Creating Web sites is easy. Creating sites that truly meet the needs and expectations of the wide range of online users is quite another story. In Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity, renowned Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen shares his insightful thoughts on the subject. Packed with annotated examples of actual Web sites, this book sets out many of the design precepts all Web developers should follow.

This guide segments discussions of Web usability into page, content, site, and intranet design. This breakdown skillfully isolates for the reader many subtly different challenges that are often mixed together in other discussions. For example, Nielsen addresses the requirements of viewing pages on varying monitor sizes separately from writing concise text for "scanability." Along the way, the author pulls no punches with his opinions, using phrases like "frames: just say no" to immediately make his feelings known. Fortunately, his advise is some of the best you'll find.

One of the unique aspects of this title is the use of actual statistics to buttress the author's opinions on various techniques and technologies. He includes survey results on sizes of screens, types of queries submitted to search portals, response times by connection type and more. This book is intended as the first of two volumes--focusing on the "what." The author promises a follow-up title that will show the "hows" and, based on this installation, we can't wait. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered: Cross-platform design, response time considerations, writing for the Web, multimedia implementation, navigation strategies, search boxes, corporate intranet design, accessibility for disabled users, international considerations, and future predictions.


From Library Journal
While everyone wants to design cool web sites, no one wants to think simple and consider whether the design actually accomplishes its goal, which is usually to sell, teach, or entertain. The sole exception is Nielsen, who has made a living speaking and writing about what works and what doesn't work in interactive media. His simple, well-written, and well-illustrated book discusses web usability, page design, content design, site design, intranet design, accessibility for users with disabilities, international use, future directions, and simplicity. Buy more than one copy. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Tom Peters, Management expert, Author (In Search of Excellence, The Circle of Innovation, et al)
"Eighty gajillion things have been written about the Web. Do we need one more? Answer: Yes! If it's from Jakob Nielsen. Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity is a masterpiece. Jakob knows his stuff like, literally, no one else! This book is a pleasure to read. And invaluable. May simplicity rule!"


Sam Vincent Meddis, Technology Editor, USATODAY.com
"Jakob is hands down the most perceptive and articulate person working in this field today, and I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. Designing Web Usability should go a long, long way in making the Web a far more appealing, effective and user-friendly medium. For the good of us all, let's hope every Web designer in cyberspace reads it!"


N.J. Stoyanoff, Ph.D., Director of E-Business, Ogilvy & Mather
"This text is a must-read for anyone involved with site design."


Raymond G. Nasr, Director, Office of Corporate Affairs, Novell, Inc.
"Jakob Nielsen's timing is perfect. The explosion of the Internet has produced a myriad of ways to design and present Web-based content. By focusing on the user experience, these guidelines map the way to happier customers , brand loyalty, and success on the Web for businesses of every kind."


Henry Lichstein, VP, Citibank
"With Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity, Jakob Nielsen proves what many of us thought after reading Usability Engineering -- his books are indispensable tools for Web site architects and designers. With Designing Web Usability, Nielsen offers a comprehensive overview of the practical problems to be solved in web sight design. He goes at the "what" and the "how." He explains in clear prose and describes using current examples of what is right and what is wrong with Web sites seen by millions. "If you follow Nielsen's instructions carefully you will be rewarded with faster Web projects and satisfied Web customers. There is no reason to make the same mistakes others have made, and no reason to make your users frustrated by your Web site's design. Designing Web Usability goes a long way toward solving today's problems today."


Book Description
Users experience the usability of a web site before they have committed to using it and before making any purchase decisions. The web is the ultimate environment for empowerment, and he or she who clicks the mouse decides everything. Designing Web Usability is the definitive guide to usability from Jakob Nielsen, the world's leading authority. Over 250,000 Internet professionals around the world have turned to this landmark book, in which Nielsen shares the full weight of his wisdom and experience. From content and page design to designing for ease of navigation and users with disabilities, he delivers complete direction on how to connect with any web user, in any situation. Nielsen has arrived at a series of principles that work in support of his findings: 1. That web users want to find what they're after quickly; 2. If they don't know what they're after, they nevertheless want to browse quickly and access information they come across in a logical manner. This book is a must-have for anyone who thinks seriously about the web.


