Web Page Design

The Anatomy of High-Performing Web Pages

Kara McCain Nielsen Norman Group

Usability Week 2012

Instructor
Kara McCain is a User Experience Specialist with Nielsen Norman Group. For more than 15 years, she has been creating innovative brand and user experiences in the search, social media, luxury, hotel, travel, jewelry, telecommunications, professional sports, ecommerce, government, and food-service industries. Her expertise has allowed her to develop and implement highly successful web and print design strategies for Fortune 500 companies. Before joining Nielsen Norman Group, McCain was a senior visual and interaction designer for Yahoo!'s Search and Social Media division, working on Yahoo! Answers, Local search, and defining the way people integrate social media into search. Prior to Yahoo!, she also led the Web design effort for clients such as Verizon, Pizza Hut, The Ritz-Carlton hotels, the Dallas Stars, Radio City Entertainment and the Zale Diamond Corporation. McCain holds a B.A. in Graphic Design from Abilene Christian University.

Conference Hashtag: #nnguw Follow me @karacita1

Icons you will encounter in this seminar:

This is a bad idea, don t do this; or the website did not implement this well

This is a good idea, or website implemented this idea well

Keep in mind or Remember to do this

Tips to help you

Dangerous idea, do not implementyou re asking for trouble

This will guarantee failure and/or your users will hate you. AVOID.

How Users Approach Web Pages

Scanning, eye-tracking, scrolling & the fold

If you begin every new design (or redesign) with the common behaviors of users in mind, it will make design decisions a lot easier. Generally, people move through a page relatively quickly, faster than most of us would prefer. Its only in certain cases that a person is willing to spend more of their precious time and attention on a site.

Scanning vs. a Thorough Review

On the Web, users are impatient with short attention spansthey only spend an average of 27 seconds on a page. They dont read much, they scan, seeking information quickly. So how you communicate (and allow users to communicate with you) matters. Q: So when do they actually read? A: When it s content theyre interested in (i.e. news story)

Scanning vs. a Thorough Review

What do users pay attention to?
! Headlines

(usually the first several words) ! Subheadings ! Bold/emphasized text ! Short, important paragraphs ! Lists What do they ignore?
! Intro/marketing/welcoming

copy ! Long or heavy paragraphs of text ! Irrelevant images

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www.turningpointlv.org

Little hierarchy makes it difficult to scan around for important information everything has nearly equal weight, demanding equal attention

www.socialsecurity.gov

Headlines are bold, larger than body copy & easy to scan

Short paragraphs are easy to read quickly

www.latimes.com

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Where Users Look The Eyetracking Evidence

F-Pattern of reading: The way users scan a page with little content hierarchy, in the shape of a letter F (sometimes E). More attention is paid to:
! Words at beginning of line than the end ! Words toward the top of text section

(vs. middle or bottom)

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Where Users Look the Eyetracking Evidence

F-pattern scanning!

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Scrolling and the Fold

Its 2012. There is no one (or two) strictly defined fold anymore.
The fold existed when virtually everyone had a 640 x 480 (or even a 1024 x 768) monitor. Now people access websites from all kinds of deviceswith varying viewportsand you cant always predict which one they will use to access your site.

1997: 640 x 480

2012: It could be anything!

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Scrolling and the Fold

But there is an ever-present fold on every deviceit just depends on the screen size & mode the user is in. The area on a page that is viewable on the screen without having to manipulate the page by scrolling/using arrow keys (usually referred to in the vertical sense) is your fold. Design with that in mind. People spend 80% of their attention in that area. Do users scroll? Yes, but they only spend 20% of their time looking at information below the fold.

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80% of attention 20% of attention

Realistically, users read about 20% of the text on an average page

www.nytimes.com

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--------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------

Main navigation is right above the fold If you click a main nav button, content shows up here (below the fold, where user may not ever see it).

www.zennaware.com

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What about long articles?

Article broken into multiple page views

VS.
Single canvas with scrolling
www.mayoclinic.com
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Scrolling beats paging

Its easier for users to keep scrolling rather than decide if they want to click through various pages, foraging for information. If you choose a single canvas, you still must prioritize information and implement good hierarchy.

www.mayoclinic.com

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Horizontal Scrolling
What about horizontal scrolling?
First note that people spend more than twice as much time looking at the left side of the page as they do the right Left side: 69% of time Right side: 30% Most attention between the 300-500 pixel markers On a 1024 x 768 screen only 1% was viewed past 1024 pixels (that s worse than below-the-vertical fold s 20%) So, keep the most important information on the left: between 1/3 and 1/2 way across the page)
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Do not take control away from the user.

