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Rating:  -
Homepage Usability presents 50 major websites to artful analysis and thoughtful design criticism much in the way a well written art history overview would examine and catalog an exhibit. I found the book impressive in its exquisite rendering of the visuals, clarity of the markup of items and the writing clear and professional. The greatest compliant this reviewer has with the book is a keyword in its subtitle - deconstructed. The book would have been more useful if a set of guidelines and conclusions were more clearly presented rather than being distributed though the book. Perhaps in a revised edition or a companion volume the authors could take the experience and analysis gathered and and present it in the context of human factors engineering and webpage usability. Still despite these shortcomings, the book is important and clear in what it does accomplish - it is not a slap-dash effort - it stands out as well done. There is still need for a constructivist book on the subject. Much like the core web language HTML the details are overwhelming and structure sorely lacking - Homepage Usability does not simply elicit principles of web design. It is a benchmark to publishers that quality writing in the computer industry is possible.
Rating:  -
For that homepage that snaps and attracts design in Internet 'real estate': covering navigation, music, content, identity recognition employing elements of type, pictures, spacing, priority signals, coloring-- looks at the MOST visited sites such as Disney, ebay, amazon and MTV. 50 different sites with several pages devoted to each site. 320 pages all in color in beautiful book layout with points of reference for easy-to-compare pros and cons one site to another.
Rating: -
While the content here is somewhat dated today, the lessons within are timeless. Each website reviewed and taken apart shows you exactly why some elements don't work and why others do. Then, when put back together, visually it shows you how it should have been done day one. Not only the 'how' but the 'why' as well. This is a great guide to keep by your desk if you design websites regularly.
Rating:  -
Admittedly, I've been biased against Nielson's works since the publication of `Designing Web Usability' in 1999; finding his tendency to oversimplify and `deconstruct' rather ineffectual. And as usual, `Homepage Usability' disappoints as an overly sensational and inaccurate evaluation of homepage usability. There are good parts, in particular, the statistics you may want to reference for your own usability initiatives. But the `50 webpages deconstructed' portion is not much more than Nielson spewing hot air. If you learn (or are entertained) best through critique by an impossible standard and ideal, by all means, this book is for you. If you are looking for a USABLE and real life guide to homepage design, look elsewhere.
Rating: -
This book excels in giving detailed critiques of the home pages of 50 prominent websites. These include Microsoft, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, General Electric and Boeing. The websites span the gamut from appealing to a mass audience, like Amazon and MTV, to more specialised corporate sites like GE.
The authors offer incisive comments. All the more valuable for not being always complimentary. They show how even a large company can have flaws in its home page. Take GE for example. Its page has a "Buy Online" section. But it is mostly misleading. The links in that section point to such items as aircraft, which you cannot buy online.
The websites were captured several years ago. So it's quite possible that if you go to their current addresses, the pages are different. Yet the analysis in the book is still instructive. It should also be noted that the unusual shape of the book might be misleading. From the outside, it looks like a coffeetable type book. Full of glossy images. It does indeed have the latter. But these are high resolution screen captures that enhance the visual nature of the pages and their analyses.
If you are designing your own website, try going first through this book, for inspiration.
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