Top 10 blog usability mistakes : A must read
If you’re a designer, he may not be your favorite guy, but Jacob Nielsen is the most widely recognized expert on Web site usability – the practice of making Web sites user friendly. Nielsen’s message is simple: Put usability first. Practice simplicity.
Nielsen has now released his ten usability mistakes for bloggers. Here’s he believes Weblogs are often too internally focused and ignore key usability issues, making it hard for new readers to understand the site and trust the author.
- No Author Biographies
- No Author Photos
- Nondescript Posting Titles
- Links Don’t Say Where They Go
- Classic Hits are Buried
- The Calendar is the Only Navigation
- Irregular Publishing Frequency
- Mixing Topics
- Forgetting That You Write for Your Future Boss
- Having a Domain Name Owned by a Weblog Service
When I directed the build out of the content at LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell’s lawyers.com, I was no journalist. But I was into usability and simplicity big time. I used to say ‘Nielsenize’ the content at all times – it needs to be easy for users to navigate and read.
If you’re a blogger, get your fanny over to Neilsen’s top 10 list with its accompanying discussion, print it out and tape to the wall over your desk. LexBlog is doing pretty good as defined by Nielsen but we can always ‘Nielsenize’ some more.
Source of post: SEOmoz Blog