cyberROTH Interactive Solutions

If you watched the Hope For Haiti Now special in January, you couldn’t help but notice all the stories being told about Haitian victims of the the earthquake. Chances are you also couldn’t help but notice the tear running down your cheek or your hand reaching for the telephone. That’s because storytelling is the most powerful way of making an impression — and being remembered.

People read the Web differently from how they read magazines or books, so Web copy must take that into account if it’s to be effective. But the differences are mainly those of style — like the difference between driving a stick vs. an automatic: Once you’ve got the basic principles, that copy will take you anywhere you need to go.

In honor of World Usability Day, officially the second Thursday in November, I thought I’d write about Web usability: What it is and why it matters to the effectiveness of any Web endeavor.

Excellent article citing psychological studies and real-life experience to show why “Attractive things work better,” and therefore why design is crucial.