Scrollbar has been disabled, so user must use arrow keys (unless on iPad or touchscreen phone) to scroll or move around on the site

(default viewport)

(entire canvas)

www.yourauxiliary.com

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Right-to-Left Languages
What about languages that read right to left? More attention paid to the beginning of the linethe right side of the text Its not a mirror image, though, unless the layout of a site mirrors the left-to-right layout.

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True right-to-left layout

Mixed layout, but with right-to-left reading

www.emaratalyoum.com

www.haaretz.co.il
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So if you add it all up

300-500 pixels 80% of attention up here

Your most important content should lie within this area

20% of attention down here

www.nytimes.com

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Other things to note

! Users will fixate on an item that is interesting, even if its far

below the fold. It helps if the layout is designed to encourage scanning.

! The last element in a list often attracts more attention ! the last

thing a person sees stays in the mind (the recency effect ). Put something good there!
! Intensity in viewing degrades the farther the user scrolls !

dependent on motivation and interest

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Remember this little guy?

If you have long pages with a lot of content, its nice to provide users with a quick way to jump back to the top of the page if theyd like.

www.thefancy.com

Bagcheck.com/mobile

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Remember
Design for scanning behavior
! Most important information at the top of the page ! Group related sections of content together ! Use descriptive headlines/subheadings ! Use bullets for lists ! Only use images that are relevant

Design for scrolling behavior

! 80/20 attention range ! Most important info on the left ! No horizontal scrolling ! Consider leaving long content on 1 page rather than paginating ! Consider adding a Back to Top link for long pages
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Working with Visuals & Typography

How to guide users attention to the important stuff

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Rules of Typography: General

Some conventions from print also apply to the Web
!Legibility and contrast

If people cant see it, they cant read it

!Usage and number of fonts

Decide which font is truly appropriate; try to stick to two fonts (three max)
!Usage of serif & san-serif

Use one for headlines, the other for body copy

!Leading and kerning

Spacing between letters, spacing between lines of text

!Hierarchy, grid & scale

Balance between sizes of fonts, images & eye rest

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Rules of Typography: Web

!USING ALL CAPS (except for headlines) THIS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING! Please dont " !Font Stacks If custom font cant display, back-up safety fonts step in !Pixels, ems & percentages Fonts need ability to scale up or downpoints cant do this! !Color differences Dependent on monitor resolution & quality ! test on multiple machines !Text inside images ! if used for information, bad idea You cant select it (to copy/paste) and screen readers cant read it

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Typography Font size

!Points are absolute (which is why they arent good for Web) For most sites you want to use relative font sizes. Use %, smaller/bigger, or ems
ems: do not have an absolute sizethey size themselves based on where they reside (i.e. the browser), so if the default browser font size is 16 px., then 1 em = 16 px. ; also relative to parent elements font size %: Percentages are relative to another value (such as the width of a containing block) Smaller/bigger: relative to the default browser size and parent elements font size

!Be nice keep font sizes above 10 pt type 14-16 pt type is best for readability !Check your pages type at 90%, 125% or higher See if type overflows and breaks the container space. Use CSS to control column widths/heights and font sizes. Remember, some users increase their font size via the browser/OS so plan for possible fluid containers.
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2011: No hierarchy
This site has lots of useful information but the typography (and layout & colors) make it difficult to scan or read

www.baking911.com, 2011

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2012: Better!
The layout has structure, better typography and a softer color palette.

www.baking911.com, 2012

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Design for readability

Main navigation is in tiny type that could be hard to read for most users

www.dailyexpress.co.uk

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The main user goals & selling points are designed for prominence among the rest of the content

www.natureair.com

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Highlight important & useful information

Use typographic hierarchy to direct users attention.
Tip: If you stand back from the page (or squint your eyes), the most important, relevant information should easily stand out.

www.everyblock.com

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Typography Font color

A high-performance design requires good choice of font colors in addition to good typography.
!No more than 4 colors (to avoid the rainbow effect) !Avoid dark backgrounds + bright text Unless its a headline or title, this is tough to read !Avoid color-on-color combinations that cant be read
! Red on blue ! Yellow on red ! Light on light ! Dark on dark

Tip: De-saturate your website to black & white (or print it out in black & white) and look at the contrast. It should still be easy to read. If not, adjust the colors and repeat the process.
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Gold text would be okay for a single headlinenot okay for multiple lines of text, especially on a black background

www.bloomberg.com (old site, 2010)

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Much better!
! Text is easier to read ! Headlines stand out from body copy ! Cleaner overall

www.bloomberg.com (updated in spring 2011)

