A web app(lication) uses technologies such as javascript, CSS, and HTML5 and is executed in a web browser.
59
votes
31answers
4k views
Common web app usability gotchas? [closed]
What are some common mistakes regarding usability for web applications?
46
votes
13answers
2k views
Best UI to allow expert users to enter an ip address? (IPv4)
I am working on a web application which requires users to enter an IPv4 address (in dotted-quad decimal notation) for most of the primary tasks they need to perform. Our primary target "user" is a ...
41
votes
15answers
4k views
What are some great web-based prototyping tools? [closed]
I'm looking for a list of web-based prototyping tools and I'd like to build one up here by using StackExchange's democratic voting system.
There are already some lists around the web, notably these ...
32
votes
14answers
3k views
Should double click be avoided in web applications?
I find that double click is a great gesture that could be successfully used in graphical interfaces but for some reason has negative connotation on the web. Should it be avoided at all costs?
30
votes
8answers
1k views
Save, Favorite or Star?
I'm working on a job app and I would like to offer our user the possibility to save a job and let them find it quickly later.
First I thought using a star icon to let them "star" a job like starring ...
24
votes
4answers
1k views
Responsive design: Should I go bigger than 1024px?
I have 6 responsive variations for a web app, from 916px to 320px wide. While running some internal tests, 2 out of 6 people mentioned that they would prefer if the app responded to bigger screens ...
22
votes
7answers
2k views
red checkmark vs. a red “X”
I am currently designing a panel in my business application that shows a table of data to a user. The data in the table is the company's percentage (this is equated by many different values), whether ...
19
votes
4answers
945 views
Why aren't Gmail-like “on-page” dialogs more popular UI solutions?
A few months ago, Gmail gave us the choice to switch to a new UI, with many new features (...) including an "on-page-docked" window. I personally find this piece of UI very useful as it allows users ...
19
votes
4answers
467 views
Any Research on User Experience Perceptions of Native Apps vs Web or Hybrid Apps
My organization is looking at developing mobile applications, we have a wealth of web development resources. There are many factors to consider in making the decision of how to develop this ...
18
votes
10answers
2k views
Is it ok to require certain users to have JavaScript enabled?
I am a firm believer sites should work perfectly fine for people who choose to disable Javascript while browsing any and all of the content.
However, when it comes to higher-level interaction (such ...
17
votes
5answers
302 views
Phased re-designs
I have worked on several projects(line of business web applications) in my career that involved a complete UI overhaul. Most of these projects were enterprise web applications that took a substantial ...
16
votes
4answers
598 views
Showing progress for a long many-step process with a discrete progress bar?
I've got a desktop-focused web application where the user is going to be initiating tasks that take a long time. Sometimes, these tasks will take hours to complete (users don't have to do anything ...
16
votes
5answers
286 views
Should apps allow the use of non-Latin names?
When you have an application with an intended international audience, you are likely to run into issues with names. The W3C has some interesting documentation on names, but I'm not sure how good it ...
15
votes
5answers
677 views
Displaying wait indicator for a long running task — which sometimes completes quickly
In a web application I am working on there are some actions which usually take a few seconds or longer, depending on typical variables (connection speed, PC speed, amount of data involved, host load, ...
14
votes
6answers
771 views
How to show the user the possibility to sort a column with space problems
I am working with a big table with 20 columns and a lot of information.
I know that the most common way to indicate that a column is sortable is by adding a little arrow at the right or left of the ...
14
votes
6answers
618 views
With 'OK' button, 'Cancel' should appear as secondary button or link?
When I make web application designs, every time I style form or overlay boxes with OK and Cancel button. I think of making them different. But is it a good practice?
Some people recommend primary and ...
14
votes
5answers
363 views
Should the UI (or backend) be fixed width or fluid? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
For websites, is it better to have a variable width layout or a fixed width layout?
We are about to rebuild a web based application and currently the UI is fixed width, ...
14
votes
2answers
797 views
Any data available on using Skeuomorphic Design in apps?
I've recently come across an article about Skeuomorphism that peaked my curiosity.
Skeuomorphism: ..."an element of design or structure that serves little or no purpose in the artifact fashioned ...
13
votes
7answers
780 views
How to incorporate a “never” value on a slider?
I have a slider in a web page (similar to this one) to control the the duration of how long to keep an item before it is removed:
The range of values goes from 0 to 90, with the value 0 being used ...
13
votes
6answers
1k views
Blinking, bouncing and flashing elements
I'm responsible for the UI/UX in a software development company.
During my absence, some developers decided to implement a "bounce" effect on a button of a website that they think should have more ...
13
votes
3answers
434 views
Web app keyboard shorcuts
Is it a good practice to give keyboard shortcuts to web apps that allows a user to do tasks that are repeated often. In my personal experience, I've rarely used keyboard shortcuts offered by GMail to ...
13
votes
11answers
453 views
What is the best way to spend a very limited budget on UX design?
We might be starting development of a web product in a couple of weeks. This being a startup, we have a limited budget. It's not zero though, we might spend a couple of grand on UX design.
I would ...
13
votes
3answers
521 views
Which is a good method for delete without confirmation?
I have read around a few places that confirmation messages are not the best way to go about warning users, it's best to let them do whatever they want but give them the option to go back. I thought ...
13
votes
5answers
497 views
How important is it to consider the URL when developing the UI for a web application?
When developing web applications, do user-friendly URLs matter?
Blog platforms seem to be split on the issue. For example, Tumblr posts are frequently in the form blogname.com/post/967129380, which ...
13
votes
2answers
1k views
Custom right click context menu on a web site
Are right click context menus that override the browsers context menu considered a good usability practice?
