Broadband up, usability down?

 – posted December 10th, 2008 by Elizabeth McGuane     Comments (3)

The universal web is a fundamental iQ precept. And for years that has included designing for users with slower internet connections. It’s simple common sense, particularly here in Ireland where - until recently - we haven’t had anything close to universal broadband.

Things are changing

Today, the Central Statistics Office said 2008 has seen a “sharp decline in the use of modems and ISDN to connect to the internet”.

That means broadband use is up, at least at work. Enterprise broadband use rose from 61% in 2006 to 68% in 2007, with a jump to 83% in the first half of this year*. Not universal, but we’re getting there.

Internet use itself only crept up 2% in the same period, which means there are a significant number of Irish internet users whose online experience - at least in terms of speed - has improved dramatically in recent months.

This begs the question: does better broadband penetration mean we can throw away the rule book on designing for slow connections?

Let’s hope not.

The fact is, designing for the poorest (broadband-wise) among us has had a universally positive effect. It’s simply good design by necessity.

Take PDFs: they’re still a bugbear with clients who see them as an easy way (for them) to get content online quickly. We’re constantly extolling the virtues of rewriting static content for the web - and that means HTML.

PDFs are slow to download if you have a slow connection. That’s self-evident.

But they’re also simply an annoying and clumsy way to present information online.

Why bury something deep within a document if you really want someone to read it? And if you don’t want them to read it, why put it online in the first place? In addition, PDFs aren’t searchable, and though it’s possible for them to be made accessible, few of them are.

(And yes - we see the irony in the fact that the report that prompted this rant is only available as a PDF).

Something tells me those same customers who have struggled with slow connections for years will now be even less willing to work to find the information they need. With the full speed (well, faster speeds) of the web at their fingertips, they won’t want to wait around for websites that still expect them to do all the work. They’ll want leaner, meaner information delivery.

That’s why the old rules still apply

Broadband brings with it many benefits. All the sexy bits of web 2.0, like streaming video and multimedia, might be a more viable option. But for many corporate and government websites, it’s still all about the basics:

  • Design pages that load as quickly as possible
  • Want video and podcasts galore? Offer a text transcript as well. Video may be snazzier, but text loads faster, and allows people to absorb information at their own page. And, amazingly, some people still just prefer to read.
  • Cut down on PDFs, and make those you do include accessible. Provide a meaningful summary so people can make an informed choice before they download - downloads shouldn’t be a lucky dip.
  • This may seem elementary, but reduce the file size of graphics and the number of images on a page. And include meaningful ALT text where appropriate.

No matter how fast their connection speed, users are still easily frustrated. Don’t wait for that to happen.

* The survey tallied Irish businesses with 10 or more employees across a range of sectors.

Categories Content, Design, Usability

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