Usability Crimes: Are You Guilty?

In my efforts to learn more about usability and web design, I found a blog post called "10 Usability Crimes You Really Shouldn't Commit."  I think the title is a bit redundant (Are there any crimes that really should be committed?  And are there any crimes that should kinda be committed?  Talk amongst yourselves.), but I thought it had some valuable information (along with an excellent use of illustrations).

Here are some points that I had never considered before:

Crime #6: A Background Image Without a Background Color

(screenshot from the article)

This one never came remotely near to crossing my mind.  However, I don't think it's as common as it once was to put text over a background image (and if I'm wrong about that, please correct me).  At any rate, color and its implications for readability is always important to keep in mind.

Crime #9: Telling People to "Click Here"

(screenshot from the article)

Here's the given description for this tip:

"The words click here have been around since the dawn of the Internet, but have been shunned aside in favour of more usable options. Using the words click here requires the user to read the whole sentence to find out what’s going to happen. Instead, describe what’s going to happen in the actual anchor link text."

What I find particularly interesting here is the idea that "click here" was, at one time, acceptable and commonplace on websites. Looking back, I realize that this claim is true, and it also occurs to me that I don't see it nearly as much as I used to. Perhaps this practice has fallen out of favor because we've become so accustomed to the idea of hyperlinks that we no longer need to be told to "click here"? Or is it because, as a society, we've lost patience for reading?

Crime #10: Using Justified Text

According to the article, "Justified text might look at neat and square to the eye, but it can generate some real readability problems, particularly for dyslexic users who can find it troublesome to identify words due to the uneven spacing of justified paragraphs."

Here's another one that I had never even considered, especially the part about dyslexia. However, justified text can be frequently found in printed texts, such as magazines and newspapers. Why is it acceptable to use this type of text alignment in print but not on the web? Could it be that web designers are more conscious of the possible needs of their audience than print publishers? And, if that's the case, does that mean that the Internet is a more democratic medium than print?

As always, feel free to share your thoughts on any of the questions that I have posed. Additionally, let me know how you feel about the various crimes listed in the article.