The actual usable size to avoid any scrolling at this resolution is 595 x 295 pixels (the safe width for printing at this resolution is 535 pixels). Most users however have their resolution set at 800 x 600 (31%). To avoid scrolling here, the usable size is 750 x 425 pixels. A compromise would be to place the most important information within areas that are visible at lower resolution settings, while placing less important informatio

Participants reported that they preferred the summary condition over the Links only condition because the brief summaries accompanying the links often guided them to the information they were searching for. Participants commented that, in the links only condition, they sometimes felt as if they were "jumping blindly" into the article. Several participants also reported that they did not like having to scroll through all of the articles in the full text condition. This study suggests that providing a small amount of information about an article on a page is superior to having long, scrolling pages filled with articles.

This can be lessened by reducing the amount of information presented at one time and properly organizing the navigational structure of the site. For example, in a study comparing three types of structures: pure hierarchical (web pages at one level can only access by a web page directly above or below it), nonlinear (links could be connected to any number of other web pages on the site), and mixed design (hierarchical structure with cross referential links) researchers found that participants recalled more information with the mixed design. The pure hierarchical structure was found to be too restrictive, and the nonlinear design presented too much information at one time (McDonald & Stevenson, 1998). Thus, sites should present only the amount of links that are necessary for navigation -superfluous links will increase the probability that the users will be confused and disoriented. Additional support for this conclusion can be derived from the Hick-Hyman law, which generally states that the greater the number of options (in this case navigational options), the longer it takes to find the appropriate one because of greater uncertainty.

Some topics in this essay:
Hull Drake, Bernard Riley, Michael Bernard, Bauer Cavonius, Donald Norman, Usability Bernard, Poynter Institute, Dillart Kahn, Norman Chin, Chaparro Chaparro, serif fonts, web page, figure 1, line lengths, sans serif, significant differences, significantly preferred, study bernard, figure 2, structure site, sans serif fonts, 2nd preference choice, 1st 2nd preference, contrast text background, shorter line lengths,