Customer Rating:  
Summary: Virtually useless.
Comment: The problem with a 'common sense' approach to usability is twofold:1)The design suggestions are solely the author's subjective opinions and have little empirical data to back them up. 2)The suggestions that are well established enough to indeed be 'common sense' are common knowledge as well. It's not really news to anyone that a Web page should be visually simple, rather than visually complex. In short, if you have any background in the field at all, you'll mistrust many of the guidelines and already know the rest.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Business will love you ('cos the users love you)
Comment: All business architects doing web development should read this book so as to nag on developers about how terrible the site designs are. All web developers should read this book so as not to be nagged at.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Common Sense - What a Concept!
Comment: Imagine someone approaching the subject of web design with genuine common sense. Neilsen has done just that here. His basic premise -- that simplicity and usability are the ultimate criteria in web design -- is backed up with statistics and well-chosen examples. He also makes the refreshingly sensible point that user-friendly website design is the key to successful web business -- a fact that he logically extends to intranet and extranet design too.I found many of my core beliefs on the subject affirmed, and more than a few new insights. If more websites applied the principles discussed here, all our cyber lives would be easier. No other book or web source that I know of is as comprehensive or as well organized -- although I do wish he used fewer side bars to make points that should have been covered by his main text. I look forward to the promised sequel (on how to apply these theories). In the meantime, this is essential reading for anyone with a serius interest in enlightened web design.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, solid fundamentals
Comment: A must read for anyone interested in getting the most pull for his Web content. He explains the do's and don'ts very well enabling you to avoid the pitfalls. But as the broad band technologies become more of a reality, his notion that favors using minimal graphics and multimedia in favor of text may become a thing of the past. He has a great site that outlines the points in the book - but buy the book if you can afford it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A complete set of useful checkpoints
Comment: If you are looking for the latest technologies or some special tricks to make a COOL Web page, this definitely is not a book for you. But for the Web designers, pros or amateurs, who need to create a no-nonsense web site, this book is a must-buy.Not all the contents are necessarily revolutionary and similar articles could be found here and there on the Web. However, backed with usability test results and examples of actual Web pages, the topics effectively laid out in this book are very understandable, convincing and kind of fun to read on, even for a non-English speaker like me. This book is especially helpful if you do not even know which parts of your Web site need to be (and can be) improved. In fact, this book has helped me realize the errors I made - mostly for my ill-founded prejudice or even self-satisfaction - in my past Web designs. Of course, it is all up to you whether to follow the rules of this book, but it will not be a bad thing to see what the rules are in the first place before deciding which way to go. Should make a breakthrough if published in Japanese.
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