All Questions
37
votes
16answers
3k views
Why do we say we “browse” to a place on the Internet when we actually download a web server’s content to our browser? [closed]
Browsing the web is a common daily task for more than a billion users, and we do not pay much attention to it. We just “browse to a place” or ask our laughing friend across the table “where she is on ...
37
votes
8answers
1k views
How do we stop users overpaying in financial web forms?
Submitting my online council tax payment last week, I made a mistake. Instead of specifying £63.00 in a freetext payment field (about $100USD), I missed the dot and am now poorer by £6,300 (about ten ...
37
votes
8answers
2k views
As a programmer, how do I move into User Experience Design?
I've been a developer for over 6 years, mainly working in the web context, and generally distributed applications, services, and also front-facing apps. I got into programming originally through ...
37
votes
2answers
6k views
Ideal column width for paragraphs online
There is nothing worse than coming across a website with paragraphs that span the width of your screen resolution. They are usually so hard to read, I don't even bother.
A lot of web designers use ...
37
votes
7answers
932 views
How should you show that an accordion is expanded?
When you have an accordion, you need some way of showing the current state is expanded.
There are a number of different ways of handling this, and each is used by a number of respected websites and ...
36
votes
22answers
3k views
What would be a good non-religious icon to represent that a person has died? [closed]
I have an application that displays information about people in an organization and their accomplishments in the organization. It is non-religious in nature and members can be of any or no religion. ...
36
votes
5answers
1k views
How should we prepare users for a site overhaul?
We've taken over a legacy web application that has been running without anything changed for the past 4 years.
We are currently re-writing the application because the original source code has severe ...
36
votes
7answers
2k views
Could scaring users be good UX?
I work on an application that's designed to be usable by new users, but has a lot of complicated configuration for advanced users. Our approach to keeping users away from delicate settings is to make ...
36
votes
8answers
2k views
How to work with visual designers who treat wireframes as literal graphic suggestions?
Recently I started to face quite many cases on my client projects when a visual designer on the team produces design that looks like wireframes produced by me, only colored. Perhaps, the obvious ...
35
votes
11answers
3k views
Can an OK button do nothing?
I guess the answer is probably "just be consistent" but if not I could use some fodder for arguments for and against.
Here's the scenario
A dialog box with a list of things to choose
Something ...
35
votes
6answers
2k views
How can I highlight errors when bright red is the main color of the brand?
I'm working on a mobile website for a client whose main brand color is red. The website header and headings are all red. CTA buttons are red too. How can I effectively separate errors (mostly in form ...
35
votes
6answers
3k views
Infinite scroll vs Pagination in E-commerce websites
Infinite scroll has been around for a while now, however I have not seen infinite scroll being implemented on any successful or well known e-commerce sites.
Does anyone know of any e-commerce sites ...
35
votes
3answers
2k views
Humor on the deathbed
Here is a rather accurate description of an extremely rare situation, displayed by a program right before seppuku:
cannot handle the fatal error due to a fatal error in the fatal error
handler!
...
35
votes
6answers
5k views
Regular pagination vs. infinite scroll
I'm currently making a dating site, my choice for pagination is between the traditional:
[<< Prev] [1] [2] [3] [Next >>]
vs
[ Load More ]
The 2nd is the "load more" bar or button ...
34
votes
11answers
3k views
Is “Never tell your password to anyone” message in chat really necessary?
In almost every chat window I open, there's this fairly obvious statement:
Never tell your [password/credit card/social security/etc] to anyone.
Are there some standards for chat functionality that ...
34
votes
10answers
2k views
What's the point in electronic devices beeping on keypress?
Many electronic devices, mostly cell phones, by default beep on keypress. What's the point in that?
Once a key is pressed their state is changed and that's reflected in the graphic interface anyway. ...
34
votes
8answers
1k views
What would be a good way to thumbnail audio?
I want to represent an audio file in an image with a maximum size of 180×180 pixels.
I have been thinking about something similar to what Soundcloud does, although it will require some chopping and ...
34
votes
16answers
1k views
How long should a page take to load?
Back in 1997 Jacob Nielsen was suggesting:
Currently, the minimum goal for response times should therefore be to get pages to users in no more than ten seconds
Obviously expectations have sped ...
34
votes
6answers
6k views
Using “Sign in” vs using “Log in”
Is there any research in this area, it seems "Sign in" is more common and hence more recommended.
34
votes
11answers
2k views
Why do Microwave oven UIs fail?
I’m not a professional chef, but I do know my way around the kitchen and its machines. The dishwasher, the fridge, the freezer, the stove and the oven all works as expected in many homes. Could you ...
34
votes
5answers
2k views
why are circular buttons in software/websites so rarely used?
Why are circular buttons in software/websites so rarely used? Is it purely convention or are there usability reasons behind this?
34
votes
4answers
2k views
Can you, and should you, design against buyer's remorse?
We know that one way to design an engaging experience is to design for emotion, e.g. as outlined in Aarron Walter's book of the same name.
Part of the process of designing for an emotional response ...
34
votes
5answers
2k views
Do “promo codes” or “coupon codes” do more harm than good?
My clients seem to love coupon and promo codes, but I've recently become very skeptical of them. When I'm shopping there's times I'll see a promo code field and I'll wonder off to other sites to find ...
34
votes
6answers
5k views
When is endless paging appropriate?
When is it appropriate to use endless paging in a web application (e.g. auto load or a "see more" link)?
Examples
Google Reader
Facebook
This also creates a few issues for the user:
Returning ...
34
votes
9answers
1k views
Do non-technical/non-web savvy users understand the concept of tags?
