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

D

dark on light, better than light on dark, 256-257

data

asking for as little as possible, 56

beware of rejecting legitimate , 127

inadequate indexing of, 189

losing on return to a previous page, 47, 48

poorly indexed, 178

requiring unneeded, 52, 55-57

data choosers , augmenting text fields with, 123, 124

data-entry forms, 121, 247-248

data fields. See also text fields

designating as required for no good reason, 56

intolerant, 124-128

matching length to data, 127

not accepting nonalphanumeric characters , 125

providing patterns for, 128

tagging in standard ways, 54

data- type-specific controls, devising, 123

date control, specifying a date, 123, 124

dates

calendar tools for selecting, 157

formats for, 124-125

Dead-end Paths blooper, 72-78

Dead or Alive: Active Buttons Look Inactive blooper, 268-272

deadlines

meeting or not stating , 35

not missing publicly posted, 42

Deceptive Duplicate Links blooper, 93-102

default input focus

necessary for online forms, 140

setting, 141

default input focus, setting, 139

default values

allowing users to opt in, 138

evil, 137

faulty, 136-138

favoring a website's company over its users, 137

in forms and control panels, 128

providing if possible, 134

reasons for not providing, 129

selecting the best options, 138

setting invalid, 138

DenPlan.co.uk website, poor layout of the Dentist Search page, 152

descriptions, unhelpful, 24-28

design

blunders, 4

decisions, 283

determining site requirements during, 37

idioms, 157

designers of websites , 5

desktop GUI software, tabbed panels in, 276

destination airport, distinguishing from final destination, 72

developers

responsibilities of, 283

of websites, 5

younger than users, 246-247

development managers

bloopers made by, 282-283

responsibility of, 283

dialog boxes

definition of, 201

using for error messages, 265

Dice.com

confusing search options, 162

misleading graphic images, 229

search facility returning irrelevant job descriptions and ordering them poorly, 180-181

search query not repeated, 189

underlined non-link text, 226-227

unique Restrict by Area Code option, 163

Different Words for the Same Thing blooper, 213-214

different words, using for the same concept, 213-214

DigiGuide.com

different terms for FAQ, 212, 213

marketing text beginning each search result, 171, 172

number of hits not revealed in search results, 190, 191

digital certificates, allowing to expire, 34

Direct Access service at Citibank, 73-76, 77

disguised self-links, 112

display angle, 265

display resolution, 254

distinct links, 93

distinguishing data, emphasizing for search results, 173

distracting links to useless information, 37, 38

distractions

avoiding, 37

spurious matches as, 179

District of Columbia, failing to include on state lists, 66

DMV.CA.gov. See California Department of Motor Vehicles' (DMV) website

documents, cross-links between, 240

double jargon, 200-201

download locations, meaningless choices for, 58

Dr. Dobb's Journal website, underlined book titles, 228

drop-down menus , 130-133

Dueling Search Controls blooper, 167-170

Duplicate Hits blooper, 174-175

duplicate links

avoiding, 100-102

in intranet Web application, 96-98

spotting at Monterey.com, 99-100

types of, 93

duplicates, types of, 174

duplication of information, ensuring no contradictions, 32

duplication of links, 93