Re: Concern about the level of sophistication of users of a Web application

Hal -

HTML is the baseline from a technological point of view, but of course
it comes with its own set of usability problems.

Ajax and DHTML can be used to overcome these, making the resulting
interface *easier* to use, not just more entertaining (or whatever it is
that some people think they are doing when they add unnecessary
interaction).

I talk about these on my Ajax Design and Usability course (some details
below) but they are things like getting users' attention without popup
message boxes that have to be dismissed, and avoiding the 'click here if
you have changed the quantities' often seen on shopping basket pages.
You also have the chance to dynamically adjust forms according to
earlier responses, but I would exercise some caution in that area.

Regards,

William Hudson
Syntagm Ltd
Design for Usability
UK 01235-522859
World +44-1235-522859
US Toll Free 1-866-SYNTAGM
mailto:[email protected]
http://www.syntagm.co.uk
skype:williamhudsonskype 

Syntagm is a limited company registered in England and Wales (1985).
Registered number: 1895345. Registered office: 10 Oxford Road, Abingdon
OX14 2DS.

Confused about dates in interaction design? See our new study (free):
http://www.syntagm.co.uk/design/datesstudy.htm

12 UK mobile phone e-commerce sites compared! Buy the report:
http://www.syntagm.co.uk/design/uxbench.shtml

Courses in card sorting and Ajax interaction design. London, Las Vegas
and Berlin:
http://www.syntagm.co.uk/design/csadvances.shtml
http://www.syntagm.co.uk/design/ajaxdesign.shtml

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