Musings of a Gotham City Geek
What is the sound of one blog clapping?
User interfaces need to teach your user how to use your application without resorting to a help screen. Many developers think that a help section will suffice for teaching users how to operate most any application, but this is not the case.
The help section of most applications, Web-based or otherwise, end up being used by the power users who are already trying to figure out every nook and cranny of the application. The proper way to help users understand how your application works is to bring the help section to them and in a format that can easily be understood.
In-line tips and interface descriptions work as an excellent introduction to the interface and how it operates. By providing your user with assistive instruction aside the interaction, it is easier for the user to relate the instruction with how it applies to your web application’s functionalities than a disconnected FAQ or help section.
Nourish by Integral Impressions is an application that creates an automated email newsletter of any RSS feed. The entire interface is documented in-line with descriptive help blocks that can easily be closed once the user decides they don’t need the help anymore. A quick visit to the user profile section presents an option to re-enable all the help boxes in the account just in-case the user forgot how to do something.
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