Rating: 
Summary: Everyone who works with the web should read this book.
Review: I've been planning a redesign of my website for several months now and during that time I've been trying to find out all the weak points and strengths of the current design. One part of my site that always felt "wrong" to me was our web forms. They felt cumbersome and lacked the polish the rest of the site had. The timing couldn't be better as 37signals released their new book "Defensive Design for the Web" just a week before my redesign was scheduled to begin. So before diving in to my project, I took a break and read 37signals book and I'm glad that I did.37signals has been publishing tips like this for a while, so they know what their talking about. If you've kept up with their popular blog (Signal vs. Noise), you already know what your in for. 37signals has worked for some very high profile companies, like Microsoft, Meetup and Monster.com. Who Should Read This Book? This book isn't technical, nor is it boring quantitative data. This book covers 40 rules for developing better forms online and anyone involved in the process would do well to grab a copy of this book. There is plenty of advice for programmers, developers, graphic designers and copy writers alike. I find myself in all of these roles from time to time so I was especially glad to see they didn't leave any of my jobs out. The bottom line is, if you want better forms on your site then this is the book for you, regardless of what you do. What You'll Find in This Book Defensive Design for the Web is broken down by chapters dealing with the major flaws that commonly plague web forms. Each chapter is then divided into rules with plenty of examples of both good and bad form design. The authors don't waste our time, they jump right into the issues and offer up suggestions to solve the problems. They also sprinkle in comments from clients and real world comparisons to drive the issues home. What I Liked About This Book I've been looking for relevant books on usability and interface design since I got into web design. While there are several books on the general subjects, there just doesn't seem to be enough that target the web. Defensive Design for the Web takes common web problems and relates them to real world usability problems and in doing so showed me the flaws in my own designs and how to fix them. I'm big on examples and the authors gave me want I wanted. The book is based on examples, highlighting websites that most people are familiar with and showing us what they did wrong and what they did right. I was able to use the examples in the book and compare them to my own site. I could see the improvement immediately. What I Didn't Like About This Book While this book speaks to usability at its very core, the authors seemed to rely entirely on visual cues to enhance their web forms. Obviously the subject of usability and accessibility don't always go hand in hand. I just wish they had dropped a few more hints about usability as it relates to accessibility. Another thing, they make several references to using color for visual queues in your forms and the book lacks color. The examples were still very useful and I appreciate the money they saved me by not printing in color. Still, I think the examples would have been even better in color. Extras This book was worth the cover price just for the extras. Beyond the normal Table of Contents and easy to use Index, the end of this book includes a wonderful worksheet for measuring how well your forms stack up. It's simple and easy to use and I've added it to my checklist for all my sites. Rating 5/5
Defensive Design for the Web was one of my favorite reads this year. I'm only sorry there wasn't more of it. I'm hoping 37signals publishes a second volume and I'll be sure to add them to my must read list. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for enhancing the user exprience
Review: I've made this book compulsory reading for everyone involved in web or internal system projects. It does not answer the questions or give a perfect example for every situation that comes along, but it does get you thinking about what would the appropriate message be for my situation based on some solid principles.
I agree with some of the reviewers that it is very basic - but most people don't get the basics right! It's entertaining and enlightening and will quickly get you on the right path to providing a better user experience.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading if you design web pages
Review: I've read the other reviews on this site and the negative ones seem to think the stuff in this book is rehashed or just common knowledge. I guess they didn't need this book. However, there are quite a lot of sites out there with horrible interfaces that could be made better if only they WOULD read "Defensive Design for the Web." So obviously there are those out there who CAN benefit from it. This is not strictly a book for web designers. It is a great one for business owners and those who actually pay the bills for web design. It helps explain why something is bad if they have a paricular pet peeve about doing something you think is plain bad design. Being a web developer, I can't say everything in it was something I didn't know. Some of it's just plain common sense. What I really liked was that it's short, to the point, and has an abundance of examples of both how to do something and how NOT to do it. If you want to create a better user experience, get this book.
Rating: 
Summary: All The Rules Everyone Knows But Never Follows
Review: If you are an experienced web designer, you've probably heard most of this before. You'll find as you go through this book that you are continually reminded of things you may not use daily, but you subconsciously know are right. It's a good way to take an objective look at your approach to usability, especially for errors and help; and a good pep talk for those of us who get too busy to pay attention to the basics.
If you're more of a beginner, this book should be required reading. It covers lots of good info in a very easy to understand way.
This book does not delve into technical details, only usability principles and ideas. It's a short, easy read and will inspire you to create more usable websites.
Rating: 
Summary: FOR THOSE WHO DON'T FOLLOW "DESIGN NOT FOUND"..
Review: No introduction necessary for 37S, I am a near-cultic reader of the "Design Not Found" (DNF) endeavour and of the "Signal vs. Noise" (SvN) blog. But upon reading the flyer for this book I wondered if I'd find something in it that's not already on these two sites. Unfortunately, the answer is somewhat mixed. PEOPLE WHO MAY FIND THIS BOOK USEFUL: (1) Those who don't have the time or the energy to voraciously follow the posts on SvN or the additions to DNF.
(2) Site Managers who need a guideline or checklist of things they would do well to cover off.
(3) Project Managers making a case for that common-sense stuff that's usually skirted amidst all those Yesterday deadlines.
