dont-make-me-think

from: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability

self-evident / self-explanatory
  obvius - buttons, links, searchs
web users have to keep moving or they’ll die
  users scan (dont read) then click, help them boldface
find smth works, stick to it
visual hierarchy, things should be nested properly
Busy-ness and less background noise
users guess wrong, then click back button
users find something that works, stick to it
no happy talk, no introduction
trunk test
 site id/logo
 page name - should be clear
 sections and subsections (utilities should be seperate)
 local navigation
 You are here - breadcumb (tiny, boldface last)
 make search usable - some only use it - for what (site/book/net) if needed
Persistant navigation
mental site map - find anything later with same path
make home button
tabs
 active tab should be contrast to others or space below it has same color with it
 dont forget welcome tab
home page
 site identity and mission
 hierarchy
 search
 teases
 timely content
 deals
 shortcuts
home page - big picture
 what is this
 what do they have here
 what can i do here
 why should i be here - and not somewhere else
home page
 tagline - clear, informative, just long enough, differentiation, clear benefit, lovely, sometimes clever, not generic, not vague
 welcome blurb - short, boldfaced keywords, not mission
home page - here's where to start if i want to
 search
 browse
 sample their best stuff
pull down troubles
 you have to seek
 hard to scan
 come and goes fast
forms
 dont ask more than needed
 maybe good if partially edit
diminish goodwill
 hiding information taht i want
 punishing me for not doing things your way
 asking me for information you dont need
 shucking and jiving me
 outting sizzle in my way - flash intro, marketing pages
 your site look amateurish
increase goodwill
 know the main things that people want to do on your site and make them obvius and easy
 tell me what i want to know
 save me steps wherever you can
 put effort into it
 know what questions i'm likely to have, and answer them
 provide me with creature comforts like printer-friendly pages
 make it easy to recover from errors
 when in doubt, apologise - university let users know that they dont have library section in site