Website design involves the structure of the website including the information architecture, layout, content, and the conceptual design with branding.
19
votes
5answers
2k views
Best practices for online help
we're currently developing a fairly complex web portal. To improve the user experience, we want to provide a context-sensitive online help system that can aid the user in understanding certain aspects ...
19
votes
5answers
440 views
What makes people vote?
What drives people to upvote or downvote content? I'm looking for the je-ne-sais-quoi quality on successful voting systems and I just can't put my finger on. Let's look at three examples:
...
19
votes
3answers
1k views
Why Do Long, Ugly Sales Pages Convert?
It seems impossible to avoid the litany of "snake oil" sales pages consisting of long, boring videos and endless (and I mean endless) text. These look like UX nightmares, and yet they're becoming ...
18
votes
3answers
457 views
How to show progress towards goal?
On our intranet we display some numbers for our employees so they can keep track of their performance goals. Currently it's just a table.
We'd like something more visual, and this was the first ...
18
votes
8answers
238 views
Do we still need text scaling links on websites?
Links/buttons to adjust font size used to be one of the accessibility must-do's but do we still need to include the text scaling links on our sites?
Most modern browsers and operating systems support ...
18
votes
6answers
1k views
Why is there a convention on the web for dropdown menus on hover instead of on click?
This is something I've always wondered. On all major operating systems, application menus (File/Edit/View etc) only appear on click. However, nearly every web site that uses a drop-down menu ...
18
votes
5answers
256 views
Tools for checking accessibility compliance [closed]
As part of my website designs, I like to make sure that I am adhering to the accessibility standards (Section 508, UK Disability & Discrimination Act, etc...).
Can anyone recommend any ...
17
votes
7answers
929 views
Should the order of add / edit / delete buttons be based on the frequency of their use?
In our application we have several places where users see a list of items and can add, edit or delete an item.
For some of these lists adding new items is probably the most frequent used ...
17
votes
9answers
884 views
Should radio buttons be pre-selected?
I am working on a re-design for a eCommerce site and they have a section where they offer a free gift card if the user makes a purchase over $1000. The idea of the gift card is to get users to ...
17
votes
5answers
1k views
Is it correct to sometimes capitalize words mid-sentence in computer user interfaces?
I've noticed that many sites and user interfaces tend to capitalize certain words or sentences like so:
Choose File
Select a File to Upload
Account Settings
How to Format
but in some other ...
17
votes
7answers
805 views
Are hover states necessary?
We're having a discussion in the UX department here at work as to whether or not hover states are necessary to a UI. We're kind of divided. Here are the two arguments:
Against (started the ...
16
votes
4answers
593 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
10answers
701 views
What to do when customers search for “Cheap” when you want to convey “Quality”?
An ecom client that I am working with has an interesting SEO challenge. They sell products that they want to convey quality and value; however, the #1 thing searched for on Google, Bing, and their ...
16
votes
13answers
992 views
How much value is there in using “industry standard” design elements?
I'm currently thinking about a redesign of my personal website. One of my goals for the redesign is to add to my perceived authority as part of my chosen industry. One option for achieving this is to ...
16
votes
12answers
1k views
What should internal “home pages” and “index pages” be called?
I'm trying to figure out what these respective web pages are called in relation to the larger architecture. Here's a simplified architecture diagram:
I understand that Home at the top is properly ...
15
votes
7answers
611 views
How to measure phone number views without annoying the user?
I'm working on a website where we have customer pages on which we measure user interactions such as opening a booking form or posting a review.
One of the interactions we want to measure is when the ...
15
votes
15answers
1k views
Examples of spartan/basic web sites [closed]
I am looking for examples of web sites that have a very spartan and minimal interface - mostly text and very few graphics or even styling - yet the user experience is good enough that users are not ...
15
votes
6answers
2k views
Contact form or mailto: link?
I'm aware that mailto: links only work for people who use a mail client. Assuming most novice users don't, is it safe to assume that contact forms are only appropriate when the target audience isn't a ...
15
votes
6answers
797 views
Japanese people hate my site [closed]
I did some A/B testing on how language translations affect the ability for people to install a browser plugin. I got around 20 languages professionally translated. I use Javascript to default to the ...
15
votes
4answers
438 views
Case-study for hiding the optional fields?
I am currently designing a web form for the Online Travel Insurance System and I am thinking of hiding the optional fields since there were so many of them. Like the image below.
I put a Show More ...
15
votes
6answers
290 views
Is there a term/name for these labels?
Are there any conventional names for these informational labels?
15
votes
9answers
734 views
How does user interface design fit in a development process?
In a software development process where does the user interface design fit?
If we take an agile approach for a small team (2 juniors, 2 seniors, a Team Leader and a web designer) what normally should ...
15
votes
5answers
540 views
When you have to fill up the rest of the page…
I've noticed that I often run into the same problem in many projects I work on: It seems like I always end up having that extra space that I have nothing to fill up with. Here's a quick sample:
See ...