(4) Cultic fans of 37 Signals
(5) Those who like Interstate typography :)
(6) Those who don't really care for actual implementation, but are looking simply for some cursory ideas and examples. For instance, in giving examples of good 404 pages (aren't we kinda late to the party if we need a book such as this to get educated on the MOST fundamental element of a website?) we are never really told how these pages can be implemented. We instead get 7 pages of what the authors believe are good case studies. Fair enough. PEOPLE WHO MAY BE DISAPPOINTED:
(1) Web Developers in the know. I mean, do I really need a half page discourse on the scourge of the RESET button (which no one uses) or a whole page on why I should disable the SUBMIT button once it has been pressed by a user, etc etc?
(2) Those who believe that nearly twenty dollars could get you a whole array of other cool things. SUMMARY: It's an extended and neatly bound version of DNF with a New Riders stamp, and only you're the judge of what that could mean to you. Great stuff, very well presented in the customary 37S elegant minimalistic design, but it would be difficult to make a case for why this is a must-own item for webbies in-the-know.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, worth the money
Review: Overall, the book is well-written, somewhat entertaining and contains practical information for anyone involved in planning or developing a website. The authors provide adequate examples of the right and not-quite-right ways websites handle the specific issues they discuss. A helpful supplement to this book would be a "Hands On" practical guide with code examples and resources for implementing methods they discuss. For example, the authors suggest highlighting fields on a web form when the user inputs incorrect data. While there are numerous ways to implement this and many on-line resources, it would be helpful to know how the authors (a.k.a., the experts) prefer to implement these techniques. If you're a novice or intermediate website developer, you'll find this book enlightening. If you're an experienced developer with some familiarity and practice with web usability principles, you may not learn anything new from the book, but nonetheless it will provide a good "refresher course." If you're involved in marketing/selling website development services, you should read this book because it will help you to build a case for improving existing websites.
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but should be required reading...
Review: prior to creating a website.
This excellent book is a good primer for developers who want a comprehensive guide on how to guide a person through their site, what to do to help people avoid problems, and how to help people recover gracefully when they do experience problems. The book is well-written in an informal, easy-to-read format. The writing avoids tech speak so it can easily be understood by those without knowledge of the technical aspects of coding web sites, and has lots of good examples illustrating the point under discussion.
I have a couple of criticisms about the work also. One is that a few of the guidelines violate web usability principles, principles backed up by empirical research. My other criticism is that the content in this book has a lot of white space, more than I care for. Some of the guidelines included are quite difficult to pull off also, except for some of the larger web sites around, particularly those based around search, unless you use Google's search service on the site or know a proficient search engine designer.
All in all, the book is very good, and has been mentioned, should be considered required reading before actually publishing a website.
Rating:
Summary: A "must-have" for web site designers
Review: Target Audience
Web site designers/developers who need to learn how to reduce the frustration factor in their sites. Contents
This book covers the subject of how to code web sites that gracefully handle unexpected conditions encountered by visitors. The book is divided into the following chapters: Understanding Defensive Design; Show The Problem; Language Matters; Bulletproof Forms; Missing In Action; Lend A Helping Hand; Get Out Of The Way; Search And Rescue; Out Of Stocks and Unavailable Items; The Contingency Design Test; Contingency Design Review
We've all visited web sites that promise cool things. But somewhere along the way, you do something that is not quite what the program expected. Maybe you entered an incorrect date or missed a required field. Your joy quickly disappears as the site makes you jump through a number of hoops to correct the data or get back on track. They end up losing a customer without even knowing it. If you're a web developer, this is a critical issue for you, and the book Defensive Design for the Web is what you need to start correcting these issues. The authors present 40 guidelines that cover different aspects of defensive design, or contingency design as they call it. Some are pretty basic, such as "Always identify errors the same way". Others require a bit more thought in the coding of the site, such as "Assist form dropouts by saving information". But instead of just stating the guideline and moving on, they take it a step further. Using familiar and popular web sites, they provide "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" examples of each guideline. By seeing the guidelines actually applied in real-life, you are much more likely to understand the problems associated with it. I know if my site was used as a "thumbs down" example, I'd be motivated to get it fixed post haste. At the end of the book, there is a contingency test you can apply to your site. You start by taking the test yourself as a baseline. After you think you've cleaned up the site, then have some real visitors use the site and take the test. If you can do well in both these scenarios, then your site is better off than most others out there. You're probably also seeing a high rate of repeat traffic. The book is easy to read, but you'll most likely return to the guidelines over and over. This is a book that is going to be no more than an arms-length away. Conclusion
This is a "must have" if you develop web sites. The concepts and tips in this book can make the difference between one-time and repeat visitors.
Rating: 
Summary: Not So Much
Review: The contents of this paperback would make an interesting series of articles, but it lacks the depth needed for any good book. Everything is already upfront in the table of contents and it does not go into any real substance inside. Although the authors do provide some good ideas, they don't suggest anything that isn't already common sense to those in the web development field. The problem is that the book makes no assumptions about the type of site that you're running or the server environment, so it doesn't tell you how to achieve anything. If you are new to the web management field, you might find this a good choice. Anyone else will probably feel cheated.
Rating:
Summary: Regarding Ticketmaster
Review: This book cites the Ticketmaster UI as a poor choice when ordering tickets to a sold-out show. The complaint is that Ticketmaster forces you to apply for tickets (and: note! pass the human authentication mechanism where you are forced to read something not easily machine-readable!) before it lets you know that none are available.
The reason this process must be in place, which would occur to one after just a little thought, is so that automated processes wouldn't be set up to screen-scrape the mythical no-auth-required "tickets still available" page and automatically buy (or alert a human to buy) tickets the second they become available, giving those an unfair advantage over regular folks who would simply like a shot at a ticket or two.
This book is filled with such "this is bad! this is good!" declarations and examples which are not always very well thought-out.
Anyone who is smart and gives a damn about UI (and you should! I certainly do) would already know most of the things in this book.
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