Manila Usability
While Manila (the software used to create and host this site) is quite a usable platform for people like me to get an interactive web site up and running quickly, cleanly, and powerfully, if you aren’t used to surfing Manila sites, there are a number of usability challenges. Sure, you learn how to interact with the site over time, but there could definitely be improvements.
Over the next few weeks and months, I’ll be working on making this site easier to use. I’ll also be making suggestions to the folks at UserLand on how to improve the default interfaces provided.
Navigating This Site
The most important thing to understand to use this site is the navigation bar on the left-hand side of the screen, just below the logo. This navigation bar is available on every page in the site, and it should help you get back to somewhere you know if you get lost.
The top set of links are the main sections of the site. The very first one will always get you back to the home page. Note that the home page content changes frequently – that’s one of the goals behind my site. I want to give you a reason to come back often, without making you search for the new stuff.
Right now, the other three links in this section, ERROR (About) , Articles , and Books , take you to major subsections of the site. About tells you a bit about me and the purpose of this site, Articles is the growing collection of writings that result from these daily posts, and Books is a set of recommended books and capsule reviews (which I am just beginning, so be patient <grin>).
(continued in Using This Site, Part 2 )
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