IA/Usability

by pedrito | Even for experienced metadata practitioners, some of the concepts in XFML can be a bit weird. An XFML map consists of a number of facets (containers), that each have trees of topics in them. It also contains a list of pages with occurrences of topics on those pages. Read More »

by wiseguysonly | CSS and XHTML have given tables a pretty rough ride in recent times. Of course, this is the fault of just about all web developers who have at some point in their career used them for laying out page elements. This article is not about using tables for layout. It is about how to use tables to display information in an accessible manner. Use XHTML and CSS all you want for layout, but if you have information relationships to display, use tables and use them well. Read More »

by wiseguysonly | A key focus of accessible web site design is providing equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content. Because it is generally assumed that the raw text in a web document literally speaks for itself, it is often overlooked in accessibility checks. Although it is not dangerous to assume your text will be fine, it is worthwhile going the extra mile and adding a few behind the scenes touches to improve accessibility. Read More »

by pedrito | An Internet service (like a website) doesn't have to use the web as its main or only interface. Email interfaces offer the advantages of being asynchronous (you don't have to be online to use it) and fast for repetitive sending of one step commands to a web server, and allow for requested interaction by the server. Email interfaces have a lot of untapped potential. Read More »

by taracleveland | You know all about the how-to of web site accessibility, you even know about section 508 and the ADA, but your site is Canadian and you can't convince your self/boss/client/muckity-muck to change the design of the site you're working on to make it accessible. Don't give up - the discrimination laws in Canada are even stronger than laws in the US and they apply to every business, organization and individual in Canada. Read More »

by joshfeingold | Like many things in life, creating content for the web requires that the designer balance numerous conflicting resources. When starting a project, designers must always try to figure out what issues should be balanced and find the middle ground that is appropriate for each unique situation. Read More »

by Luc | According to Gerry McGovern and Jakob Nielsen, hypertext links should be treated like traffic lights, and always use the same colors in a pre-established order: blue, followed by purple. In my opinion, the main way of characterizing a link is not by using a particular color, but by underlining the text itself. Read More »

by Luc | The Retail Forward company carried out a survey about the top five frustrations experienced by online shoppers. This is not exactly new but it still gives us a "quantified" confirmation of what to avoid when trying to convert lookers into buyers and customize them. Pop-ups come first: for 52% of the respondents, pop-ups constitute the element Internet users hate most. Read More »

by Luc | The site uses the liquid layout technique, which enables the page to automatically adapt itself in width to the screen resolution used by the visitor. However, the structure of the homepage has be constructed with great care to ensure that the display maintains a certain coherence with all resolutions and guides the user's eye to the parts of the page the site wants him to look at. Read More »

by keihin | The HTML <label> tag allows you to code more usable forms. Form labels for checkboxes and radio buttons become clickable, and may be styled to have cursor feedback. Read More »