Buttons are a small but critical part of a web site design. In the best designs they create a strong call-to-action — add to cart, sign up, or learn more — as well being one of the details that reinforces the overall quality of the design.

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Posted in: Showcases | 8 Comments

Now that the iPhone has a true competitor in the Nexus One, I thought it would be interesting to see how their home pages compared. What is Google doing from an online standpoint to take on the smart phone market leader?

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Posted in: Web Design | 16 Comments

I just got my 2009 yearly uptime report for this website. It was offline for a total of 6 minutes and 3 seconds, which is better than 99.99% uptime! Thanks Verve Hosting — this is why I've been with you since 2001 without a thought of swapping to another provider.

If you're not monitoring your site's uptime, I use Host Tracker, which monitors up to two URLs for free.

Posted in: Web General | 13 Comments

It's a good time for companies looking to do usability testing cheaply. The range of quality web-based usability-related tools is steadily increasing — to the extent that it's getting hard to know what to pick.

Fortunately, for anyone wanting to learn more about what services would best meet their needs, User Effect has put together a great guide to low cost usability tools. Well worth checking out.

Posted in: Tools & Resources | Usability | 7 Comments

Optimal Workshop is offering to send free, "Jacob Nielsen approved" usability buttons to anywhere in the world.

What better way to enhance the geek cred of that usability specialist in your life? I especially like the "What Would Jacob Do?" button.

Get yours by filling out this order form before they run out.

Posted in: Real Life | Web General | 10 Comments