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the180 - Dos and Don't for Web Links
Don't: Be clever, use puns.
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You always understand the user less than you think.
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Wit and double-meanings not only will be missed, but put off your user.
Don't: Overindulge artistic sensibilities.
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Graphic artists play a key role in the choices for font, size, position, and content of links.
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Artistic sensibilities lean toward subtlety, novelty, visual appeal, and aesthetic stimulation.
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Good links go directly against these sensibilities. That is, good links are obvious, and consistent with standards.
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Graphic artists must play a key role, but that role has often not been balanced against ease of use.
Do: Make link text clear and concise. But not too short.
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Research from www.uie.com shows the best links are 7 to 12 words long.
Do: Make the links distinct from each other.
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Must be clear that one link leads to something different than another link.
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For example, "Customer Service" and "Support" should *not* both be links on the main navigation bar.
Don't: Make the text hard to read.
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Avoid soft text colors, shades of gray.
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Avoid subtle color contrast between text foreground and background.
Do: Allow users to change
font sizes.
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Older users or visually impaired users will try to use browser to increase font size.
Do: Get some kind of user feedback.
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Even if you don't do usability testing, do something.
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At least get feedback from someone not on your project.
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At least write down the links and ask a friend what they mean.
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Better yet, ask friends to say which links they would choose to find a few things.
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For example, if you have an intranet, write down the links for the navigation bar and ask friends which link they would choose to find 401k information.
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The perspective of people *outside* your project is extremely valuable. Especially when you ask them to *try* something.
Do: Have some kind of visual
consistency.
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The best links are plain old blue hypertext.
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At least maintain a standard throughout the site for link colors.
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Have one color for all unvisited links.
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Have another color for all visited links.
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Have a clearly different look for text that does not belong to a link.
Don't: Rely on the mouse to reveal
links.
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Don't rely on people having to mouse over an area to even simply see the link text.
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Don't rely on people having to mouse over the text to recognize it is a link.
Don't: Use jargon.
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One of the most common problems shown in usability testing.
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Web site creators assume too much about what the users know about their company or industry.
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Even informal feedback from an outside party helps to identify jargon.
Posted December 3, 2001
By Joe Grant
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Grant
Consulting, Inc.
located in metro St. Louis, MO, USA |
1013
Bradington Court
Columbia, IL 62236 |
info@grantconsulting.com
(314) 581-0384 |
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Copyright
© 2003 by Grant Consulting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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