Web Bloopers: 60 Common Web Design Mistakes, and How to Avoid Them (Interactive Technologies) (Paperback)

~ Jeff Johnson (Author) "The Web is about content, first and foremost..." (more)
Key Phrases: avoiding the blooper, bizarre buttons, stealth duplicates, San Francisco, New York, United Airlines (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jeff Johnson's sharp eye for usability, coupled with plenty of examples and recommendations, can transform even the dullest and most complicated site into a sleek example of Web usability."
--Nina Malakooty on Firstmonday.org

"Engaging, Educational, Enjoyable, Erudite: Excellent!"
--Dr. Jakob Nielsen, Nielsen Norman Group

"Many of the examples are priceless - just reading them made my blood boil with recognition."
--Howard Tamler, Principal, HT Consulting

"If you are part of a Web team, Web Bloopers is a must-have book. If you know anyone who is developing Web sites, give them this book as a present. It's fun and it's informative...Get and read this book. Give it to your favorite Web developers--and to your least favorite Web developers. You'll all learn from it."
--Ginny Redish in Technical Communication

"Each section puts a name to a common mistake, gives several real-world examples of its occurrence, and then explains what the site's designers should have done instead." - C/C++ Journal

Book Description

Provides web designers with the do's and don'ts of designing web site graphic-user interfaces (GUI)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann (April 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558608400
• ISBN-13: 978-1558608405
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #681,321 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Other usability books are better, September 16, 2004

By	M. Chabot (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book to be a bit lacking. I have read most of the usability books on the market, and this book did not cover anything new. The author did not go into the science behind the bloopers and does not cite any studies that were conducted. Rather, he uses pictures to back up each blooper. The book is 60-70% pictures. The layout of the book made it hard to read, since the pictures constantly interrupted the text flow.

You can find the list of bloopers on the author's Web site and I do not think this book adds much additional value, since most experienced Web developers have already seen examples of each blooper. You can find better descriptions of usability problems by doing a Web search. This book would be appropriate for a new Web designer/developer, or someone who has not already read much about usability.

In conclusion, most Web developers would be better off with the book Don't Make Me Think, a Jakob Nielsen book, or an Information Architecture book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference and check-list, August 22, 2003

By	Jessica Sant (NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you get paid to develop a website, you should have this book. As the title says, "Web Bloopers" details 60 of the most common (and annoying) design mistakes committed by web developers and then tells you how to avoid them.

Each blooper is explained in words as well as in pictures (snapshots are taken of various sites around the web), and then the author explains why the blooper is so bad and how to avoid it. As with any design, there are trade offs, sometimes you have to commit one blooper to avoid another, but as long as you realize that's what you're doing, you're gold. This book is very well organized. The title of each blooper is a good summary of the problem. The index in the back helps you to quickly find examples both good and bad (and it also lets you see if you're company has been made an example of). The author even points out some blooper's in his own publisher's website.

If everyone who is responsible for creating websites took the time to read this book, think about the user, how intuitive their site is, and how easy it is to glean information from it, the Internet would be a much nicer and friendlier place. I highly recommend this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable concepts, presented in a fun-to-read way, April 13, 2005

By	Andre Gous (Fallon, NV, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I saw the author's presentation at SD West 05, and that made me even more interested in reading this book. Jeff obviously understands the material very well, and he explains the issues eloquently. Fortunately, his book is at least as impressive as his verbal presentation.

As a Web/database developer (and small business owner) I have been steadily working my way through his "Web Bloopers" book. It's great stuff, and I enjoy reading it slowly and carefully pondering each issue. The more I read, the more I realize how desperately my own company's Web site needs to be improved.

One of my clients is tasked with improving an intranet site at a large Bay area computer company, and I've just recommended this book to the client. If the senior stakeholders read the book, it's likely to greatly the odds of project success.

Many IT-related books have good ideas. What makes Jeff's book so special is that he makes the learning process so enjoyable, with his interesting and funny real-world examples.