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Extreme color contrast + bolding entire page makes reading painful

www.tacobell.com

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Red-on-blue text is tough to read, even as a headline

www.houstontexans.com, 2011

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Design for good color contrast between type and background

www.mariecatribs.com

www.lbdsociety.com

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Using Images Effectively

Users approach images in one of two ways
Totally ignore them
! Giant marketing photos ! Pictures irrelevant to the content or subject ! Stock photos (customer service lady on a headset)

- OR Fixate on & judge them

! Product photos ! Photos of real people (CEO of company, celebrities, etc)

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Using Images Effectively

On the Web, people only look at 42% of images presented to them. They look at those images for less than 2/10 of a second. Photos can give a persons eyes rest from lots of text, but too many of them can add to a users cognitive load ! obstacle course behavior

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Using Images Effectively

Which ones get the most attention?
! High quality, high contrast ! Captivating, emotionally moving ! Cropped for smaller space constraints (not squashed to fit) ! Easy to understand ! Highly relevant ! Smiling, happy people; people facing the camera ! Sexual in nature ! Appetizing food

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Images are highly relevant to content and help tell the story

www.bbc.co.uk

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Photos that dont match the headline/content may cause confusion or get ignored

www.bbc.co.uk

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High quality, attractive product photos draw users in

www.teavana.com

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Appetizing food + well-cropped photos

www.tastespotting.com

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Black & white historical images need good, high contrast

www.sfcityguides.org

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When people look happy, are smiling and looking at the camera, it catches the users attention

www.zappos.com

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Using Images Ineffectively

Which ones get the least attention?
! Looks like an ad (even if its relevant to your content) ! Too busy, too much going on ! Irrelevant to content, used as a filler ! Obvious stock photo, fake looking ! Black & white photos that are too gray

(not enough contrast)

! Boring

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Image used as a filler, doesnt help visualize parking options

www.nycballet.com

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Hats are photographed from different distances, causing them to look like hats for children rather than women

www.bluefly.com

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2011: Images are entirely too small to decipher

http://www.fedex.com/us/office/index.html

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2012: A little betterimages are larger and used more sparingly.

http://www.fedex.com/us/office/index.html

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Mega Menus
Organizing a large amount of navigation

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Mega Menus
Benefits:
!Allows users to navigate larger portion of a web site in one

rollover, versus drilling down through multiple levels

!Allows room for growth without compromising a sites current structure or

design
!Allows room for grouping links into categories to show

hierarchy
!Illustrates a larger selection of choices

Misused when:
!Menu is too long, user has to roll off to scroll (thus losing the menu

altogether)
!Crowded with overwhelming amount of navigation
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Menu is well-organized, in alphabetical order and makes use of highlighted rollovers

gatesfoundation.org

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Pay attention to how the mega menu works against the area behind it

conservation.org

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The ad (and the call-to-action button) in the mega menu competes with the ads/call-to-action behind it. A mega menu is not the place for ads)

staples.com

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Not enough contrast between mega menu & main page so links run together

www.dell.com/us/p/

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Keep the menu well the Pay attention to how the above mega menu screens edge avoid users works against the to area behind it having to scroll to access lower menu items

www.whitehouse.gov

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This multi-tasking mega menu houses real-time, at-a-glance data

www.reuters.com

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Avoid overloading the mega menu

Avoid increasing a users cognitive loadthis makes it difficult to focus.

www.nih.gov

www.carnival.com

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The mega menus photos add to the distinction between products without taking away from the task of navigating

www.steinway.com

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The mega menus photos add to the distinction between products without taking away from the task of navigating

www.iwc.com

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2011: Menu becomes seamless with the rest of the interface when open, BUT looks like a new page has opened

www.nbc.com, 2011

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2012: Mega menu is slightly better, but still has issues

www.nbc.com, 2012

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Paper & Pads is actually 20 listings of Paper, 11 listings of Pads and 13 additional listings ! NO FOCUS

www.staples.com

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2011: mega menu for the site map was link overload

www.dell.com, 2011

2012: Better! Mega menu has digestible number of links, stays above screens edge, much cleaner
www.dell.com, 2012
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Can you spot all the design problems?

www.emc.com

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This is a mega menu under a screen magnifier

www.whitehouse.gov mega menu

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Mega Menus
Pros:
!Everything [in a section] is visible at once ! no scrolling !Links can be grouped in related sets to show hierarchical

relationships; icons, text sizes & colors can differentiate importance

!Condenses main navigation into smaller chunks by [better] handling

sub-navigation

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Mega Menus
Cons:
!Low-vision users who rely on screen-magnifiers might only see a

portion of the menu.

