Newsletter issue #48 - 3rd March 2008
This issue
Hello and welcome to the March edition of the Webcredible newsletter!
In this issue:
- Feature article: AJAX accessibility for websites
- Top tip: Know when to involve your users
- Useful program: Browsershots
- Top link: Digital Web Magazine
- New articles in February
- Webcredible news in February
Enjoy!
Feature article: AJAX accessibility for websites
AJAX can be used to both enhance accessibility as well as severly hinder it. This month's article looks at the accessibility pros and cons of using AJAX and what you need to do to ensure that any AJAX functionality offers as high a level of accessibility as is possible...
Read this article in full at www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/ajax-accessibility.shtml.
Top tip: Know when to involve your users
When developing a new website, intranet or application, it's crucial that you involve your users at certain key stages prior to the technical build. This way you'll end up building a website around their needs and goals, rather than trying to guess what your users' needs and goals are. By conducting research with your target audiences during the following 3 stages you'll end up with a website that actually works for your users - and one that will likely achieve your business goals:
- Requirements gathering Before you even start on the site map or page design you need a content strategy. Find out who's currently using your site through a short online questionnaire, and then conduct in-depth interviews with at least 15-20 typical site visitors. Interviews should be solely based around understanding users' online behaviour, and their goals, attitudes, behaviours and motivations. It may also be appropriate to conduct focus groups or ethnographic studies.
- Site map Once you've uncovered who your users are and what goals they have, you can plan content and functionality around fulfilling these goals. Rather than you deciding how this content should be structured, let your users decide! Write down each piece of content on to a card and have typical site visitors come in and sort these cards into groups that make sense to them. Do this with 15-20 people and using the results of these card sorts you can go on to create a site map structured around how your users think (and not how you think).
- Page design Now that you know what your site map will look like, you can start designing the pages. Start off by sketching initial page layout ideas on to paper and then invite a small number of typical site visitors in to complete tasks on a paper prototype. Make appropriate modifications before building a clickable wireframe prototype, and then carrying out some more usability testing on this. Apply your branding and graphic designs to the wireframes and then conduct an eye tracking study with users, to evaluate the effectiveness of the design.
Useful program: Browsershots
Browsershots is a fantastic (and free) resource that can capture a screenshot of your website in over 50 browsers across 4 platforms. Simply type in your URL and hit submit and it'll show you how your site fares on some of the major (and not so major) browsers.
Access this useful program at www.browsershots.org
Top link: Digital Web Magazine
Digital Web Magazine is an online magazine intended for professional web designers, developers and information architects. With new articles posted every week by some of the web's leading authorities, it's well worth a look.
Check out this website at www.digital-web.com.
New articles in February
Read these and many other articles at www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources.
Webcredible news in February
- New article helps attract 15,000 site visitors in a day!
- Webcredible to exhibit at TFM show
- IT Week reports on Webcredible white papers
Read these news stories in full at www.webcredible.co.uk/about-us/latest-news.shtml.
Training courses
Courses continue to sell out well in advance! Our next training courses will take place in our training centre in Aldgate, London in March, April & May:
- Writing for the web training - Monday 31st March, Monday 28th April & Monday 19th May. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our writing for the web training page.
- Web usability training - Tuesday 1st April, Tuesday 29th April & 20th May. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our web usability training page.
- Usability testing training - Wednesday 2nd April, Wednesday 30th April & Wednesday 21st May. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our usability testing training page.
- Web accessibility training - Wednesday 2nd April, Wednesday 30th April & Wednesday 21st May. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our web accessibility training page.
- Intermediate CSS training - Thursday 3rd April, Thursday 1st May & Thursday 22nd May. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our intermediate CSS training page.
- Advanced CSS training - Friday 4th April, Friday 2nd May & Friday 23rd May. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our advanced CSS training page.
About Webcredible
Based in London, UK, Webcredible is a user experience consultancy. Tailor-made usability, accessibility & design solutions include:
- User-centered design
- Accessible web design
- CMS services
- Usability
- Accessibility
- Training
- Website review lite
Please contact us on 0870 242 6095 or info at webcredible.co.uk, or consult www.webcredible.co.uk for further information.