"Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity" is an outstanding work on usability of the Web. Jakob Nielsen systematically analyzes all portions of a website and explains how to improve it. With large full-color screen shots and intensive commentary, the information is hands-on and extremely practical.

While much of the information is available on Jakob's website (<a href= http://www.useit.com/ >www.useit.com</a>) it is not laid out so cleanly or comprehensively as it is here. The book is laid out in beautiful style, encouraging you to read and digest every page.

There are some faults. Jakob does not present his "rules" in a clear form -- instead they are spread all throughout the book in and out of various anecdotes. Also, despite the importance of usability, the actual usability of the book was rather poor. While it had flaps, such as those found in a hardcover (this book was a softcover, but not exactly a paperback) they were not flexible or large enough to bookmark a page more than 10-20 pages into the book, which was (presumably) their purpose. Also, the use of white on green text found in the inner covers and in some of the sidebars was very difficult to read.

Jakob also did not include information on readability issues and a sense of "style" for a site. Jakob's "repurposing" of his Alertbox column gives the book a feel of continual anecdotes, rather than a consistent argument.

Despite this, I can't wait for the sequel!



Recommended: No