The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online

http://darwin-online.org.uk/

This University of Cambridge website led by Dr John van Wyhe is a fine example of manuscript catalogue in my view because:

• It is a well-designed and informative website
• There is an option to view scans of text and images side by side
• Links for catalogues are positioned next to the catogery headings, together with the introduction and browse option; this feature accommodates browsability and serendipity of a physical library 

Web Usability Book List

NIELSEN, DR. JAKOB, 2006. Books About Usability. FreePint Newsletter, 211.Books are useful for learning about usability, because it is:

• Related to humans thus changes slowly
• Only possible to reveal deeper insights through in-depth text

Recommended books:

1. “Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction” by Ben Shneiderman and Catherine Plaisant (Addison Wesley, 2004) ~ 672 pages text book that summarises knowledge on how people use computers ~
2. “Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works” by Janice Redish (Morgan Kaufmann, 2006)
3. “Designing Visual Interfaces: Communication Oriented Techniques” by Kevin Mullet and Darrell Sano (Prentice Hall, 1994) ~ explains the principles required to understand visual design within an interactive context ~
4. “Maximum Accessibility: Making Your Web Site More Usable for Everyone” by John m. Slatin and Sharron Rush (Addison-Wesley, 2002) ~ written from the angle of customers who actually have disabilities, with real browsing-using-screen-reader case studies ~

The original newsletter can be accessed online.

Developing a website

Like any good project, start with the objectives for having a website. Tangible goals are ideal, e.g. to reduce 20% of telephone enquiries.
Before embarking on the physical act of developing a website, find out who your target audiences are.
I share some guidelines for preparing easy-to-use web content (based on the Usability.gov site by the Web Communications Division in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs):

1. Select only what the audiences need
2. Organise the content logically for the audiences
   - Break the text into manageable pieces / chunking using short paragraphs, lists, tables, pictures, examples
   - Use many headings to aid skimming and scanning
   - Write useful headings e.g. questions, sentences, phrases, action phrases, imperatives
   - Use the headings as introductory hyperlinks and a group of headings into an introductory list of hyperlinks
   - Write content visually
3. For website with users who read on the Web and print to read
   - Layer the information i.e. summarise the information in an easily-accessible Web form and put link to the printable versionOffer a separate printable document i.e. offer a document in HTML and PDF formats

Further notes on Writing Content Visually:

- Use blank space well e.g. fragments, lists, tables, and examples to strike the balance
- Cut out words
- Keep paragraphs and sentences short
- Use fragments e.g. don’t repeat words from the FAQ question in the answer
- Use the users’ words and avoid jargon
- Use bulleted lists
- Use numbered lists for steps in a procedure
- Use tables
- Give examples
- Meet users’ expectations for the way information is displayed e.g. write address on separate lines like an address
- Use icons or small pictures to enhance the wordsInclude pictures and other graphics when appropriate