Evan Bell - Beta

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Evan Bell - Alpha

This is my alpha blog post...

Navigation

Jason Beaird writes that good design entails that users should be able to move about easily via intuitive navigation. He writes, "...the main navigation block itself should be clearly visible on the page and each link should have a descriptive title. A navigation structure that not only changes appearance on mouse hover, but also indicates the active page or section, helps users recognize where they are, and how to get to where they want to go."

Beaird emphasizes that navigation must be easy to find and use. Most users expect to see navigation right at the top of the page. If it is not at the top of the page, it should be as close to the top of the layout as possible. At the very least, it should be "above the fold," meaning that the user should be able to see the navigation when first visiting the site without having to scroll on the page.

Beaird also goes into the different types of navigation layouts:
Left Column Navigation is the most common type of navigation and is considered the "de facto standard." It is a safe choice for any project. Beaird writes that the left column isn't necessarily used for navigation. Navigation can also be located at the top. But all pages of this type divide the layout below the header into a narrow (1/3 or less) left column and a wide right column. A possible downside to this type of navigation is that there can be a lack of creativity; this type of navigation layout has been done so many times, that most websites with this layout tend to look the same. An example of left column navigation is the website for Target.

Right Column Navigation is very much like left column navigation, only reversed. Because users in the West read from left to right, this type of layout allows the page's main content to be the first thing the viewers see. Beaird writes that a possible advantage of this type of layout is that the navigation is right next to the scroll bar. He also writes that this type of layout is good if you want to do something different. The website for Audi is an example of right column navigation that Beaird gives.

Three Column Navigation is described by Beaird as a "wide center column flanked by two smaller navigation columns." He writes that this type of layout may be necessary on pages that have a ton of navigation, short bits of content, or advertisements to display. He urges caution when attempting this type of navigation, because a lack of enough whitespace could lead to cluttering. An example of three column navigation is the website for Best Buy.

Expansive Footer Navigation is a relatively new trend. It is found at the bottom of pages and is often used to include "content information, expanded site navigation, and extra content such as blog rolls, link rolls, Flickr badges," etc. One example Beaird gives of this is www.powazek.com.

Three Columns with Content First is a layout that has been picking up steam, according to Beaird. The layout is exactly how it sounds: wide column with content on the left, with two smaller columns to the right. An example of this type of layout is CBS Sportsline.

"The Worldwide Leader in Sports"

This week I decided to go with ESPN's website.

http://espn.go.com/

I like the layout of the page, where the main story takes up most of the page on the left, article listings are on the right, and multimedia content such as videos on the far right. Each section (NFL, MLB, NBA, etc) has the same basic layout. Because each page is similar, it is easy to find the content you're looking for.

simple movie news site

Here's a site I go to pretty much every day. www.joblo.com is movie news site. It has a pretty simple layout. The main story is located in the center column, while other articles are located in the left column. The center and left column are pretty much the only places I need to navigate, so I'd say that this site has pretty good navigation.

Usability Testing

Chapter 9 talked extensively about usability testing and its importance. After reading the chapter and the example provided by Krug, I thought that I could run a usability test if I needed to on a bare bones budget. I was surprised that hiring a professional to do usability tests could cost as much as $15,000. So I decided to check out a company that provides usability testing.

Usability Sciences is one of the companies that I found that provides the service. Not surprisingly, their website is easy to use. On this section of the website, it mentions their fees: "Fees range from $15,000 to $75,000+, depending on scope and complexity."

All of a sudden I want to get a job a usability tester...

Easy Navigation

The website I chose is www.makezine.com Makezine is basically a do-it-yourself site, only it leans more towards technological projects instead of home improvement.

The reading compared navigating a website to navigating a department store. You're usually trying to find something and you decide whether to ask first (use the site's search engine first) or to browse first (navigate the site).

Makezine's navigation bar can easily be found and used if you decide to "browse first." The tab that you click on is highlighted when you are taken to that section of the site. If you decide to "ask first," there is a search engine right above the navigation tabs. So, the two basic forms of navigation a person would use on a website are located in the same area. They are also in a very visible section of the page.

Clearly defined areas

A website that I find myself visiting every once in a while is www.download.com. It's a good website for finding free software and shareware.

What I like about this site is that there are clearly defined areas. For example, if you're looking for software relating to spyware, you know where to find it because there is a category for it to the left of the page. Also, there are a number of sub-categories for each category as well. I think that if you can easily find what you're looking for, the website definitely has good design elements.

I can find what I'm looking for

The reading mentions that no one ever reads everything on a web site. People scan, find what they're looking for, and move on. This is important to keep in mind with websites that people visit for different reasons. As a sports fan, occasionally I need to visit my favorite team's website to find out certain information.

http://www.nba.com/pacers has information displayed so that I can easily find what I'm looking for, whether it's ticket information, the schedule, or player information. All I would ever need to find is easily accessed from the bar at the top of the page.