If so, are there accessibility concerns?
If so, are there any guidelines or best ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views
fixed-width vs full-browser for web app
I'm in the early stages of designing a web application (a network management application). And I can't really decide if to go with a fixed width layout (say 960px) or a variable (full browser width) ...
12
votes
4answers
386 views
Should new users be offered a different interface than existing customers?
I'm considering using progressive disclosure techniques to introduce new users to our product, presenting features and tasks in a timely manner until they have used the product a few times.
Once the ...
12
votes
4answers
734 views
Right-Click menu awareness on Web Application
The web application I am building has a custom right-click menu. I'm concerned that the user might not find this menu as normally right-clicking will only display the default browser's menu. Is there ...
12
votes
4answers
1k views
HTML buttons vs hyperlinks for navigation
When creating an overall site style guide, how do you determine when a button or a hyperlink should be for something other than navigation?
I see many time with the heavy usage of jQuery and AJAX, ...
12
votes
3answers
254 views
What are the reasons why the mobile apps market is more developed and active than the desktop one?
What are the reasons why the mobile apps market is more developed and active than the desktop one?
12
votes
4answers
3k views
What are the advantages and disadvantages of multi-window functionality vs single-window functionality?
I am considering porting a windows application to a web application for one of my clients. The windows application is an MDI app (multiple forms open at once), but obviously the web app would be much ...
11
votes
6answers
455 views
What control to use to select multiple months?
I want to offer the users a way to select a range of months within a year. The selected months are used to display a table of data. The control should be placed above the table and since vertical ...
11
votes
7answers
520 views
Research behind row height within a table?
There appears to be a trend in web-based table design to use a lot more space for each row in the table. In particular the new gmail default of "comfortable."
I'm also seeing it in the height of the ...
11
votes
6answers
386 views
Do users know the difference between a web application and a desktop application?
As cloud applications become more prevalent and the line between what is a desktop app and what is a web app becomes very blurry, different patterns for design, security, privacy and user experience ...
11
votes
5answers
406 views
What should the “save” button be called when editing inline?
In our application, users can click "rename" to perform inline editing of the name of the current document. When they're done editing the name, they click a button to save the change.
I'm trying to ...
11
votes
4answers
237 views
Complicated date field with range option
Context: I'm designing a web form that allows users to enter information about some work they've created (title, description, image, etc).
One of the optional fields will be a date field. After ...
11
votes
5answers
500 views
Making it clear which items in a long list are selected
I'm trying to design a portion of a web interface that allows users to tag items and view all items with a tag or set of tags on them - think gmail, if gmail allowed you to easily select multiple tags ...
11
votes
3answers
341 views
Move filter from sidebar to top?
Has anyone moved their sidebar filter (similar to eBays filter, left example) to the top (YouTube example)?
How did the users respond? I'm tempted to put it on top to keep the UI clean and tidy, but ...
10
votes
6answers
670 views
'Exit' or 'Log Out' to leave your session.
There is a button on a Kiosk style web app I am developing that destroys all session variables and chucks the person back to the logon screen (logging them out).
When I took the project over the ...
10
votes
4answers
527 views
Should the search box be on the left or the right side
In a web app with a search box in the header - where should the search go, on the left or the right side of the header? What considerations should be taken into account when making this decision?
In ...
10
votes
4answers
607 views
Alternative graphical representation of a goal achievement?
The client has a set goal X that he wants to achieve every month and he wants this represented graphically and I agree that it would be a good way for people to easily see how far along they are.
The ...
10
votes
4answers
395 views
How best to show the 'weight' (importance) of bullet-ed items in a non-intrusive (creative) way?
I have a web page with a bulleted list of items each with an associated weight i.e. level of importance. The bullets are of equal width but not necessarily of equal height. Here's a graphical ...
10
votes
1answer
771 views
How do I make a table row on a web page look draggable?
I have a table on a web page where I need to let the user reorder the rows. I was thinking of letting the user drag the rows to reorder them. But how would I let the user know that he could do that? ...
10
votes
3answers
184 views
Should general 404 page be shown to the user if he clicks one-time link second time?
There is a Sign up function in a web application. After user signs up, an email message with confirmation link is sent to his email address. This confirmation link is obviously valid only one time.
...
10
votes
6answers
894 views
User Profile, My Account, or just Settings?
I am writing a little webapp, and am stuck on a UI hangup. I have a global menu bar at the top of the screen, that when the user is signed in consists of:
Signed in as Joe User (with username as ...
10
votes
4answers
331 views
How do I represent null values in a line chart?
I am building a web-based analytics platform. I am looking to plot a line chart that represents the number of seconds it took for me to reach a live service agent via phone on a given day.
In the ...
10
votes
5answers
415 views
Folding columns of a kanban view
In our enterprise management software, we use "kanban" views for different purposes; pipeline of business opportunities, tasks, recruitment process, bugtracker, etc. The example bellow shows the ...
9
votes
7answers
453 views
Simplified facts or casual talk, which makes a better UX?
Which makes for a better User Experience: using copy that states the facts as simply as possible, or copy that speaks in casual language. (Context: a Web App )
Here are 3 examples as the answer may ...
9
votes
3answers
496 views
Pros/Cons of date- and datetimepickers [closed]
What pros and cons do you experience when using datepickers in web forms or software?
What do you think is missing sometimes?
What bugs you when using a datepicker?
I want to know, either from ...
9
votes
4answers
516 views
Whats the best way to present interface ideas to stakeholders?
My current preferred method of developing and testing ideas for interfaces I'm designing is creating interactive, sketchy, grayscale prototypes using Axure. I find using grayscale helps put the focus ...
