Research-based Web Design and Usability Guidelines

I just discovered an excellent resource for everyone involved in website design, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Research-based Web Design and Usability Guidelines (2003).

Each chapter (available as a separate PDF) focuses on a component such as Design Process and Evaluation, Accessibility, The Homepage, Page Layout, Navigation, Content Organization, etc. There are 17 chapters.

In addition to the guideline itself, each entry includes a comment section, source and usually an excellent example for how to apply the guideline.

Sample entry (no example with this one):

The website provides many ways to access the information including the downloadable chapters, one PDF file of the whole book and a sortable view of each guideline by relative importance, chapter, strength of evidence (research) and relative score.

Highlights:

Provide Useful Content (1:4)

Use Black Text on Plain, High-Contrast Backgrounds(11:1)

Provide Consistent Clickability Cues (10:1)

Use Clear Category Labels (9:1)

Ensure Usable Search Results (17:2)

Eliminate Horizontal Scrolling (8:1)

Organize Information Clearly (16:1)

Ensure Visual Consistency (11:2)

Use Clear Category Labels (9:1)

Display Information in a Directly Usable Format (2:1)

Put Critical Information Near the Top of the Website (16:2)

Use Unique and Descriptive Headings (9:2)

Format Common Items Consistently (11:3)

Provide Feedback on Users' Location (7:1)