!Touch-screen devices lack hover capability, so on-rollover/on-rolloff

activation does not work

!Zoom-capable mobile devices might only show a portion of the menu !Mobile users (without zoom-capability) might see a cut-off version of

the menu
!Doesnt work if JavaScript or CSS is turned off

(only main nav button shows)

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Mega Menus
When to use:
!Your site has a great deal of navigation and content

When not to use:

! Mobile version of your site ! Majority of your users will be using screen readers to view your site

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Mega Menus: Working on the timing

Our general rule of thumb:
!Users mouse should remain stationary for 0.5 seconds before

displaying anything hover-dependent

!Interface elements must render within 0.1 seconds to show users

action has been taken

!After user rolls their mouse off, wait 0.5 seconds before allowing menu

to disappear (except when pointer moves to another destination inside the menu)
!Menu must then disappear within 0.1 seconds !Test response time on different computers/browsers

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Remember
Guidelines for using mega menu:
!Menu !List

activates via on-rollover

links vertically (maximum 5-7 per column) categories together when appropriate, bold category name alphabetize links or order them according to most needed

!Group !Either !Do

not allow menu to go beyond the fold context of how menu looks over entire page

!Consider !Clearly

show which section user is in rollovers

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!Highlight

Functional Footers
Utilizing the end of a page, better than ever!

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Functional Footers
Not just a hall closet for your legal obligations!
(and that one link you forgot to add in the wireframe)

Footers of the past:

!The home for legal links (Privacy Policy, Copyright, etc.) !Used teeny, tiny text !Placed at the very bottom of the page where (hopefully) no one noticed it

Not sure where to put that not-really-important-but-still-required link? Viol! Put it in the footer!

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Functional Footers
Footers of today
The valuable bottom-most real estate has useful information to help users move throughout the site and complete tasks more efficiently. These links also improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO). These extra links can help search engines (and people) find your content more easily (if links arent also in main navigation). Visually, many designers are giving the footer as much visual prominence as the header.

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CNBC repeats their main navigation, only with subnavigation opened up in the footer

www.cnbc.com

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Footers breadcrumb navigation shows path hierarchy

Footer relates to main section (in this case, Mac)

www.apple.com
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Visual treatment to divide footer from rest of the page Social calls-to-action

GOOD IDEA: Contact information is expanded (rather than just a contact us link)
www.traveltex.com
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Navigation within section Links to other sections user is in currently

Most popular links inside section

finance.yahoo.com

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If your site has a large amount of content to navigate through, having a search box in the footer can be helpful

foodnetwork.com

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Visual style of footer maintains continuity with the header and overall design concept Header = above ground Footer = below ground

floridaflourish.com

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Remember
Guidelines for implementing functional footers:
!List

links vertically (maximum 5-7 per column) categories together when appropriate, bold category name alphabetize links or order them according to most needed adding a search box if appropriate trail should show where page lies in hierarchy of site

!Group !Either

!Consider

!Breadcrumb !If

possible, expand contact information rather than making a link footer unique to the audience/purpose

!Make

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Designing on a Grid
Implementing structure to the content

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The Grid-Based Layout: a Tool, Not a Rule

What it is
Roots from print design, a layout based on a defined number of columns & rows spaced at regular intervals ! creating order out of chaos.

How its created

Mathematical ratios of columns, rows and gutters are created to ensure consistency, that the typography scales well and content is easily read. Columns are [groupings of grid units] used to align page elements. Gutters are the spaces between the columns ! same width throughout the layout.
Note: Contents typography should be addressed before implementing a grid-based layout. Do not adjust type size for the sake of fitting content inside a grid.

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Why a Grid-Based Layout Works

!Creates an orderly framework for designer/developer, can even make

the design/development process faster

!Gives website structure, consistency & logic for users !Lots of layout options, many different kinds of grids

Myth: Following a grid restricts creativity

Fact: Music, language and architecture all have order/rules but that does not stop the output from being diverse and beautiful A grid is not meant to define a design, its meant to work with the design your design does not have to look grid-like.

