Accessibility in the user experience isn't just about humans — it's also about technology, says columnist Shari Thurow. She explains how she measures accessibility and offers some tips on developing an accessible website.
How can you develop and maintain a clear, sustainable website labeling system? Columnist Shari Thurow shares her tips and best practices.
Columnist Shari Thurow explains the ins and outs of taxonomies and why creating and maintaining them should be a key part of your marketing strategy.
If you want to better understand your target audience, both qualitative and quantitative research are key. Columnist Shari Thurow outlines a variety of research methods.
There's a lot of confusion out there about what information architecture is (and isn't). Columnist Shari Thurow is here to clear up misconceptions and set the record straight.
Columnist Shari Thurow explains information architecture, site navigation, and how they relate to one another.
We hear talk about "delighting" your website visitors, but what role should this factor play in your planning? Contributor Shari Thurow weighs in.
Back in 1997, I created my 5 Fundamental Rules of Web Design. These website design rules are very simple, but critical, for a positive user experience. My rules state that a website should be: Easy to read Easy to navigate Easy to find Consistent and clear in layout, design, and labeling Quick to download Some […]
What's the difference between user testing and usability testing? Contributor Shari Thurow explains the distinction.
Contributor Shari Thurow explores the much-touted three click rule. Do you abide by it in your UX work?
Web designers and UX professionals have long butted heads on this issue. Can they find a common ground? Columnist Shari Thurow weighs in.
An optimized website is easy to navigate. In fact, one of the main reasons that people switch to a competitor site is navigation difficulty. So I created this navigation checklist to help web professionals ensure that their site’s navigation system is effective for both humans and technology. In Part 1, I went over the following […]
People make assumptions about website navigation, often to the detriment of findability. We assume that the web designer or developer is naturally knowledgeable about effective site navigation. Does the designer’s or developer’s home page have a jquery homepage slider that takes up the majority of the screen? Or cool drop-down and fly-out menus? Granted, any […]
One of the joys of measuring usability on websites is being able to continually improve the user experience. During usability testing, I often observe the effect of improved interfaces first hand. Additionally, I commonly observe a shift in perception. Before usability testing, many users believe they are at fault, the ones who are making mistakes. […]
Many online marketers dismiss usability as a critical part of the user experience. A delightful experience requires effective and efficient goal attainment. A delightful experience also occurs on websites that are easy to use and easy to remember. As I’ve mentioned previously, usability should take into account the following 6 elements: Effectiveness: Can users achieve […]
Here is the scenario: I am speaking at a conference about the 7 Facets of the User/Searcher Experience. Whenever I can, I try to provide case studies and usability test results to help illustrate each facet. Inevitably, there is somebody in the audience that stereotypes search engine optimization (SEO) professionals. What could an SEO possibly […]
In my previous article, 4 Things Online Marketers Should Know About User Experience (UX), I mentioned specific items that all online marketers, UX professionals, and even designers/developers should remember as they go through the website design process: Content is King, Context is Queen “Usability” and “User Experience” are not the same thing Findability is a […]
Many people like to use the term user experience as a reason to justify their website design, development, search engine optimization (SEO) and content decisions. Why are we migrating to a responsive design? Because it’s good for the user experience. Why are we implementing structured data? Because it’s good for the searcher experience. Why do […]