Mountain biking, misdirection and peanut butter sandwiches

Recently I took part in a 30 mile mountain bike ride. It was quite a challenge and on reflection made me think about not only my cycling ability but also user experience design… naturally!...

Posted on 1/20/2012 shortboredsurfer.com(9) Tags: navigation, usability, user experience, ux

Copywriting: How to Write Useful (Yet Intriguing) Headlines

Writing headlines for online editorial content can be a daunting task with conflicting advise. On the usability side people like Jakob Nielsen argue that you must front load information scent in you headlines. On the other hand these headlines very..

Posted on 1/12/2012 baymard.com(36) Tags: copywriting, usability, user experience

How to Create a Unique Selling Point for Your Home Page

Your website may get a lot of visitors, but how many of them actually subscribe to what you’re selling? Whether you’re asking them to sign up for a service or buy a product, every home page needs a unique selling point to succeed.

Posted on 12/27/2011 uxmovement.com(40) Tags: content, home page

UI: Thoughts on the New Facebook Timeline Design

The new Facebook timeline is a dramatic departure from the current profile view. There’s many things to like about it: good use of metaphor, a sense of space, and a simple navigation model – all of it presented in an aesthetically pleasing package.

Posted on 11/18/2011 baymard.com(36) Tags: facebook, interaction design, layout, timeline, UI, usability, user experience

11 Ways to Make Your Website Seem More Trustworthy

A new visitor to your website will determine whether to stay or leave within the first 15 seconds. Since the web got infinite alternatives to your site, it’s crucial that you immediately instill a sense of trust. Here's 11 ways to make your site more.

Posted on 11/2/2011 baymard.com(36) Tags: business, credibility, trust, user experience

9 Rules to Make Your Icons Clear and Intuitive

Have you ever looked at an icon and struggled to figure out what it meant? Users do this all the time with icons they’re not familiar with. And there are only a small set of icons that users are universally familiar with.

Posted on 11/1/2011 uxmovement.com(40) Tags: icons, usability

User Expectations Trump “Persuasive Design”

For some time now we’ve had two different email newsletter sign up forms here on Baymard. The hypothesis was...

Posted on 10/11/2011 baymard.com(36) Tags: conversion, expectations, newsletter, signup, user interface, ux

Usability Interview: Jake Rocheleau

An interview with blogger extraordinaire, Jake Rocheleau, about usability, user experience and design in general. Check it out.

Posted on 9/26/2011 intuitionhq.com(17) Tags: usability, usertesting, ux, webdesign

Google’s (for now) Novel Approach to “Must Read” Instructions

Web users scan your text, skipping paragraphs, clicking the button that looks like the ‘next’ button, decides whether to stay on your site (or not) within seconds, exits anything that reassembles a pop-up, and don’t read instructions. What do you do if..

Posted on 9/21/2011 baymard.com(36) Tags: copywriting, help, instructions, usability

Making a mobile usability testing sled the MacGyver way

Last year I had an influx of mobile projects and needed to find a way to carry out usability testing on a mobile device. I’ve been meaning to share my solution for a while, but it’s taken me until now to get round to it.

Posted on 9/20/2011 shortboredsurfer.com(9) Tags: mobile, testing, usability, user experience, ux