In this Alertbox Nielsen gives his personal opinion on what he considers the top 10 design mistakes that affect the usability of weblogs.
Nielsen surmises that:
Weblogs are often too internally focused and ignore key usability issues, making it hard for new readers to understand the site and trust the author.
He goes on to suggest weblog authors test their blogs against the following unforgivable mistakes:
- No author biographies (so readers can't trust the source);
- No author photo (so readers can't relate to or recognise the source);
- Nondescript posting titles (headlines lacking standalone context);
- Links don't say where they go (no link titles on mouseover);
- Classic hits are buried (no highlighed "popular posts");
- The calendar is the only navigation (make selective use of categories);
- Irregular publishing frequency (readers can't anticipate updates);
- Mixing topics (no focus to weblog content);
- Forgetting that you write for your future boss (posting stuff that could cause embarrassment);
- Having a domain name owned by a weblog service (dependence = lack of control + perception as amature).
And there you have it. You don't have to agree with them, but perhaps a little contemplative reflection on the points raised could help improve your own blog?
0 responses to Nielson's "Top 10" weblog design mistakes