There have been numerous scientific studies and papers on web site navigation and user experience, which suggest the user does expect a certain standard navigation. Vertical-Left, and Horizontal-Upper-Right are where most users expect the nav to be. I can't recall a "look" study offhand but it probably exists out there.
Search on Google. boxesandarrows.com is a good place to look as well. -- jon mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Friday, June 20, 2003, 2:01:47 PM, you wrote: AWL> Blue, underlined text is hardly navigation. That's just a common AWL> identifier for a link, which in HTML is an action, not necessarily AWL> navigation. A link can do a number of things like execute a javascript AWL> function or dhtml. AWL> Google, since you mention how standard it is, does not use this for it's AWL> core navigation. Web, Images, Groups, Directory, and News (The four AWL> categories of google) are represented with blue text in a box. If AWL> selected the box is blue, if not it's gray. This is hardly a standard, AWL> but none the less is effective because users are familiar with tabular AWL> menus. AWL> Users however familiar with blue underline text (the majority of site on AWL> the internet apply different colors, so I'd say the universal sign of a AWL> link is just the underline), are also familiar with a drop down window. AWL> They are familiar with side bar menus and horizontal tabs. AWL> Every site, whether flash or html, navigate completely different. From AWL> how the menu is displayed, to how it's organized. This is what I mean by AWL> no such thing a standard navigation. AWL> However, I think the closest thing you could call standard navigation is AWL> underlined test links centered at the bottom of a page. It's an AWL> extremely common practice, but not very effective. Could you imagine AWL> having to scroll to the bottom of each page to navigate a site? AWL> Adam Wayne Lehman AWL> Web Systems Developer AWL> Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health AWL> Distance Education Division AWL> -----Original Message----- AWL> From: Lofback, Chris [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] AWL> Sent: Friday, June 20, 2003 1:36 PM AWL> To: CF-Talk AWL> Subject: RE: Is Flash really THAT good? >> As for non-standard navigation, what make flash navigation >> non-standard >> in compared to HTML. What is standard navigation anyhow? Standard >> navigation doesn't exist. It's just a concept. AWL> I don't agree. Blue, underlined text is nearly universally understood AWL> as a clickable link, and the vast majority of users recognize a standard AWL> HTML button widget. These are instantly recognizable and usable. I'd AWL> argue that for all practical purposes this is as close to a standard as AWL> you can get. AWL> Using different link styles, custom buttons and clickable "hot spots" is AWL> nonstandard, and forces the user to learn how to use the app. Make the AWL> widgets different enough, and users just won't do it. Unless the site AWL> is the only place to get what they want, they will go find another site AWL> that is easier to use. And this is especially true of the non-techie AWL> "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"s who makes up a large portion of the user/customer AWL> pool. AWL> So why put a user through it? They want fast and easy to use. What's AWL> wrong with giving them what they want? And a simple way to do that is AWL> to stick as closely as possible to design "standards". AWL> I love the ease of use at Google and am thankful that they don't force AWL> me to endure their idea of an "experience" to get what I want. They use AWL> standard navigation links and buttons and my user experience is great. AWL> Chris AWL> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=4 FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. http://www.cfhosting.com Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
