REVIEW:Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity - by Jakob Nielsen - Review

Telecomworldwire, Oct 6, 2000

TELECOMWORLDWIRE-6 October 2000-REVIEW:Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity (C)1994-2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com

There is one piece of advice in this book about designing websites that made me like it immediately when browsing the contents.

This is not a book about how to make cool features for a website, but rather about what type of features visitors will also think are cool. Although the book makes an impression of being aimed for a business audience, it can be warmly recommended to anyone who has considered creating and maintaining a website. It is the type of book that should be read before starting the creative process and the author quotes a 'well-known' rule: creativity is 10% good ideas and 90% sweat and creating websites is no exception to the rule. The author also advises the reader to avoid using frames in web design as far as it is possible and as I have seen too many sites with awkward and poor use of the design, I tend to agree with him.

The book consists of sections such as page design, contents, site design, designing for intranets, accessibility for users with disabilities, international use and future predictions. The book however starts with an explanation of what usability is and why it is important, pointing out that the majority of surfers will only scan the text on a page and if the site has not revealed the information wanted after that time, it is easy to continue elsewhere. This usability goes both for the size, design and contents of the site and for the text, as most visitors will not have the patience to wait while a big site is downloaded and neither will they have the patience to read lots of text to find what they are looking for.

The author recommends that would-be web designers read this book before a book about how to create different features for websites in order to get an idea of what works and doesn't work when it comes to usability. One issue that caught my attention was the section on usability for disabled users, as this type of usage makes demands on the design of a site as no other. Details that need to be considered in this context are transcripts of audio files and the size of the clickable area in imagemaps, for those with an hearing impairment.

The layout makes the book is easy to read and it has many examples of actual websites in colour to illustrate the points the author is trying to make. There are also framed 'boxes' with information, which are excellent when browsing the contents or for a reader who uses the book for reference. Although the author provides many rules for designing websites and recommends an 'engineering' point of view rather than an artistic one, he also points out that one has to know the rules to know when and why they may sometimes need to be broken.

CONCLUSION:It is actually hard to say anything negative about this book, as it gives the reader what it promises, lots of useful information about the usability of websites from different perspectives. The book can be highly recommended for those who want to create user-friendly sites and I would call it a must for any business who wants to create a strong online presence.

Title:Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity Author:Jakob Nielsen Published by:New Riders ISBN:1-56205-810-X Price:GBP32.14, USD45.00 Reviewer:Ann Sundqvist This book was provided for review by Computer Manuals (http://www.computer-manuals.co.uk).

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