Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading, but rehashes many conservative views
Review: Designing Web Usability is a worthwhile read, but dwells on many conservative views (minimize graphics, use blue-red link color scheme, etc). Nielson doesn't acknowledge that sometimes it is better to design a wonderful site for 90% of your customers than to dull it down severely for the sake of the other web-handicapped 10%. While we may need to design for palm pilot viewing in the future, it's hardly a pressing concern right now.That said, go ahead and read it for hundreds of great usability tips (e.g. adding link titles, always using trailing slashes in HREFs, how table attributes are displayed differently in 5 browsers, etc.). Just don't take it as design gospel. It's good to know when you're making a design/usability trade-off, but sometimes the sacrifice is well worth the cost.
Rating: 
Summary: Required reading for all of us
Review: With the many computer related books that I must read to continue on this technology road, I can easily say that "Designing Web Usability" has made me think more than all the others. It is a book that doesn't necessarily teach us facts and 'strict' rules as much as it pushes the development community to start thinking in new ways. Designing for 'usability' should be a given considering the Web's user base can often be newcomers to the computer world, but this isn't the case. It is easy to understand, after years of designing boring databases it is wonderful to immerse ourselves in wonderful graphics and slick navigation systems. Does any of this really serve the users? Many times not. But beware, after reading Jakob Nielson's book, you may find yourself analyzing every page you read, asking yourself "Why didn't they do this. If they would just change that over there and it would be so much easier..."
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for Designers and CEOs Alike
Review: Jakob Nielsen really puts his finger on the core issue of websites: Are they usable? If not, your customers aren't coming back. Everybody who thinks they want a website, everyone who HAS a website -- EVERYBODY should read this book. If everyone did, and designers applied what they read, the Web would be a much friendlier and useful place.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money and subscribe to Alertbox
Review: I have been a huge fan of Jakob Nielsen for years. I am also a subscriber to his Alertbox newsletter (on useit.com). I was looking forward to this book, but alas, found nothing in here that I would classify as new or ground-breaking. If you have never, and I mean never, read a book on web design, then by all means, buy this book. But if you have read anything by Waters, Weinnman, Pirouz, McClelland, Ibanez or Flemming (all excellent writers of web design and technique) then you have covered the topics in this book already. There is no technical, or real design theory here. Search the Useit.com archives and then subscribe either directly or through devhead (ZD Net) and save your money for his next book (of which this is Part I). You'll get the same information for free ;-)
Rating:
Summary: Generally good advice, well illustrated
Review: Enough of the reviews here already praise this book for theauthor's qualifications and his good advice, and they're generallyright. It might be useful in addition to note that the book isprofusely illustrated (it had better be, at [the price]). The emphasis on commerce may not appeal to all readers, but Nielsen's recommendations are usually easy to apply to non-commercial projects. There are some points on which I'd disagree with the author (e.g., I'd say the "tradition" of blue for unvisited links and red for visited ones is not worth preserving), but Nielsen is good at outlining the sometimes conflicting priorities in web design so that readers can have an informed basis for agreeing or disagreeing. So let's talk about what needs to be fixed for the second edition. Start with the cover. Why is it that the subtitle ("The Practice of Simplicity"), which encapsulates the book's message, appears not on the front or the spine, but only on the back cover? In fact, the only other places it appears are on the inside flap (which also features nearly unreadable text in white reversed out of fluorescent lime green) and the copyright page. A bizarre flaw in an otherwise crisp and readable design. This is a book whose topic cries out for checklists to refer back to after the argument has been digested. They would be a tremendous asset. Nielsen has read Edward Tufte's fabulous "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information", but apparently the book designer hasn't: the pie chart on page 314 is needlessly rendered in 3 dimensions, causing slight but noticeable distortion of the data. Note to the author and New Riders Press: the ethnic slur on page 182 ("Chinese Embassy design") is disgraceful. Still a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Darn Useful
Review: I purchased this book to obtain a better understanding of web usability design for my own small business site. This book presents web usability design clearly. So clearly, in fact, that the design ideas presented can be understood and applied. I approached the book by reading the Preface and Introduction, then other topics according to design issues that I encountered. This approach has worked well, although I plan to read it straight through when I have time. Definitely a good value.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant, concise reference for Web designers
Review: Dr. Nielsen's new book is a revelation. It offers wonderful insight into his experience dealing with the Web and is an invaluable reference for Web designers. His examples are relevant and his prose concise, making for an extremely easy reading experience. If you design Web sites or work in other areas of multimedia, this book is a must.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Elegant!
Review: Jakob Nielsen has created the perfect guidebook for Web usability. Based on a simple premise -- simplicity yields usability -- he has cut to the heart of great web design. He has recognized that, above all else, Web users want things made easy. If it loads quickly, tells you exactly where you are, provides information in highly useable form and doesn't attempt to take advantage of the user and cause them to be disoriented, the design will succeed. I have purchased copies for everyone on my Web development team. They have all instantly recognized the value of the many guidelines and rules the Nielsen sets out throughout the book. We have already adopted many of these rules as our own. His 1/10th second-1 second-10 second guidline reflects the experience of the everyday user. Since reading that chapter of the book, I rarely wait long once I know I have passed the one second mark and am likely on my way to ten or more. If you go ten pages without exclaiming' "Ah! ha!', then you are not paying attention. Nielsen has created the "Web Field of Dreams" -- if you build it [with usability and simplicity], they will come [back again and again]."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent in its simplicity
Review: This book should be on the desk of all web designers, amateur and professional. Jakob Nielsen is to the point and brief as he discusses (or critiques) websites and his thoughts on what makes a website pleasing yet functional. I gave this book 4 stars because much of the info in the book is available on his website. He doesn't write about anything new or something you couldn't look up at his site. The advantage of the book is that you're free to mark it up with your sticky notes and pen -- so you can implement what you learned into your site. While all may not agree with Nielsen's opinions about website design , he does have very valid points and the web would do well to heed some of his advice.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent starting point for students of info design
Review: On pages 13 and 14, Jakob writes: "You are probably going to have to buy two books...this book will tell you *what* to do with your site and an implementation book to tell you *how* to put that design on the Net." I wholeheartedly agree with Jakob's statement here. This book should be read required reading for anyone who saw a "kewl" webpage with lots of "neat" navigation elements and wants to try their hand at website design. There are simply too many badly designed, useless sites out there. We don't need to add any more to the pile. This book's focus seemed to be toward the news publishing industry and producers of "static" pages in general. The only thing I wish this book covered more was how to design complex web _applications_ (non-static pages) for improved usability. I've been watching Jakob's columns since 1997 and I have seen many of his predictions about the Web and usability come true. I highly recommend this book to site designers and CEOs alike. Users of their websites will be the ones to benefit.
| 
