Even Big Companies Make Usability Mistakes

Here is an interesting article that I came across on Sitepoint from Trenton Moss, an usability expert:

Top 10 Usability Blunders of the Big Players

Like most usability articles it does make some interesting points and it's always nice to read stories about big guys making basic mistakes. When optimizing a website it is easy to take your eye of the ball and forget that visitors need to be able to use the site effectively in order to make the right call to action. That's why it is always a good idea to understand how a site should look and function from a user's perspective and why email newsletters from Jakob Nielsen are always welcome in my inbox. Here is a list of Trenton's Top 10.

1. No Search Function
2. Massive Download Time
3. Non-scannable Text
4. Unclear Link Text
5. Poor 404 Error Page
6. Visited Links Not Shown
7. Frames Used
8. Links Point to the Current Page
9. Important information contained in images
10. Unique Scrolling System