Newsletter issue #60 - 2nd March 2009
This issue
Welcome to the March 2009 edition of the Webcredible newsletter!
In this issue:
- Feature article: Website aesthetics - what has it got to do with usability?
- Top tip: Make sure fonts are legible
- Useful program: Jing
- Top link: Ecommerce Accessibility Report 2009
- New articles in February
- Webcredible news in February
Enjoy!
Feature article: Website aesthetics - what has it got to do with usability?
How we choose what to buy is a key question that should be asked when designing an ecommerce website. Whilst we all like to think that we make rational decisions, considering the functional nature of products, aesthetics clearly influences people and their choices. This article looks at how and why aesthetics influences consumers and how this relates to usability.
Top tip: Make sure fonts are legible
As more and more complex systems are being developed online, design guidelines are constantly being updated. However, basic guidelines are no less important and ensuring that text used on a website is legible is a fundamental part of a sites' design. These top tips will ensure your site can be used by people with poor eyesight. But remember clear, legible fonts are appreciated by all users no matter how good their eyesight.
- Ensure you use a suitable size No matter how good the content, there's no point providing it if users can't see it. Small fonts can be annoying to those with good eyesight, and render a site unusable for others. Ensure all text on the site is large enough for people to read easily. Aim for size 10 or higher.
- Don't use overly complex fonts (anywhere) People don't read from screens the same way they do from a book or magazine. Instead they scan and a complex font could get in the way. Virtually all sites use a simple font for their body text, but complex fonts are still sometimes used in banner adverts and for headings. Headings and banners need to be just as legible as the rest of the page or they aren't doing their job.
- Remember to have a high contrast Make sure the contrast between the background colour and text is high. If the contrast is too low users will struggle to make out the text. There are various online tools you can use to check this, such as the Juicy Studio Contrast Analyser. Pay particular attention to banners as these often superimpose text over a picture of varying contrast.
Useful program: Jing
Looking for an easy way to share images and videos of what's happening on your computer screen over the web, IM and email? Jing is a free program for the PC or Mac that allows you to capture screenshots or videos of your screen, add commentary or annotations and then upload to various sharing services.
Top link: Ecommerce Accessibility Report 2009
Webcredible's latest white paper evaluates the website accessibility of the UK's leading high street retailers against 20 best practice accessibility guidelines. The report is free to download!
New articles in February
- Improving mobile internet usability
- Getting your website right - uses and misuses of web design patterns
Read these and many other articles
Webcredible news in February
- 2009 ecommerce accessibility report available now
- Hostelling International chooses Webcredible for usability testing
- uSwitch case study goes live
- Webcredible to exhibit and present at TFM&A
- We're recruiting a head of user experience!
- Webcredible works with Nuffield Health on website usability
- We have a new focus group facilities hire page
Read these news stories in full
Usability lab & focus group facilities hire
Hire out our London based, purpose-built, state-of-the-art facilities for usability testing, focus groups, user interviews and more.
Find out more about hiring our facilities
Training courses
Come on one of our training courses and become a web guru! Our 18 courses are run across 5 training streams:
- Usability & accessibility courses
- Website optimisation courses
- Online copywriting courses
- Web development courses
- Online marketing courses
Training courses are held every 2 weeks in London and are fantastic - small class sizes, highly interactive and taught by experts.