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Columns (thick dark areas)

Gutters (thin light areas)

BBC s website based on a grid

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9 Columns, 10 Gutters

www.waterworks.com

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www.thegridsystem.org

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Tips for a Grid-Based Layout

Before working with a grid:
!Address content/typography & image issues first
Do not adjust fonts & type size or shrink/expand images in order to force content into a grid

!Determine the constraints of the project

! Advertising accommodations ! Device(s) website needs to work on ! CSS framework being used ! check the default dimensions of framework

Pixels are your base unit of measurement

!Use increments of pixels, not individual pixels !Increments of 10 px is a good start (but not a rule, of course)

Align page elements to columns

Think of columns as guides
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Integrating Music, Video & other Multimedia Elements

When its appropriate and how it should work

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Aside from avoiding automatically playing music, make volume controls easy to find

www.fergie.com

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Allow the user to choose when to play something

ge.com

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Use correct, standardized icons for players

clickmix.com

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Use correct state for icons

Music is actually not on

johnnyrockets.com

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If showing advertisements, show how long ad will be

cnn.com

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Avoid using technical terms only some users will understand

(unless you are targeting video/audio professionals)

hulu.com

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! Avoid using tiny icons for

file types & be clear about what icon represents format so user can select the one they want

! Offer more than one

investors.yum.com

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Displaying Videos in Search Results

On a general search results page:
Thumbnails are on right side of results because they are complementary to the query focus

yahoo.com

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Displaying Videos in Search Results

On video-only search results page
Thumbnails are displayed in a gallery rather than a list to maximize space
If user clicks play button, video plays at top rather than opening a new window or going to another page

yahoo.com

Video name Length Date Source

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Integrating Other Multimedia Elements

Make sure multimedia addresses the design problem you are trying to solve. Sometimes it can enhance an experience, other times
it can become over designed and make it worse. Know your audience, their needs and technical knowledge base.

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World of Warcrafts audience is very tech savvy but the website chooses to keep instructions and interactivity simple
Simple rollovers help explain game mechanics to new players

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/game/guide/getting-started

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Entire website is exploratory so finding basic information about jeans is difficult. Product images are not helpful.

http://www.mediaboom.com/prospectdenim/

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Alternate product views are available and simple to use

www.zappos.com

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Multimedia overkill

Important information is hard to read in small text box Scroll bar has also been redesigned so not as noticable

www.gotmilk.com

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Information is easy to find and read; animations are kept to a minimum and only activate on rollover

www.8thcontinent.com

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Recap: Integrating Music & Video

Do NOT auto-play (especially in a pop-up)
! Allow users to decide when they want to play something; they might not want

to listen to it at all or are already listening to their own music

! Consider users who have multiple browser tabs open (and have no idea

where music/audio is coming from ! irritating)

! Consider users who might not be in an optimal place to project sound (work,

public place)
! Music & video interferes with screen readers ! accessibility problem

Keep videos under 3-5 minutes

!Break up longer videos into several digestible segments !Our data shows peoples interest tends to wane after 24 seconds

Choose files that are designed for your audiences connection speed & device
!Not everyone has broadband so content may load slowly
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Recap: Integrating Music & Video

Implement correct usage of music/video player controls
!Avoid designing new & different onesstick with convention (users see these

controls on lots of other sites besides yours)

When possible, host your own content (vs. putting it on YouTube)

!You want to maintain strict control over your content & how its shared !If allowing comments, you should have them on your site where your audience will contribute vs. the larger YouTube audience

Avoid being too technical or too vague with options

!Not everyone understands what 480p means (unless site is for specific audience)

If showing ad, display how long it will play/time left to play

! Better to show ad after initial clip rather than before, if possible

Use text markup for accessibility and SEO

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Within-Page Updates for Dynamic Pages

How to use them & when to avoid them

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Within-page updates give users timely information without having to reload the page or click to another page entirely, saving the user time and effort.
Other Advantages
! Information is stored in a database rather than being hardcoded into static HTML

pages, allowing for quicker updates

! Better customization ! server can create a page based on user-input ! Large sites do not have to build thousands of HTML files. Templates are used

instead and display custom information based on user input ! saves time and server space.

Disadvantages
! Dynamic pages are not always indexed well by search engines ! Bookmarking can be difficult because same resources might not exist next time

user visits the page

! Some users will not have JavaScript enabled to see updates
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Shopping cart dynamically updates when user adds a product to their cart. BONUS: User can calculate shipping costs inside the cart Note: user must notice even small changes that occur
www.skincarerx.com

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User can mouse over a product image to easily zoom in on product features

www.burton.co.uk

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Instant feedback can be helpful to prevent user errors

www.twitter.com

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User can manipulate layover duration, trip leg & price range via the slider bars

Good: Be specific about criteria being used

Rather than using $ $$$$ which is vague

www.kayak.com
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Give feedback to let users know content is updating

Changes should occur very close to where a users focus already is But be specific:
The wording should reflects users filtering choice: Filtering by price

www.kayak.com

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Map choices to user selections (and removal) when involving location

www.hotwire.com

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Tips for Within-Page Updates

Optimize pages for search engines
!Keep the parameters short and few !Keep your URLs short !Use a [static] site map/site index to encourage deep indexing

