Matt Mickiewicz interviews Jakob Nielsen, author of the brand new book “Prioritizing Web Usability,” about AJAX, usability’s close link to keyword advertising, and some of the advertising formats we’re seeing around the Web today.
What do you think of the current implementations of AJAX
(Google Maps, Writely, Google Suggest, Zimbra, etc.) on the Web today?
They are irrelevant for the vast majority of business web sites. (And by “business web site” I also mean sites for government agencies and non-profits.)
A business site will profit much more from writing better headlines than from sticking a programming trick on its pages. Take maps: yes, it’s one of the usability guidelines for store finders and locators to show a map of your location. But don’t make this a highly interactive map — it’s better to use a hand-drawn map that’s optimized to giving directions to your address. One that shows landmarks, recommended parking lots, and bus stops, and emphasizes freeways, but excludes the small side streets that people probably wouldn’t use when driving to your building.
