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Defensive Design for the Web: How To Improve Error Messages, Help, Forms, and Other Crisis Points
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Book: A Look Inside
23 Feb 2004 by Matthew Linderman
This is the second in a series of posts about our upcoming book “Defensive Design for the Web: How To Improve Error Messages, Help, Forms, and Other Crisis Points.” The book is scheduled to be published on February 27, 2004. You can
pre-order it at Amazon now. Or
sign up to be notified by e-mail when the book is released.
Steve Krug, author of Don’t Make Me Think, on the book:
“The folks at 37signals have created an invaluable resource: tons of ‘best practice’ examples for ensuring that Web users can recover gracefully when things — as they inevitably will — go ‘worng.’”
Here’s what the book will give you:
- 40 guidelines to prevent errors and rescue customers if a breakdown occurs.
- Hundreds of real-world examples from companies like Amazon, Google, and Yahoo that show the right (and wrong) ways to handle crisis points.
- An easy-to-perform test to evaluate your own site’s defensive/contingency design and suggestions on how to improve it over the long term.
The guideline chapters are the real heart of the book. Like Design Not Found, these chapters focus on real world usage. Instead of just saying “do this,” the book shows you why based on tons of positive and negative examples from around the Web. The guidelines also include “As If” metaphors that compare the online crisis points to offline situations and “Tech Tips” that offer advice on how to implement solutions.
These chapters also feature Head to Head examples where we see similar sites duke it out on the same issue. This sort of side-by-side comparison does a great job of hammering home what a difference effective contingency planning can make.
Jeffrey Zeldman, author of Designing With Web Standards, on the book:
“The best-laid plans of mice and web developers often go awry. No matter how artfully you structure, write, and design your company’s site, someone is always going to hit the wrong button, type the wrong password, or make other normal human mistakes. Anticipating errors and helping customers bounce back into the site’s flow can make the difference between success and failure. This clear, easy-to-read book tells how, with a depth no related title can match. Buy it, read it, keep it close to your monitor. The customer relationship you save may be your own.”
In the next couple of days we’ll post a table of contents and a sample chapter so you can really dive in and take a look.
7 comments so far (Post a Comment)
23 Feb 2004 | CM Harrington said...
Really looking forward to the new book.
While there are several books on the subject of "best practices", all seem to focus on one thing: doing it "their way". That may be all very good, but if I don't know *why* I should do it "their way", how will I measure success in my own interpretation? It seems to me that The Book goes to great lengths to "teach me how to fish". Finally!
23 Feb 2004 | Berto said...
Does it come with free punch out sunglasses so I don't get blinded by the cover?
23 Feb 2004 | ~BC said...
It's beautiful on the inside....
23 Feb 2004 | David S said...
So how is the book different from DNF?
23 Feb 2004 | ML said...
So how is the book different from DNF?
While DNF has a lot of good examples, the book contains actual guidelines to follow, head to head comparisons, a test to evaluate your own site, and an in-depth explanation of contingency/defensive design. There are also a lot of examples found in the book that are not on DNF. And, needless to say, it's a book and not a site which makes it easier to digest and reference.
23 Feb 2004 | Paperhead said...
Congrats, looks like a good read.
Sorry, being too lazy to go look: Is there an ebook version?
<off_topic_rant>
Sorry about this but I really need a moan on this one, the woe of trying to upgrade to QuickTime Pro, from the usually OK Apple.
Clicking the Upgrade to Pro link on the app itlself takes me to this page.
First try being an American on a windows platform. It's really easy.
Then try being from the UK and look at where they dump you.
Incredibly poorly thought through isn't it?
And after all of that:
US price $29.99. UK price 25.00 ($46.69 @ today's rate). Is sales tax really +50%?
</off_topic_rant>
*Goes off to build an mpeg-4 editor*
24 Feb 2004 | ML said...
Is there an ebook version?
We don't have full details on this yet but the book is slated to be on safaribooksonline.com. This is a "service that offers IT professionals instant access to the full text of hundreds of leading technology books right at their desktops." Our publisher says you'll be able to get limited access to it for a fee. More details as they arrive.
