As a UK-based person often browsing US websites (and sometimes even consulting on the design of them), I’ve noticed that the US and Canada have very predictable phone number formats, as in “123-456-7890”. So it’s relatively easy to program aContinue reading… Formats of telephone numbers – why France and the UK don’t work like the USA
Category: Articles
Surveys – what is an acceptable response rate?
It’s been a while since I ranted on about response rates on surveys. In that article, I took the view that “2% is a terrible response rate” and had a few reasons why and tips for doing better. Recently, I’veContinue reading… Surveys – what is an acceptable response rate?
Process or outcome? Measuring the success of usability
How do we measure usability when the start and end points are hard to define, and our work is just one intervention? Maybe real successes come person by person, as attitudes change. A friend has been working with a clientContinue reading… Process or outcome? Measuring the success of usability
Book review: Letting go of the words: by Ginny Redish
This month, I’m enthusing about Ginny Redish’s new book Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Morgan Kaufmann). If you write, or your clients write, then you’ll learn from it. If you’re working on a content-rich website:Continue reading… Book review: Letting go of the words: by Ginny Redish
Differences between participants and users: representative or not?
‘“Rule 1 for usability testing: get representative users” Read something like that? Said something like that? I certainly have. And I definitely agree with it, on the whole. But not always: so I thought I’d muse on the issue inContinue reading… Differences between participants and users: representative or not?
How to enhance your site with Flash
‘Heard any of these remarks lately? ‘Flash is bad’; ‘I hate Flash intros’; ‘Don’t do Flash’. My long-term view has been that Flash is just another technology. Bad if it’s gratuitous showing off; good if it works for your usersContinue reading… How to enhance your site with Flash
How to write good FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Comment in 2025: I wrote this in 2007. Since then, content designers have often pointed out for at least a decade that Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are a bad way to meet user needs. Nevertheless, I still find plenty ofContinue reading… How to write good FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Good headings help, bad headings hurt
I’ve been on the road recently, teaching my ‘Editing that Works’ workshops to teams of web content providers in a government department. ‘Choose what to say,’ I urge them. And do it like this: apply temporary headings to your text,Continue reading… Good headings help, bad headings hurt
How to get clients to look at wireframes properly
It was the same old story. I was working with Whitney Quesenbery on some wireframes for a client’s website. As usual, she’d done a lovely job on the design. As usual, I’d fussed around with content. We’d done our usualContinue reading… How to get clients to look at wireframes properly
Label placement in forms
For ages, I’ve longed to do some eyetracking experiments on how users look at forms. And recently, I’ve been delighted to see the next best thing: excellent work by Matteo Penzo and his team. Experienced users look for the searchContinue reading… Label placement in forms