Hypermedia and the Web

Bush’s Hypertext Vision

• Vannevar Bush, 1945 “As We May Think”

• Vision of post-war activities, Memex

• “…when one of these items is in view, the other can be instantly recalled merely by tapping a button”

Nelson’s Hypertext

• Coined “hypertext” in discussing his universal library and docuverse

• Had vision of a Xanadu system with hypergrams (branching pictures), hypermaps (with transparent overlays), and branching movies

• Many concepts adopted in WWW

Early Commercial Systems

• Knowledge Systems’ KMS– One or two frames of text/graphics– Links (tree/annotation) to additional

information

• Xerox PARC’s NoteCards– Cue card metaphor– Resizable but non-scrollable

• Apple’s HyperCard– Deck of cards metaphor– Links to other cards/programs

Hyperties

• Uses electronic encyclopedia metaphor• Indices and table of contents list

contents of information space• History lists show recently visited

pages• No syntactic entry means no error

messages (and less flexibility?)• Used in help systems, books

Shneiderman’s Golden Rules

of HypertextChoose projects where:1. There is a large body of information in

numerous fragments2. The fragments relate to each other3. The user needs only a small fraction

of the fragments at a time

Hypertext Guidelines

• Know the users and their tasks

• Ensure that meaningful structure comes first

• Apply diverse skills• Repect information

chunking

• Show interrelationships

• Ensure simplicity in traversal

• Design each screen carefully such that they can be grasped easily

• Require low cognitive load

Hypermedia and theWorld Wide Web

Jacob Nielsen

• Designed Sun Microsystem’s Web site in early 1990s

• Chronicled nine versions of the site• Employed usability testing approach• Author of numerous books and articles

on Web design• Writes bi-weekly article at

www.useit.com

How To Write On The Web(March 15, 1997)

• Relates to how users read on the Web (they don’t)

• Be succinct: write, cut in half, cut in half again

• Write for skimmers: use multiple levels of headlines, be meaningful, highlight

• Use inverted pyramids (start w/conclusion, add support, end w/background)

Web vs GUI Design(May 1, 1997)

• Give up full control (users, hardware, software have control)

• Plan for device diversity (in GUIs every pixel is controlled, on Web sw/devices differ)

• User controls Web navigation• Web is part of a whole with other

options

Top Ten Mistakes(May 1996)

• Frames• Gratuitous use of

bleeding edge technology

• Scrolling text and constant animations

• Complex URLs• Orphan pages

• Long scrolling pages• Lack of navigation

support• Non-standard link

colors• Outdated

information• Overly long (>10

sec) download times

Why Frames Suck(December 1996, revisited)

• Broken back button• Printing problems• Authoring problems (hard to learn)• Search problems• User preferences• Nielsen acknowledges that frames

are no longer a “disaster”, but are still “clumsy”

Browser Version PersistenceApril 18, 1999

• Users are reluctant to update browsers

• Thick line shows actual data, thin shows projection

• Web pages most be designed to work with older browsers or risk losing users

The Case for Micropayments

January 25, 1998• Nielsen predicts that most non-sales sites

will move to micropayments within 2 years• Time costs money, replace ad download

with direct payment• Most pages will cost less than a penny

(cost invisible), others 1-10 cents (shown with an icon), others more (must click OK)

• Equates Web use with long distance calls and electricity

End of Web DesignJuly 23, 2000

• Four trends require toned down appearance– Users spend most of their

time at other sites– Mobile devices drive

standardized navigation– Use of multiple devices

require semantic, not representation, emphasis

– Syndicated content

• What remains in Web design?– Task-based

development (what do users want)

– Content design (visit site for content, not looks)

– Information architecture beyond standard links

Eyetracking Study of Web Users

May 14, 2000• Poynter Institute study:

– Text (78%) attracts attention before graphics

– Headlines should be simple and direct

– Shallow reading is common (users select short articles, only read 75% of it)

– Users alternate between two open browsers (design for easy reorientation)

• Implications for non-newspaper sites– Must establish trust– Users spend less time

at non-news sites– Users will read fewer

words on non-news sites

WAP Doesn’t WorkDecember 10, 2000

• Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) defines a way to access the Internet with phones

• 70% of users said they would not be using WAP in a year

• Even simple tasks required too much time

• WAP guidelines– Do not use traditional

Web design principles– Develop a distinct

voice with minimal word count

– Do not use unique (and unclear) labels/menus

– Match information architecture with tasks (provide TV listings by time, not network)

Are Users Stupid?Feb 4, 2001

• Opponents of usability claim that it focuses on stupid users who cannot overcome complexity

• Do not exclude potential buyers from your site for elitist reasons

• Even if users can overcome complexity, that does not mean that they will