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Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox: August 16, 1996

Comparing the Slate Designs

Sidebar to Jakob Nielsen 's usability review of Slate .

 

  1. Original design, June 25, 1996: 2154 pixels tall
  2. August 1996 redesign, screenshot captured January 23, 1997: 1516 pixels tall
  3. February 1997 redesign: 604 pixels tall

All screenshots are shown at 50 percent of their original size.

Slate's home page on June 25, 1996, shown at 50 percent of full size   Slate's home page on January 23, 1997, shown at 50 percent of full size   Slate's home page on February 19, 1997, shown at 50 percent of full size

 

Note added February 1997: Unfortunately, the February 1997 redesign of Slate revived the idea of having a front page that is separate from the home page (as shown below at 75% of full size). I stand by my original comment in July of 1996 that such a separate page (sometimes called a splash screen or a staging page) causes confusion - in any case it delays users.

 

Slate's front page on February 19, 1997, shown at 75 percent of full size

See also my book Homepage Usability for detailed commentary on 50 additional homepage designs.