Thanks Nate for the links.
I really want to focus on the usability impacts of pop-ups.
I'd love to see the AGIMO research that was done - do you have the name
of someone within the organisation that I could contact with regards to
sourcing this?
~ brad
Ward, Nathan wrote:
Hi Brad,
I don't have any test data that shows this, however, below are a two
articles from Digital Web Magazine that mention the topic.
I'm also fairly sure that AGIMO has some research on the topic but I
couldn't find it this afternoon.
You could also check out the Vision Australia website
(http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/).
http://www.digital-web.com/articles/accessible_by_design/
Avoid using links that create a new browser window. If you do use
them, warn users. Users may not be aware of the shift in their
system's focus. It may disorient or confuse them. This is also a
usability issue since users can't use the Back button to navigate back
and revisit pages. It's easy to accidentally close the wrong window
and lose what you want to access. Add a text warning message or place
a small icon (with a warning in the ALT attribute) before links that
will spawn a new window.
Avoid "pop-up" windows, when possible. This has problems similar to
creating a new window, but also has JavaScript complications. Access
to the "pop-up" should be device independent. More importantly, make
the content in the "pop-up" accessible if JavaScript is turned off.
http://www.digital-web.com/articles/designer_user_partnership/
The other area designers overstep is in controlling the user
environment. The Web behaves in ways that are predictable to users.
For example, when a user clicks a link, the browser requests the page
from the Web server, the Web server sends the page to the browser, and
the Web browser renders the page. Sometimes designers get involved in
this transaction by moving the cursor directly to the search input
field or opening links in a new window. We, as designers, use these
methods because we want to be helpful. We assume that most users will
want to use the search feature on arrival; to make things easier, we
put the cursor in the search input field. We assume that most users
will want to keep in contact with our site while exploring other
sites; to make things easier, we open external links in a new window.
But sometimes these helpful interventions wind up causing usability
problems because they violate expectations. People expect to begin
listening to or tabbing through a Web page from its beginning and will
be disoriented if the cursor focus is not at the top of the page.
People expect to use the "Back" button to retrace their navigation
path and will not be able to return to the originating site if it is
not in the window history. While these actions may be helpful to some,
they will create usability problems for others. Moving the cursor and
opening a new window are functions of the user environment and should
be performed by the user.
Cheers, Nate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] *On Behalf Of *Brad Pollard
*Sent:* Wednesday, 18 June 2008 16:44
*To:* [email protected]
*Subject:* [WSG] User testing results to reinforce 'no popup'
recommendation
A dear client is holding us over a barrel.....
Does anyone have some user test data/video (that they are willing to
share) that shows that forcing a popup window for external links is a
bad idea?
~ brad pollard
02 9699 7145
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