Sliders are often the UI control of choice for letting users select a value or range from a fixed set of options. However, in practice, sliders are difficult to manipulate . Especially on touch interfaces, the level of control needed to meticulously operate a slider to an exact value is simply not realistic.
Definition: A slider is a control element that uses a knob or lever moved horizontally to control a variable, such as volume on a radio or brightness on a screen.
Imprecise Interactions
When designing a usable UI we must consider the context in which the interface will be used. For mobile design in particular, users often hold...
Use a slider only when the precise value won’t matter to the user, but rather only the approximate range. Make sure that the users can select that range correctly without having to struggle too much to hit a precise value. In addition, any slider labels must be displayed above or beside the
Tab-design problems are a common finding when using analytics for a UX health check. Assuming that you’re tracking within-page actions, you may find that users rarely use the tabs on certain pages. Check if you’re violating any of the guidelines in this article. If yes, you probably have the
A practical tip: links to a directory should include the final slash in the URL when embedded in webpages. The slash should be left out when writing the URL for human consumption. For example, the link to the list of Alertbox columns should be written as http://www.useit.com/alertbox in a (printed
CSS conversion of my Radio weblog
I’ve done a re-design of my Radio weblog, using CSS. Look ma, no tables! Yes, it’s now a tableless design. I’m doing my bit for the web standards cause, although I haven’t yet achieved 100% XHTML validation. For my re-design I used a CSS Zen Garden design by Michael Landis
The Future of Blockchain: Technology Partnerships with AI, Bots, and IoT
Consumers can receive more transparent product information so they know exactly what they are buying and more about its origins. Smart contracts keep retailers honest about what they are doing, which builds trust and holds everyone to a higher standard. Additionally, the AI mechanism collects
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
Finally, Hathaway sees this as a unique opportunity for the United States to work with countries around the world, and with organizations on an extremely local level. “We cannot succeed if our government works in isolation,” she added. It requires “leading from the top” from
Beyond Usability: 3 User Experiences Reshaping Their Industries
When they call a regular cab, riders have no control — hence, all the anxieties listed above. With Uber, they suddenly get all the control they need: once they order an “uber”, they see how far away the car is and how much they have to wait, they know in advance how much the ride will cost
slider design: rules of thumb
Modes in User Interfaces: When They Help and When They Hurt Users
However, even this simple interface also includes access to a mode. Normally, typing a letter in either of the views will highlight other items, based on their names. However, if you click on the text label once, after that item is already selected and highlighted, the name of the item flips into
Social Impact and Sustainability on Corporate Websites
Don’t undermine your credibility by inadvertently overstating your efforts. Keep your claims factual and avoid exaggerated statements, especially on those pages that communicate about social good. With that said, don’t be too humble and hide your accomplishments, either. After all, the purpose
How Community Can Drive Commerce: A Lesson from China’s Little Redbook
China is one of the world’s largest consumers of luxury goods. Many overseas and cross border products are brought into China with high customs fees. Redbook targets this opportunity by sourcing products from overseas sellers, storing them in free-trade zones that are not subject to the customs
The Anatomy of a List Entry
A list entry in the United Healthcare’s medical-provider directory page emphasizes the provider name in large blue font. The provider’s specialty is also stressed in a smaller but bold font directly below the name. Other important pieces of information are isolated and paired with icons toward
Typography Terms Cheat Sheet
Before the digital age, serif fonts were deemed more legible, and easier to read than sans-serif ones, but in modern days, sans-serif fonts have comparable and sometimes better legibility, especially on digital screens. (The issue was that the serifs didn’t render nicely on low-resolution
WP Engine: 2018 in Review
New year, new you, did you say? Well, that was our reality in 2018 as we rolled out some of our favorite new platform additions. We took the lead on the Amazon Polly plugin, the first plugin to bring voice technology to WordPress. The WP Engine Digital Experience Platform continued to evolve and
slider design: rules of thumb
StudioPress Theme Spotlight: Academy Pro Theme
A child theme works in combination with the parent theme. With regards to Genesis, child themes serve as a sort of skin that can change the way a theme looks, while relying on the functionality of its parent theme (in this case, Genesis). Child themes offer users the added flexibility to customize
Genesis Framework and StudioPress Themes Now Available for WP Engine Customers .
Countless publications such as Wired and the New York Times live on WordPress. The News Pro Theme gives you the look and feel of a full-featured publication. Display featured stories, article snippets and different categories. The theme even includes built-in ad space so you don’t have to account
When and How to Create Customer Journey Maps
At the heart of a journey map’s narrative is what the user is doing, thinking, and feeling during the journey. These data points should be based on qualitative research, such as field studies, contextual inquiry, and diary studies. The granularity of representation can vary based on the purpose
Sliders, Knobs, and Matrices: Balancing Exploration and Precision
Detailed parameters need the right controls — that is, controls that convey some information not only about how they should be used, but also about the range of values appropriate for the parameter they represent. The control should provide easy means to explore the range of possible values and
Case Study: Iterative Design and Prototype Testing of the NN/g Homepage
We learned something new with each round. Feedback was categorized into four themes: copy, architecture, layout, and visual style. Depending on the feedback, we tweaked one or multiple aspects of the page. In some cases, we only needed to tweak a sentence or make something higher contrast; in other
Quick Streaming from Anywhere: 10 Best VPNs for IPTV
Using a VPN service for the first time? You’ll want a VPN that’s easy for you to operate. CyberGhost is definitely in that easy to use and operate category. CyberGhost has a user-friendly graphical interface that provides you with the ability to choose many kinds of activities. You can
3 CRM Features You Need to Become GDPR Compliant
GDPR also requires that individuals have the right to request access to their data. Your CRM software needs to have features that make it possible to quickly export contact data when they ask for it. Check your CRM to see if it has data export features so you can download information from your
Groundbreaking Tips for Managing Big Data
Big data is the type of data that is characterized by informational and technical features. A huge and ever-growing data volume, a variety of data formats and a log of records nature belong to the informational aspects. Traditional solutions are no longer suitable for capturing, storing and
Meet Meural, Fine Art on My Walls at Home
If you were unlucky, you were also terrorized by these frames in the parents room, family room and the pool-table room. It would be very difficult to study and graph the ptsd these little gems may have caused through the years. With the beautiful Meural — you are welcome to help your children
slider design: rules of thumb
What To Expect At This Year’s Mobile World Congress
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the big name companies, but I’m curious to see what vendors at the Greek Pavilion have to offer given they’ve been innovating under financially lean circumstances. Companies that not only have survived, but grown, their businesses
Start-ups and International Talent
Dan also said that “we’ll see an increasing number of important startups based outside of the Valley over the coming few years.” Again, I think this is a trend to watch out for. Not only in big countries like China, but in very small countries like my own. I’m certainly keen
Slider Design: Rules of Thumb | Priming and User Interfaces
Priming and User Interfaces
Images and page content prime people into forming expectations of the website. If those assumptions are further confirmed, the overall experience is smooth and pleasant. However, when the assumptions are proven wrong, people often perceive that the site has poor usability. In the example below, the
University Websites: Top 10 Design Guidelines
Contrary to what you may think, teenagers and college-aged students don’t always appreciate a hip language or interaction. Students are conscious of the high costs of education; many will go into debt. They take that very seriously, and they want you to do the same. Using clever labels or flashy
Beware Horizontal Scrolling and Mimicking Swipe on Desktop
However, because horizontal scrolling is a lot less common on desktops, users often have no idea that they can discover content by “swiping” on large screens. Since people interact with mobile and desktop devices differently, the one-size-fits-all approach can backfire. The key point is that