Develop with progressive enhancement

!Your site should look and work well in HTML ! add enhancements as a bonus so viewers of either get the information they need

Give feedback when content is updating based on user input

!Specifically reflect user s parameter choice Use: Filtering by location Not: Fetching Results

Dont over notify users when content updates frequently

!Ex: Flashing icon every time an email is received (bad when user receives many emails in a short period of time)

Response time should be fast

!Ideally less than 0.1 seconds
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When to Avoid Using Within-Page Updates

If poor performance & caching issues hinder user experience
If significant % of users are using screenreaders and/or screen magnifiers to view site
!Screenreaders announce when a new page loads, not when new content within the page loads !Screen magnifiers only show portion of the page, which user might miss

If the feature doesnt really support user need

!If your site has few repeated actions, creating a complex GUI isnt worth the time or money !A non-dynamic feature that works just as well or better should be used instead

If the user experience is not improved by using update

!Test the features against a replicated page that doesnt use them and evaluate success/failures

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Advertising & User Behavior

How people react to ads online

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The worst thing you can do when advertising online is neglect the user experience

Fake dialogue box Most hated #3

Measurements for traffic & click-through rates do not include user dissatisfaction or drop in credibility/opinion. Using correct design techniques can improve the impact of your ads and keep your credibility in tact.
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Most-hated ad techniques (in order of disgust)

1.! Popup ads ! associated with unsavory content 2.! Ad loads slowly 3.! Ads that look like system messages or real content with no clear distinction between the two ! unethical! 4.! Does not have a close button 5.! Covers what you are trying to see 6.! Doesnt say what it is for 7.! Moves content around 8.! Occupies most of page 9.! Blinks on and off 10.! Floats across the screen 11.! Automatically plays sound
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Disdain for ads has led to banner blindness.

Q: But what if its not an ad, its real content? A: Youre still in trouble if it has:
! Heavily formatted areas of text ! Made up terms, branded descriptions, fancy marketing speak ! Promotional copy or images + copy, even for your own information/products ! Design elements that look like ads

In addition to banner blindness, bad advertising techniques

! Create a poor user experience ! users lose trust ! Degrade credibility/opinion of your site ! Degrade credibility/opinion of your company (if its your ad on another site)

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Specials or promotions that look like your average banner ads will most likely be ignored

www.schwans.com

127

If you want to promote your content on your site, design it to blend in with the rest of the site so users know its from your company

www.carnival.com

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Banner takes up most of page

Irony: this is on an advertising news site, right above an article about good design

www. http://advertising-information.com.com

129

Video news: looks like ad

News report: looks like ad

Website poll: looks like ad

www.webmd.com

130

This is the equivalent of a pop-up ad, but worseuser has to close the modal dialog before accessing page

designtutorials4u.com

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Designing for Evil: purposefully abusing UI behavior, knowing some (or many) users will mistaken the interaction for something else like an important alert

Irony: the article under there is about annoying, intrusive ads

bizreport.com
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Q: Are there any successful ads? A: Yes!

! Text-based ads on search engines
(This could follow into the category of making ad look like content but it is content and many times is relevant, even if paid foronly most relevant ones will show up)

! Classified ads ! Ads that:

! Indicate what happens if clicked ! Relates to user s activity online ! Identifies itself as advertisement ! Presents information about what is being advertised ! Provides additional information without having to leave the page

Ads most effective at attracting user attention

! Plain text ! Faces ! Cleavage/private body parts (sex sells)
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Search ads are designed to look like the rest of search results page
Why isnt this designing for evil? Because the ads only display when they are truly relevant to the users query

www.google.com

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Tips for Using Advertising Online

Use ethical advertising practices
!Dont design for evil just because you know something works !Consider your long-term reputation

Speak plainly, make options clear, provide useful information Avoid pop-ups (and modal boxes that act like pop ups) Dont accept ads on your site that 85% of the population hates
If using other companies ads on your site, put them in the periphery of the page. If on the home page, they should be as small & discreet as possible.

Work with the medium

Take mobile users into consideration. Many ads dont cross over from desktop to mobile well, causing a bad experience.
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Productive Use of the Twilight Zone

Using the right-hand column to your advantage

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What we know about horizontal attention

! !

