Usability guru Jakob Nielson just posted a new article about the state of user skills. It is a pretty interesting read if you develop websites. The gist of the article is people are getting better at using the web. But, and there is always a but, they aren’t as skilled as most web designers and developers think they are.

As an artsy fartsy designer guy I often forget about basic usability guidelines. The article was a reminder to me that not everyone is a web designer! Shocking I know. Not everyone can immediately use complex navigation, or know where to look for the content they want, or how to filter search results, or how to search at all.

I’m a big believer in usability(regardless if I put it in my own designs), mostly because when sites don’t follow any guidelines they make me think. And I hate thinking. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for someone who isn’t a web designer when they come across a new complex site. The results in the article confirm this. Opening new browser windows, splash screens(God forbid a flash intro!), fancy scrollbars, and animated email GIFs just piss people off.

A Few Standout Points

• The study targeted more successful people which implies to me more educated users.
• People use search as the primary way to find the content they want.
• People suck at searching. Ok that isn’t fair, people rarely change their search strategy. (e.g. changing up their search keywords.)
• If your site is usable, you get loyal users(so it may be a little more complicated than that, but its a start)
• The people in this study have been on the web 3+ years. Jakob says waiting for users to get more experience won’t help and web-sites are too complicated. I don’t know how I feel about that, as people get more comfortable with computers and the web in general they will be able to understand more complex information architectures(oooh fancy words)
• Email newsletters are the best way to get returning users. This came to me as a surprise as I have never done anything with newsletters. I assumed RSS was in normal use…I was wrong…as usual.
• People still need a Home link. This was no surprise to me, but can’t wait for the day when no home links clutter up my navs.
• Designers think different than users. Just because I know how it works doesn’t mean Joe Blow does. This is why interface conventions are so important.

Jakob’s article is full of useful information and definitely worth a read.