Homepage usability : 50 websites deconstructed

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Where to find it

Information & Library Science Library

Call Number
HD30.37 .N54 2002 c. 2
Status
Available
Call Number
HD30.37 .N54 2002
Status
Available

Library Service Center — Request from Storage

Call Number
HD30.37 .N54 2002 c. 3
Status
Available

Authors, etc.

Names:

Summary

The book begins with a briefing on Jakob's web usability principles, themselves culled from years of research. The 50 sites fall under such categories as Fortune 500 Sites, Highest-Traffic Sites, and E-Commerce Sites.
The content is simply presented: Four book pages are devoted to each homepage. The first page is a clean screenshot of the site's homepage (for readers to make their own, unbiased judgments), followed by a page that explains the site's purpose and summarizes its success--or failure--at usabilty. The third and fourth pages are devoted to crtiques, where Jakob and Marie present no-holds-barred commentary for specific usability practices, as well as suggestions for improvement. Although only the homepage of each site is analyzed, many of the critiques can be applied to overall website design.

Contents

  • Preface p. 1
  • The Role of the Homepage p. 2
  • The Organization of This Book p. 4
  • Your Action Items p. 5
  • The Companion Web Pages p. 5
  • Homepage Guidelines p. 6
  • What's Not in These Guidelines p. 8
  • Determining Homepage Content p. 8
  • General Web Design p. 8
  • Vertical Industry Segments p. 8
  • Accessibility p. 9
  • International Users p. 9
  • The Guidelines p. 9
  • Communicating the Site's Purpose p. 10
  • Communicating Information About Your Company p. 12
  • Content Writing p. 14
  • Revealing Content Through Examples p. 16
  • Archives and Accessing Past Content p. 17
  • Links p. 18
  • Navigation p. 19
  • Search p. 20
  • Tools and Task Shortcuts p. 21
  • Graphics and Animation p. 22
  • Graphic Design p. 23
  • UI Widgets p. 24
  • Window Titles p. 25
  • URLs p. 26
  • News and Press Releases p. 27
  • Popup Windows and Staging Pages p. 28
  • Advertising p. 29
  • Welcomes p. 29
  • Communicating Technical Problems and Handling Emergencies p. 30
  • Credits p. 30
  • Page Reload and Refresh p. 31
  • Customization p. 32
  • Gathering Customer Data p. 32
  • Fostering Community p. 33
  • Dates and Times p. 33
  • Stock Quotes and Displaying Numbers p. 34
  • Homepage Design Conventions p. 35
  • Homepage Design Statistics p. 36
  • Download Time p. 39
  • Basic Page Layout p. 39
  • Page Width p. 40
  • Liquid Versus Frozen Layout p. 40
  • Page Length p. 40
  • Frames p. 40
  • Fundamental Page Design Elements p. 41
  • Logo p. 41
  • Search p. 41
  • Navigation p. 43
  • Footer Navigation p. 43
  • Site Map p. 44
  • Routing Pages p. 44
  • Splash Pages p. 44
  • Frequent Features p. 45
  • Sign In p. 45
  • About Us p. 46
  • Contact Info p. 46
  • Privacy Policy p. 47
  • Job Openings p. 47
  • Help p. 48
  • Graphics and Multimedia p. 49
  • Pictures p. 49
  • ALT Text p. 49
  • Music p. 49
  • Animation p. 49
  • Advertising p. 50
  • Typography p. 51
  • Body Text and Background Colors p. 51
  • Link Formatting p. 51
  • Recommended Homepage Design p. 52
  • Sites
  • About www.about.com p. 56
  • Accenture www.accenture.com p. 60
  • Amazon www.amazon.com p. 66
  • The Art Institute of Chicago www.artic.edu p. 70
  • Asia Cuisine www.asiacuisine.com.sg p. 74
  • Barnes and Noble www.bn.com p. 78
  • BBC Online www.bbc.co.uk p. 82
  • Boeing www.boeing.com p. 88
  • Cdnow www.cdnow.com p. 92
  • Citigroup www.citigroup.com p. 96
  • Cnet www.cnet.com p. 100
  • Cnnfn cnnfn.cnn.com p. 104
  • Coles www.coles.com.au p. 110
  • Directv www.directv.com p. 116
  • Disney www.disney.com p. 122
  • Drugstore www.drugstore.com p. 126
  • eBay www.ebay.com p. 130
  • eMagazineshop www.emagazineshop.com p. 136
  • Espn www.espn.com p. 142
  • ExxonMobil www.exxon.mobil.com p. 148
  • FedEx www.fedex.com/us p. 154
  • Federal Highway Administration www.fhwa.dot.gov p. 160
  • Florida Department of Revenue http://www.sun6.dms.state.fl.us/dor p. 164
  • Ford Motor Company www.ford.com p. 170
  • Gateway www.gateway.com p. 174
  • General Electric www.ge.com p. 178
  • General Motors www.gm.com p. 184
  • Global Sources www.globalsources.com p. 188
  • IBM www.ibm.com p. 194
  • James Devaney Fuel Company www.jamesdevaneyfuel.com p. 198
  • JobMagic www.jobmagic.net p. 202
  • Learn2 www.learn2.com p. 208
  • Microsoft www.microsoft.com p. 212
  • MotherNature www.mothernature.com p. 216
  • MTV www.mtv.com p. 220
  • NewScientist www.newscientist.com p. 224
  • NewsNow www.newsnow.co.uk p. 228
  • PBS www.pbs.org p. 234
  • Petsmart www.petsmart.com p. 240
  • Philip Morris www.philipmorris.com p. 246
  • PlanetRx www.planetrx.com p. 252
  • Red Herring www.redherring.com p. 256
  • Slusser's Green Thumb www.slussers.com p. 260
  • Southwest www.southwest.com p. 266
  • Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com p. 270
  • Travelocity www.travelocity.com p. 274
  • USA Today www.ustoday.com p. 280
  • Victoria's Secret www.victoriassecret.com p. 284
  • Wal-Mart www.walmart.com p. 288
  • Yahoo! www.yahoo.com p. 292
  • Appendix p. 296
  • Index p. 306

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