15
votes
4answers
627 views
What reasons are there for “go to bottom/top” links no longer being used much? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Do people use back to top links?
Some websites have links like Go To Bottom or Go To Top.
It seems like this technique has fallen out of style. Are there good reasons ...
14
votes
6answers
738 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
4answers
853 views
Can a visual progress bar be used as a navigational element?
We're having a bit of a debate here among teammates as to what would be a better UX solution, so I was hoping you guys could help me settle this.
We have a linear flow through a data-collection ...
14
votes
7answers
1k views
Designing for the iPad
I'd like to make my site accessible to people that have the iPad or other iOS devices.
What considerations do I need to take into account when designing a user interface that is compatible with the ...
14
votes
4answers
487 views
Are HTTP error codes user-friendly?
Why do we still have these HTTP error codes?
For me it seems like they are completely useless for the user (not for all but most of them). It says nothing helpful (look at the screenshot above, it ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
Does the average user understand the standard HTML multiple select box?
If I want the user to select one or more items the HTML symantecally correct form element would be <select multiple>.
So the code would be:
<select multiple id="sel">
...
14
votes
8answers
629 views
Why do so many websites have the restriction of user names starting with a letter?
Skype
Yahoo
What is the reasoning behind allowing only letters as the first characters of a username?
14
votes
3answers
356 views
Tags or hashtags?
I have a website at www.flickwit.com. I would like to introduce tags to allow users to search for content more specifically than channels. I have been wondering which option would be more acceptable ...
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.
14
votes
3answers
696 views
Why is that facebook, twitter and grooveshark have 40px height in their nav bar?
Its just coincidence or is a perfect size for a better ui?
14
votes
4answers
234 views
Is it ok to force a user to reenter data instead of editing existing
Is it acceptable to force users to delete and recreate data they entered incorrectly or should they be provided with a way to edit every instance of that particular data?
Use Case:
The wireframe ...
14
votes
7answers
1k views
What is the most pleasant and fast UX when logging in / registering for a private web-app?
In my case, the openId login is out of the question. The application that I'm working on will only allow corporate users with a given specific email domain to register.
The login/register form needs ...
14
votes
2answers
232 views
Does an “Other” category on a Help page have any value?
When designing a Help page or FAQ that is broken down into categories, is a category titled "Other" useful, or does it indicate a poor information architecture?
Sometimes there are truly items that ...
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
5answers
631 views
What is the most user-friendly way to show position of a user on a long leaderboard?
I am designing a gamefication app and I need to show an overall leaderboard, displaying all users with points and positions...
The problem is that the leaderboard requires pagination and the ...
13
votes
5answers
570 views
Encouraging the user to enter a value in an optional field?
This is a follow-up question from the previous question Case-study for hiding the optional fields?
I have taken all the responses from my previous question and I have come up with this mockup, ...
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
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
3answers
477 views
What's the best way to make a user read terms and conditions before continuing a form?
What's the best way to make a user read terms and conditions before continuing a form?
Structure of Form:
Label1 [Textbox]
Label2 [Textbox]
Terms and Conditions [Textarea]
Checkbox ["I agree to the ...
13
votes
4answers
325 views
Adding “Select…” as first option (placeholder) of dropdown list
Would it be considered a good practice to add the word "Select..." as the first option of a dropdown list? I think it's redundant and not at all necessary and what is in the dropdown list should be ...
13
votes
4answers
570 views
How Do I Teach People Rules When They Don't Read?
I'm the product guy for a fantasy sports gaming website. We often find that we need to give people basic rules to get started playing the games, but people always skip reading and try to dive right ...
13
votes
5answers
1k views
Appended and Prepended Checkbox: when can I use this?
A was taking a look at Twitter Bootstrap, and, looking at the Prepended and Appended checkboxes, just cant figure out where, why and when I can use it.
Can someone give me a good example?
13
votes
8answers
996 views
What should be included in a standard web UX/usability audit and recommendation?
UXers here probably audit existing websites or pieces of software that are already established. Sometimes, we are involved in designing them from the start, but for times when we are not, we just have ...
13
votes
5answers
4k views
What is the navigation concept Bootstrap uses called?
The Bootstrap documentation site uses a very interesting navigation concept.
They have a per-page navigation bar that sticks on top of the page once you scroll down and highlights the current area on ...
12
votes
6answers
571 views
Dropdown vs map
Is it a good idea to use map for selecting travel destination?
At the moment we are using dropdown menu to select the country the user would like to visit. We are also using dropdown for duration and ...
12
votes
6answers
678 views
Can I use “Prev” instead of “Previous” on a button?
We use Next/Previous buttons as controls in our image gallery. I'm in the process of implementing responsive design, so there is a limited amount of space that I can be used for these buttons. I'm ...
