Usability articles
A selection of usability articles written about or by me.
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Your site and 'Flash intros'
Part of usability cover story in WEBbusiness Aug./Sep., Issue 5- page 20.
Clicked on 'skip intro' lately? If you have, you're not alone says Masterton-based usability expert Tom van Bodegraven of Bindu Design.
'My own observations during testing of sites with Flash intros is that 90% of users click the 'skip intro' option, he says. 'I believe that this would be 100% for repeat visitors.' Van Bodegraven points out that potential customers arriving at a company's website haven't gone to the trouble of typing in a URL so they can watch bad TV on their computer.
'The problem with Flash intros', he says, 'is that users are annoyed at not being let in — they're actually punished with long waits before being allowed access to content'.
Also curious, he says, is that sites even have a 'skip intro' option: 'if the Flash intro is so irrelevant that skipping it is an option, then why have it there?' See also Splash Screens.
Article in WEBbusiness
'Usability Expert Tom van Bodegraven puts three high-profile
New Zealand sites to the test'
Air New Zealand, Vodafone and Xtra
Article in New Zealand PC World
Usability article written by me for New Zealand PC World. '.....the Internet is a part of our culture and in some cases pop culture. It has become a part of daily life in New Zealand; people are watching less TV and surfing more. The new technologies that have emerged over this period, have been a mixed blessing.' Read more
IDG interview
By Darren Greenwood, Auckland - June 12, 2001 'If
you want your website to attract visitors and buyers, you may need to employ
a usability specialist.' Darren talks to me about web design and usability.
Usability
Articles