Books : Web Bloopers: 60 Common Web Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them (Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive Technologies)
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Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780613915847
ISBN number: 0613915844
Label: Topeka Bindery
Manufacturer: Topeka Bindery
Quantity: 1
Printing Date: 2003-04
Publishing house: Topeka Bindery
Studio: Topeka Bindery
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The dot.com crash of 2000 was a wake-up call, and told us that the Web has far to go before achieving the acceptance predicted for it in '95. A large part of what is missing is quality; a primary component of the missing quality is usability. The Web is not nearly as easy to use as it needs to be for the average person to rely on it for everyday information, commerce, and entertainment.
In response to strong feedback from readers of GUI BLOOPERS calling for a book devoted exclusively to Web design bloopers, Jeff Johnson calls attention to the most frequently occurring and annoying design bloopers from real web sites he has worked on or researched. Not just a critique of these bloopers and their sites, this book shows how to correct or avoid the blooper and gives a detailed analysis of each design problem.
Hear Jeff Johnson's interview podcast on software and website usability at the University of Canterbury (25 min.)
* Discusses in detail 60 of the most common and critical web design mistakes, along with the solutions, challenges, and tradeoffs associated with them.
* Covers important subject areas such as: content, task-support, navigation, forms, searches, writing, link appearance, and graphic design and layout.
* Organized and formatted based on the results of its own usability test performed by web designers themselves.
* Features its own web site (www.web-bloopers.com)with new and emerging web design no-no's (because new bloopers are born every day) along with a much requested printable blooper checklist for web designers and developers to use.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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How often, while reading a technical book, do you find yourself laughing out loud? With Web Bloopers, I did, and as much at myself (that "oops! I'd better go fix my site!" feeling...) as at the numerous real-life examples painstakingly collected. I especially enjoyed seeing that the big boys (airlines, retail chains, major publishers, etc.) are just as guilty as us little guys. Mr. Johnson calls 'em as he sees 'em and we're all better off as a result.
Rated by buyers -
I saw the author's presentation at SD West 05, and that made me even more interested in reading this book. Jeff obviously understands the material very well, and he explains the issues eloquently. Fortunately, his book is at least as impressive as his verbal presentation.
As a Web/database developer (and small business owner) I have been steadily working my way through his "Web Bloopers" book. It's great stuff, and I enjoy reading it slowly and carefully pondering each issue. The more I read, the more I realize how desperately my own company's Web site needs to be improved.
One of my clients is tasked with improving an intranet site at a large Bay area computer company, and I've just recommended this book to the client. If the senior stakeholders read the book, it's likely to greatly the odds of project success.
Many IT-related books have good ideas. What makes Jeff's book so special is that he makes the learning process so enjoyable, with his interesting and funny real-world examples.
Rated by buyers 
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I looked at the sample pages, and saw fig. 1.2 giving an analysis of a website that didn't clearly identify its overall goals , etc. But the page in question was so obviously one of those 'search network' typo-url cookie-cutter sites of domain squatters. It's not a serious site, and anyone with half a clue in web marketing knows this. So even though I've no idea what the rest of the book says, I doubt the writer's judgment and current state of knowledge. I mean, if he can't spot a squatter spam site, what else is he oblivious to?
Rated by buyers -
I'm an auditor, I review other peoples work and decisions. I wanted something to help provide a structure to assess web site quality. I don't want to appear like the Boss in the Dilbert Cartoons but I needed a "soft" introduction - I'm not creative! My home page is sufficient evidence of very limited design skills http://mysite.verizon.net/vze48sdz/.
The cliche "a picture speaks a thousand words" is appropriate for this book. It provides illustrations of good and bad practice to illustrate common mistakes. There may be better books on web design, with more technical guidance, however this book could prevent expensive mistakes that could damage your brand and ruin customer experience.
If you are hiring a web designer, or approving the work of an internal team, this is probably the best book on web design you could buy. The book concludes with a 60 question checklist.
This is a great book to assess the end product and fine tune your site. It should also help avoid making mistakes along the way. It is short on creativity. That's not what I was after, so I'm not disappointed. I like the checklist allot (suppose I have been in audit too long!).
Rated by buyers 
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I found this book to be a bit lacking. I have read most of the usability books on the market, and this book did not cover anything new. The author did not go into the science behind the bloopers and does not cite any studies that were conducted. Rather, he uses pictures to back up each blooper. The book is 60-70% pictures. The layout of the book made it hard to read, since the pictures constantly interrupted the text flow.
You can find the list of bloopers on the author's Web site and I do not think this book adds much additional value, since most experienced Web developers have already seen examples of each blooper. You can find better descriptions of usability problems by doing a Web search. This book would be appropriate for a new Web designer/developer, or someone who has not already read much about usability.
In conclusion, most Web developers would be better off with the book Don't Make Me Think, a Jakob Nielsen book, or an Information Architecture book.
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