete so while process is running I can know how far the process has gotten and how much is there still to be done.
My process ...
4
votes
4answers
390 views
Which case is good UX? A Peugeot VS BMW Story [closed]
This question applies to a different product than most UX designers are used to discuss: cars.
Long story short, in my short 7 year driving experience I've be mostly driving two cars: a 2005 Peugeot ...
4
votes
6answers
359 views
Creating Interfaces that Build Emotional Bonds
What are factors in the user experience that lead to users having an emotional tie to an interface, why, and what would be an example of each factor.
4
votes
2answers
423 views
Alternative control to drag and drop for assigning tasks to an individual?
I am working on a web application for Branch Managers at an investment bank to assign accounts that are without Financial Advisers for whatever reason. Some reasons are the Financial Adviser has ...
3
votes
3answers
70 views
Rely on user awareness by autoselecting or prompt the user to actively choose?
I came across a small dilemma in my development, namely whether as a designer I should rely on a user to actively review settings before submitting an action, thereby justifying having it pre-set, or ...
3
votes
6answers
238 views
Why do some webmasters INSIST on having auto-playing music elements on their webpages? [closed]
Is there any positive reason why someone might implement an auto-playing audio feature onto a webpage? I seem to see it all the time, especially on band pages and so on. The frustrating thing is ...
2
votes
1answer
55 views
What is an effective way to present System Update Progress to a user that also lowers frustration?
I am working on an app that starts installing any pending updates when a user logs off the (Windows) workstation. The finished app will look like this (minus 'button1'):
Our branding is in the ...
2
votes
3answers
313 views
Pan/zoom/select in multitouch
I'm currently working on creating a tablet-compatible version of an application. First off, I know that the worst thing to do is to try and shoe-horn in a bad implementation of multi-touch into an ...
2
votes
1answer
132 views
Unclosable last tab in firefox. Is this a real decision?
Is there any convincing reason behind the decision to make to last open tab un-closable in Firefox? This change has been introduced several versions ago, and I still can not understand why I'm not ...
1
vote
2answers
94 views
Combining rotation and straightening of images
Topic may seem weird as the two terms seem to mean the same.
Clarification:
Rotation: The typical way of grabbing a corner and pulling in the direction you want the image to rotate.
Straightening: ...
-2
votes
2answers
108 views
Which one you think is better approach for viewing notification - facebook or quora/forrst?
Which one you think is better approach for viewing notification - facebook or quora/forrst (where you need to hitting the clear notification button) and why?
For reading notification in fb, you just ...