Users spend 69% of their time viewing the left side of the page They only spend 30% viewing the right side
(remaining 1% is if they have to horizontally scrollwhich they tend to avoid doing)

Study done on 1024 x 768 monitor

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How to make use of this Twilight Zone of the page

! Provide supplementalnot crucialtools or information relevant to main content ! Maintain consistencyonce users learn where to look for tools/ information they will look there again and expect to find it ! Area should be looked at as a place to enhance user experience ! you should be able to remove the elements on the right side of the page and still have a successful task completion

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Relevant facets also containing results from users search query listed on right

www.flickr.com

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Photo remains focus of page. Secondary attributes and features of photo are placed at the right Photo attribute: where photo was taken

Photo carousel: other photos from user Other places in site where photo appears

Photo attribute: tags associated with photo Privacy settings for photo (owner can toggle)
www.flickr.com
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Customers who purchased this item also purchased these items If item is new or there are no related items, informational (but not crucial) content moves up

www.zappos.com

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Supplementalbut not critical information on the right side

Users can quickly learn where tags and Related Questions live in the UI because they are consistently placed

http://ui.stackexchange.com/

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Design Criteria for Special Purpose Pages

Home Category Product Gallery SERP listings

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Design Criteria: The Home Page

The home page is the front door to your website and it gets more views than any other page. When users land on another page in your site from a search engine or deep link, one of the first places they go to is the home page.

Top Things to Improve Home Page

!Dont literally welcome users to your site ! use a good tagline instead !Design the home page to look differently than all other pages (should still fit with

overall look-and-feel)
!Make sure the search box is prominent

Top area of page is best (right or left) ! should be about 27-30 characters long
!Avoid putting any top horizontal navigation (primary or otherwise) above graphical

treatments such as horizontal rules or banner areas ! might invoke banner blindness

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Design Criteria: The Home Page

Top Things to Improve Home Page (cont)
!Use graphics & photos to show real content ! label photos that arent

obvious in their relation of the story.

!Edit photos and diagrams appropriately for the display size !Avoid animation on the home page ! too distracting, too many other things

competing for users attention

!Do not force an animated intro on your users ! give them an option to skip

it (better yet, dont use one)

!Limit font styles to 2 (one serif, one san-serif)

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Take the red pill or the blue pill?

http://www.motorola.com/us

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Allow room for white space dont fill every pixel on the page with content ! hard for users to focus

www.tigerdirect.com

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Use photos of people that have a real connection to the content, not generic stock photos

www.telestream.net

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Label people in the photo (even if they are famous) Also cite the source of the photo

www.espn.com

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Dont shrink down large images to fit a small space.

Crop the photo and offer link to see larger version.

Way too small to read!

www.nycballet.com

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If you offer a link to see a larger version of a map (or image) make sure it is, in fact, significantly larger

www.goodsam.org

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Avoid overlydecorative fonts Keep number of fonts to a minimum (1-2)

dollardreadful.com

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Design Criteria: Category Pages

Top Things to Improve Category Pages
!Keep options to a comfortable minimum to avoid crowding the page and

overwhelming the user with choices

!Be careful in how you display featured items ! it can look like those are

the only things you offer

!Avoid designing navigational options look like product listings !Distinguish similar items from each other !Dont automatically move users into a subcategory of products !Keep main categories to a minimum so users aren t overwhelmed with

choices

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Avoid making navigational options look like product listings ! page can be confused with an actual product page

www.crateandbarrel.com

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What are the differences between these televisions?

www.tigerdirect.com

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Featured items look like only items available

www.staples.com

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2011: Too much space devoted to descriptive or promotional images, rather than content

www.rei.com, 2011

2012: A little better descriptive image is removed to elevate content

www.rei.com, 2012
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Design Criteria: Product Pages

Top Things to Improve Product Pages
! Use short, descriptive product names ! List the most important information first in product names ! Use high-quality and large/detailed enough images for products ! Indicate if styles, colors or options other than those pictured are available ! If different colors of the same product are listed as unique products, always

present the other color options on the product page

! Show availability information on product listing pages ! Clearly indicate how products are sorted ! Provide a way to compare details of similar items ! show images w/details

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Short product descriptions tell exactly what makes up each chocolate bar ! no marketing text

www.vosgeschocolate.com

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Products are listed as individual items, even though its the same item in different colors

Product detail page focuses on chosen color while showing additional color options

www.zappos.com

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Price + available size information are available on product listing page (on rollover), saving the user time

www.yoox.com

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Design Criteria: Gallery Pages

Top Things to Improve Gallery Pages
!Use short, descriptive information for each image/video !If relevant, provide image/video size, date created/uploaded, length of time,

source
!For video, choose thumbnail/static screen that clearly denotes what the video

is about ! avoid black screen with just a play button

!Allow white space between images/videos to give eye rest and time to visually

process images
!Let users choose to see a smaller number of larger images or a larger number

of smaller images

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User can filter by image size, color, and black & white

Image information isnt available until user rolls over image

images.yahoo.com

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Thumbnails of videos are screenshots from each episode Episode title, season, episode number and length of clip are given

www.hulu.com

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Design Criteria: Search Result Listings