From the Publisher
It's true: Reading this book may be the most cost-effective action youll ever take to ensure that your website still matters a month from now and a year from now. Jakob Nielsen is one of the more sought-after speakers and commentators in the world of high-tech because of his message and the eloquence with which he delivers it. The message is simple--at least on the surface--and is accessible to anyone who will listen (and multitudes do each year): Put USABILITY first. Practice SIMPLICITY. The challenges and complexities to the 'put usability first' philosophy of design can begin when ideation turns to planning and planning turns to implementation; the challenges perhaps never stop, but Jakob helps you to understand them and to enable yourself to make the continual adjustments necessary to survive and prosper in the 'user-first' world of the web. The best thing about this book, along with what you'll learn about yourself and others who use the web (and how to improve the usefulness of your website immeasurably), is that Designing Web Usability is flat-out one of the best reads you'll encounter--in technology publishing or elsewhere. Jakob has a gift for communication that enables him to wrap his vision in a lucid, compelling discourse that appeals to academics and lay people, web designers and web users. Designing Web Usability holds this broad appeal because Jakob's message makes so much sense, while being masterfully communicated on so many levels. Who said you can't have fun while expanding your horizons? New Riders is honored to have worked with Jakob Nielsen over the past two years as he's written and refined Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity. We believe it's been well worth the wait. Let us know what you think... --Steve Weiss, executive editor, New Riders


About the Author
Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D. is a User Advocate specializing in web usability and a principal of Nielsen Norman Group (http://www.nngroup. com), which he co-founded with Dr. Donald A. Norman, former vice president of Apple Research. Until 1998, Dr. Nielsen was a Sun Microsystems Distinguished Engineer and led that company's web usability efforts starting with the original design of SunWeb in early 1994. His previous affiliations include the IBM User Interface Institute, Bell Communications Research, and the Technical University of Denmark. Nielsen is the author and editor of 8 other books and more than 75 research papers on usability engineering, user interface design, and hypertext. He is also a frequent keynote presenter at industry conferences. Nielsen is the founder of the "discount usability engineering" movement for fast and simple ways of improving user interfaces. Nielsen's Alertbox column about web usability has been published on the Internet since 1995 (http://www.useit.com/alertbox) and currently has about 100,000 readers. He is also the usability columnist for Ziff-Davis Network's DevHead and a web design critic for Internet World magazine. He holds 46 U.S. patents, mainly on ways to make the Internet easier to use. Dr. Nielsen's website is at http://www.useit.com: It's text-only and pretty fast.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Can you afford to be less knowledgable than your competitors? Over 100,000 Internet professionals around the world have already bought this book. Users experience the usability of a site before they have committed to using it and before they have spent any money on potential purchases. The web is the ultimate environment for empowerment, and he or she who clicks the mouse decides everything. Jakob Nielson, shares with you the full weight of his wisdom and experience. From content and page design to designing for ease of navigation and users with disabilities, Nielsen delivers complete direction on how to connect with any web user, in any situation. Nielsen has arrived at a series of principles that work in support of his findings: 1. that web users want to find what they're after quickly, and 2. if they don't know what they're after, they nevertheless want to browse quickly and access information they come across in a logical manner.

SYNOPSIS

Look at the Web as you've never seen it before, through the eyes of the average user.

Users experience the usability of a site before they have committed to using it and before they have spent any money on potential purchases. The Web is the ultimate environment for empowerment. He or she who clicks the mouse decides everything.

In this landmark design reference, the world's acknowledged authority on Web usability, Jakob Nielsen, shares with you the full weight of his wisdom and experience. From content and page design to designing for ease of navigation and users with disabilities, Jakob Nielsen delivers complete direction on how to connect with any Web user, in any situation.

Topics include: Site Design: home pages, navigation, search capabilities Page Design: cross-platform design, response times, linking, frames Content Design: writing for comprehension, writing with credibility, using artwork/photos, audio and video, animation, multimedia Intranet Design: information infrastructures, employee productivity, extranets Designing for Users with Disabilities: visual, auditory, speech, motor, cognitive, assistive technologies Designing for an International Audience: translations, multilingual sites, regional/cultural differences Where the Web is Headed: options for the future including information applicances, Web browsers, restructuring the media space What visitors respond to, and how they respond to it.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal