Web '98 at Moscone Center in San Francisco
Keynote speaker Jacob Nielsen (http://www.useit.com) says:
Based on survey of 1,854 visitors to Sun's web sites, the following are the most important criteria for improving web pages according to users:
Loads Quickly .26Find Info Fast .20
Has Info I Need .19
Timely .18
Easy to Use .16
Looks great .08
To reiterate, fast download speeds is the number one criteria for web design today. Looking great is less than half as important as loading quickly, being able to find information quickly, having good information, being timely and being easy to use.
His advice on improving web pages:2x improvement by Writing for online
(he recommends a 50% reduction in the number of words. Screen resolution is so much worse than paper that reading is 25% slower on screen.)
2x improvement for faster response time (by better bandwidth or smarter smaller design)
5x improvement for better navigation and search functionality
overall a 20X improvement in web pages.
In 10 years, the Internet will be as essential to modern life as electricity is today.
Bandwidth improvess 50% per year. Therefore, high end users by the year 2003 will have personal T1 speed access.
Most people overestimate the short term benefits of the web and underestimate the long term benefits. Every company's first web site is a disaster. You have to start learning somewhere and beginning to change corporate culture so you are a player when long term web benefits kick in.
The real "year 2000 problem" will be 100,000,000 crummy web sites.