Top Things to Improve Search Result Listings
!Mimic the search results layout of major search engines

(Google, Yahoo!, Bing)

!If supplementing listing with a photo, place photo to the right of the result !If user does an image or video search
! Many results display as a gallery ! One or few results display the image/video first with text-based information to

the right

!If result is a document or article, display date it was written, type of

document (PDF, Word doc, etc.), and weight

!Allow sorting for many results ! place sorting options close to results !If there are zero results, provide related query options (as links) to start a

new search ! do not tell them sorry, try again

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The formula: Search result Title

Display text (called the abstract) Page URL

People expect search results on your page to look and act like results from a major search engine

Yahoo! Search results

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Prompt users to clarify a query if different types of results will show up

www.gettyimages.com

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In Conclusion
Creating high performing pages involves applying solid design and usability principles at every stage of your sites development. However, sometimes a tweak here and there can take your regular, its not bad page to one with higher conversions, happier users and higher profits. No matter what design elements you decide to implement, always test and re-test!

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Thank you!

Need to contact me?

e-mail: McCain@nngroup.com

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References & Recommended Reading

Designing on a Grid
Showcase of grid-based designs
www.designbygrid.com/showcase

YUI CSS Grid Builder

http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/grids/builder/

GridFox Firefox plug-in

http://www.puidokas.com/portfolio/gridfox/

Typogridphy A Typographical & Grid Layout CSS Framework

http://csswizardry.com/typogridphy/

The Gridulator Plug in your numbers and get a grid!

http://gridulator.com/

Blueprint CSS Framework

http://www.blueprintcss.org/

Book: Ordering Disorder: Grid Principles for Web Design by Khoi Vinh

Responsive Layouts
Book: Responsive Web Design by Ethan Marcotte
Tutorial: http://www.slideshare.net/AaronGustafson/css-adaptive-layouts-with-media-queries
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References & Recommended Reading

Design Guidelines for Special Purpose Pages
Book: Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed by Jakob Nielsen & Marie Tahir Reports: E-commerce User Experience Report by Nielsen Norman Group
http://www.nngroup.com/reports/ecommerce/

Designing for Various Platforms

Report (free): Usability of iPad Apps and Websites by Nielsen Norman Group
http://www.nngroup.com/reports/mobile/ipad/

Online Web Fonts

Typekit // typekit.com Monotype Imaging //webfonts.fonts.com Fontshop www.fontshop.com

Designing for International Pages

IBM s Guidelines to Design Global Solutions: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/globalization/guidelines/

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! ! ! Design Review
Are you sure that your website needs help but unsure of why? Do you simply need a credible, outside confirmation of your assumptions? In either case, NN/g can help. In these Design Reviews we leverage the thousands of hours of live usability research our experts have completed to sniff out the usable and unusable elements of your design. Experts will assess the usability of your design working, wireframe, or prototype relative to current best practices. The written report we produce includes: a prioritized list of findings the reasoning behind each finding, with examples recommendations for improvements.

! ! !

A Sample of Services Offered by Nielsen Norman Group

Full information about these and more services at:

Limitations: The design must be in English for us to be able to review it. For an intranet, you must provide us with remote access or give us the pages on CD-ROM or similar format that does not require live access.

Usability Studies
NN/g experts have years of experience under their belts in testing not only websites, but intranets, software, mobile devices, and almost anything else that has a user interface. We will test your design, whatever it may be, with the right users, wherever they may be. (If your website markets to the United States but your organization is located elsewhere, we can run studies with American users without the usual extra travel costs of such tests.) NN/g can take care of everything, or help you with just phases of the testing. You decide. Intranets: Testing should be performed at your location. You provide the intranet users, and we can help you with user recruiting.

www.nngroup.com/services

! ! ! ! ! !

In-House Seminars
Any of the full-day seminars presented at this conference, plus various other keynote addresses, by Nielsen Norman Group members are available as in-house events. World-class usability experts come to you and evangelize usability, convert the doubters, and teach the interested. Bring the seminars you enjoyed at our conference back to your office. We can present the content as is to almost any size audience, or adapt the content to best meet your organizations needs.

3-Day Learning by Doing Workshop

This well-received workshop is dual-purpose: Test your design while teaching your team how to conduct usability tests. In this three-day seminar our usability experts guide your team through a fast and simple approach to user testing. And using your design as the case study throughout three days is a very motivating way for your team to learn about usability. We will work with you to: plan the study facilitate the sessions analyze the results report the results.

When the seminar is complete your team will have not only produced a usability report about your design, but they will have learned how to do usability tests on their own.