Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Ok, I know it sounds crazy.  We`ve all heard the rumors of the Pentagon purchasing a screwdriver for $500 and the CIA spending millions of dollars teaching Chimpanzees pig-latin so they can spy on Canadian zoos (ok, I made that one up, but you get the point).  I finally stumbled upon a completely free resource, created by the U.S. government that anyone can access to improve their website usability or simply use as a guide in creating their website.

Shhh, don`t tell the CIA or Pentagon, but the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has put together a complete guide to website usability that you can download for $0.00.  It`s a whopping 294 pages of usability guidelines covering all aspects of web design and implementation. 

Numerous experts in the field were consulted and studies conducted to rank the relative importance and strength of evidence for each recommended guideline.  Although the report is nearly 300 pages, I found it easy to browse and very well organized (great usability!) 

By simply applying a few of their recommendations, you could easily improve the effectiveness of your website, increase your repeat traffic, and just make your visitors` overall experience that much better! 

Download the complete guide to website usability 
(Note: it`s 161M..so it take a while to download)

Now it`s Your Turn to Share!

Do you know of any free web tools, reports, resources that we could all use to help each others` websites?  Please post them below.

Any Comments on this Report?

Also, if you have any comments regarding this usability report or if you completely disagree with any of the guidelines, let`s hear it.  Website usability is definitely not an absolute science and there are often many shades of gray that may not be applicable in certain cases.

I look forward to your comments and all the great free resources.  If I come across any others I`ll tack `em on this topic.

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Brian Cleveland,
Web Producer,
StartupNation

I recently posted an idea for a resource Toolbox for the community projects. Consider a picture of a toolbox on your website(any design). A customer can click on and add or delete tools from the list. Brian`s thread is a great place to add your favorite free resource tools, and use everyone`s ideas to create your own Toolbox on your site, depending on what you offer your customers. This thread promises to be a valuable resource in itself.

My entry is: Free Software - fsf.org 

 

The Internet as a media is seriously lacking consistency in client experience. What one site may use as a convention for a feature set or function is not used elsewhere.
So many sites today cannot pass a common sense test. For example, why do some websites neglect to include a email address to contact its owner. Does that red blanking text really have a place on every page of a website? Does that wonderfully cinematic and musical intro page really need to be there before I get to a homepage?  Mind you these are extreme cases but it doesn`t take much digging to find them. Best practices must be implemented by all in order for the Internet as media to mature. Usability is about achieving a users goals consistently, predictability, and simply.

If you are interested I recommend Steve Krugs classic, "Don`t Make Me Think". It is truly a wonderful book on usability.

Regards
Howard

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ourmonmouth.com Full-Service Internet Solution Provider and Business/Community directory of Monmouth County New Jersey.

Cool - thanks Brian. Now that we`re in the topic of websites, the best tool for SEO (search engine optimization) is can be found at tools.seobook.com

The founder of the site, Aaron Wall is a true Internet junkie and offers tools and tips for free. Why? I don`t really know but his advice and free tools have helped me a great deal. I know have several key terms ranking first page. You don`t have to buy his book to use the tools.

Hope this helps.

I  need tips on conversion though.

Thanks,
Giovanna


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Giovanna Villanueva
iWebCom

Simplicity overall is your readers best friend.

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Ernie GD Solutions www.graphicdesign-s.com

HPS...I have a copy of Steve Krug`s "Don`t Make Me Think" sitting to my left on my desk.  Excellent book.  And I agree completely with your summation.

Thanks frndchps and Giovanna for your contributions too! 

Let`s keep `em coming!

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Brian Cleveland,
Web Producer,
StartupNation