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Designing a good web site is never easy. The development path is littered with obstacles
and traps, many of them human in nature. Here are some recommendations to help the web designers to achieve their
goal of supporting both the novices and experts with one common interface: [8]
- Design the top level of your interface to be
simplified as much as possible. Include only the basic, simple
features in your top level of menu, initial appearance of the dialog, etc. Hide the more
advanced features that are harder to use through layers of menus or "advanced"
section of properties menu or dialog.
- Show the corresponding short cut of a normal
menu item with the menu item so that novice users can get to know the short cut by using
the interface frequently without bothering them when they first use the interface.
- Enable users to customize the user interface,
this is a powerful way to accommodate both classes of users. For example, an interface can
permit users to control the density of informative feedback that the system provides. In
this way, novices can have more information to confirm their
actions, whereas frequent users can reduce the distracting feedback.
- Provide a help facility to assist novice users
without getting in the way of the experts. Interfaces that are solely intended for novices
may not have special help systems, as they should include all the necessary user
assistance in the primary interface itself.
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UNIVERSAL USABILITY IN PRACTICE