Here at Stack Exchange we're currently wrestling with weaknesses in our tags system. As we open up new verticals – some of which include very non-technical users like cooking – we suspect that the ...
33
votes
9answers
3k views
What are the drawbacks of designing a Windows application to look like a Mac application?
I'm working with a company whose product is a Microsoft Windows application.
As the UI/UX designer (and as a Mac user) I want to redesign the application so it is more visually appealing.
Are there ...
33
votes
16answers
2k views
What is the best way to represent the difficulty level in a children's game?
I am building a game for children.
The game contains questions.
Age range: 5-18.
Context: learning.
Before the questions I have a screen where the children select a difficulty level:
I want to ...
33
votes
8answers
2k views
How much information should you ask for when users register?
So the company wants all the information it can get on the users of its site, but how much should be asked for upon registration?
On one hand, it would be easier for the users to enter only personal ...
33
votes
6answers
1k views
Should an interface ever say “please”?
Often I'll see a website, especially when registering or filling out a form that says something like "Please only use letters and numbers in this field" or "Please try again."
Please is a pleasantry ...
33
votes
13answers
1k views
What word can be used to mean either click or tap?
Very often we need to speak generically about clicking or tapping an item, but there seems to be a lack of vocabulary in English for this. We could just say "click or tap" every time, but that is ...
33
votes
9answers
7k views
Should checkbox labels be to the right or the left?
I've got some checkboxes with text values of varying lengths (from say 5 characters up to about 60) - which is the preferred layout? Value to the left and checkbox to the right, or vice versa?
33
votes
7answers
2k views
Do users trust shortened URLs?
I've got some problems with shortened URLs personally; they're really easy to create and not descriptive, so it's fairly easy to make them link to malware. I'm talking about links like ...
33
votes
5answers
1k views
What research is there suggesting modal dialogs are disruptive?
It seems "Everyone" knows they're highly disruptive for many situations but often times clients don't. Particularly in desktop applications this form of dialog is often misused, often disrupting a ...
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?
32
votes
11answers
10k views
Why is it impossible to deselect HTML “radio” inputs?
Previous title: Default behavior of HTML “radio” inputs: Did they get it wrong?
In HTML, there are currently two types of "checkbox" style controls:
Checkbox: Allows toggling on/off, multiple ...
32
votes
9answers
1k views
Drawing users' attention to unrecoverable actions?
We're working on an internal business app, and throughout the process the users have been very involved in all aspects of the design. They have explained their workflow, terminology, etc. and the app ...
32
votes
5answers
1k views
If nobody reads Privacy Policies or Terms and Conditions, why not change them?
Once I read that if you were to read all the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and similar documents that you ideally need to read before using software or online services in a given year, you'd ...
32
votes
3answers
2k views
What's the deal with Windows 8 elements with ALL CAPS?
Here's how Microsoft new Windows Azure portal elements look like:
and that seems to be "Windows 8 style". Visual Studio 2012 also has plenty of user elements in ALL CAPS.
For dozens of years ALL ...
32
votes
6answers
4k views
Is scrolling better than clicking to reveal more content?
Which is faster? Scrolling down or clicking a button to reveal more content? Currently, our site requires clicking of page numbers to reveal more content. We have 9 channels per page, which fits on ...
31
votes
5answers
3k views
Default gender, “Male” or “Female”
Should our default gender when selecting male/female on the dropdown list be based on the local sex ratio (if a country have more female than male then female is the default value)?
31
votes
11answers
4k views
Which UI/UX sketching software is recommended? [closed]
Which UI/UX sketching software do you use and would recommend? Why?
31
votes
7answers
2k views
What is the impact of spelling mistakes for users?
My team developed a site that has a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes.
Does this leave a bad impression for first time visiting users?
31
votes
6answers
2k views
Should “Like us on Facebook” be a required field on a form?
I came across a Facebook app/tab for a brand that required that the person Like the brand before being able to submit the form. I'm used to normal "like-gates" in which a splash screen is shown saying ...
31
votes
13answers
8k views
Is it true that “the only 'intuitive' interface is the nipple”?
Everyone knows the famous quote (by Bruce Ediger or Steve Jobs, I'm not sure):
The only "intuitive" interface is the nipple. After that it's all learned.
It's an amusing gem, but is it really ...
31
votes
8answers
2k views
Merging firstname/last name into one field
I am entertaining the notion of a single field for name entry on our scheduling web app. I think this is an excellent case for a "forgiving format" to make it easy to enter their names quickly.
I ...
31
votes
11answers
3k views
How much should a UX professional know about front-end development?
Apologies if this is too much of a fuzzy question, I was wondering what people's thoughts were regarding the level of front-end development knowledge a UX professional (Experience Architect, Usability ...
31
votes
9answers
2k views
Why don't most elevator panels let you unselect?
We've all seen it in the movies where a kid will push all the buttons in an elevator. We've all likely done it - accidentally hit the wrong floor.
There's no unselect after you select a floor in an ...
31
votes
9answers
3k views
The Usability of “Lightbox UIs”
Lightbox UIs are becoming a lot more prevalent in mainstream web-design. You know the drill -- click on a link, the background fades darker, and up pops a UI for interacting with an object, making a ...
31
votes
2answers
2k views
What rules does Google use to make a button gray, blue, or red on their sites?
This has been an elusive topic, and I haven't yet been able to form my own conclusion about what Google's reasoning is to make a given button blue, red, or gray, given their latest design ethos. Take ...
30
votes
12answers
3k views
Why is resizing the browser window bad practice?
I asked how I can resize the browser window with JavaScript. Everybody told me not to do it. Why is this a bad practice?
I think sometimes it can be good. For example, I want to show users a tweeting ...
