The absolute basics of good web usability. I inadvertently uploaded this twice, but am leaving this posted in case people land here from Google.

1. Web Site Best Practices Linda Kolker Marketing Communications & Web Site Usability linda@lindakolker.com lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

3. Direct Response Consultant & Copywriter

4. Helped launch CD-ROM technology

5. Wrote book HR Manager’s Guide to Internet, 1996

6. Worked on development of scores of business web sites

7. Teach

9. 3/24/2009 4 Best Practices for Your Web Site

10. 5 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

11. March 2010 6 Best Practices for Your Web Site

12. March 2010 Best Practices for Your Web Site 7 Web is interactive People must DO something in order to discover what a web site is about

13. March 2010 8 Mostly Based On Conventions: The Things That Most Sites Do Best Practices for Your Web Site lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

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16. 11 Navigation Convention Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

17. Why Best Practices Matter 12 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

18. Why Best Practices Matter We are creatures of habit, and rely on patterns to save time and energy of constantly learning something new 13 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

19. Why Best Practices Matter We are creatures of habit, and rely on patterns to save time and energy of constantly learning something new Most popular web sites have similar patterns 14 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

20. Why Best Practices Matter 15 We are creatures of habit, and rely on patterns to save time and energy of constantly learning something new Most popular web sites have similar patterns People are comfortable with what they already know Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

21. 16 Why Best Practices Matter “Don’t make me think!” --Steve Krug 30 seconds to engage or lose Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

22. 17 Why Best Practices Matter Good for your business Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

23. Five Core Questions What is this organization about? What is this web site about? How do I find what I’m looking for? What can I do next? How can I get back to where I was? 18 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

24. A few of the Web’s most-visited sites. What common elements do you see? How well do they answer the five questions? 19 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

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28. Communicates the purpose of your business and your site Tag line that explicitly summarizes what the organization and/or site does Value proposition clearly stated Name and logo at top / in upper left corner 3/24/2009 23 Best Practices for Your Web Site Best Practices Strategy lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

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31. Should be able to answer the five questions looking at ANY page on the web site Home page ALL other pages 3/24/2009 26 Best Practices for Your Web Site

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34. 29 Best Practices Site Structure Hierarchy with 2 – 5 levels Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

35. Typical Site Sections 30 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

36. Best Practices 31 Navigation Main navigation and local navigation Both are available on every page Deep navigation on home page Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

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38. 33 Best Practices Navigation Navigation links are underlined and in a different color When you click on a link, you go to content that you expect to see Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

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42. Best Practices Design Home page is clearly different from other pages, but design is consistent throughout site Looks like a recent site, rather than an old, out of date site Name & logo are in upper left or across top, tagline at top Site wide navigation across top Local navigation down left or right side 37 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

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46. 41 Best Practices Content Subheads Bulleted lists Highlighted keywords Short paragraphs The inverted pyramid A simple writing style De-fluffed language devoid of marketese. --Jakob Nielsen, Alertbox Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

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54. Measuring Success Are you achieving your goals? Is your site easier to use? Are people spending more time on your site and returning more frequently? 49 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619

55. Measuring Success Are you achieving your goals? Is your site easier to use? User testing Are people spending more time on your site and returning more frequently? Site usage statistics – site traffic logs 50 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010

56. Resources Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug Jakob Nielsen: useit.com/alertbox, also numerous books Usability.gov – covers many best practices for web site usability, with supporting research, (though site needs usability improvements) Google Analytics: google.com/analytics 51 Best Practices for Your Web Site March 2010 lindakolker.com 434-984-6619