WebMantras

Recently Windows Live introduced Single-Use code a very simple and effective way to Sign-In to your Live account from a public computer like at the library or school. You can now use a Single-Use Code instead of your password for added security.

Requesting a Single-Use Code:
Each Single-Use Code can be used only one time, but you can request one whenever you need one. When you request a Single-Use Code, you receive it in a text message to a mobile phone number that you’ve added to your Windows Live account.

Came across these excellent posts on Form Usability:

1. Recommended method for collecting Names in forms
2. International Address Fields in Web Forms
3. 25 Web Form Optimization Tips
4. Getting a Form’s Structure Right: Designing Usable Online Email Applications

List of recommended reading:

1. Usability assessment of Australian Health Insurance websites
2. 10 common Shopping Cart Design mistakes
3. Branded navigation links are bad news

According to Jakob Nielsen‘s recent Banner Blindness findings NO.

Jakob Nielsen’s study found that users almost never look at anything that looks like an advertisement, whether or not it’s actually an ad. Heatmaps from the eyetracking study also showed how users almost never look at design elements that resemble ads, even if they aren’t ads.

If you are a small business you are better off by creating ads that look like it is a part of the specific section in which it is displayed. It is worth spending time to seek websites that publish content related to your ad rather then placing banner ads on non related sites.

If you are a small business and want to understand which banner/ad placement will give the best results, install Crazy Egg. Crazy Egg will help you understand and visualize where people came from and what they clicked on.

Jakob Nielsen in his April Alertbox newsletter has written about how breadcrumbs can enhances usability and fosters user comfort. He also predicts users will use breadcrumbs even more in the future because Windows Vista uses breadcrumbs for navigation. Users will transfer their understanding of Vista’s interaction techniques to your website.

If your site doesnt have breadcrumbs already, you should start implementing them right away. According to Jakob Nielsen’s study breadcrumbs improve your usability a bit now, meet increasing user expectations in the future, and — most importantly — they won’t hurt.