Jeff Croft vs Jakob Nielsen

Jakob Nielsen recently released his 2005 List Of Web Design Mistakes, and in true Jakobian fashion, he manages to point out some good mistakes and then offers a couple different solutions. Mostly though, he likes to offer just one solution. I’d say he’s a one-solution-fits-all type of guy, (after he’s thrown out two or three sensational solutions in order to get his list some attention, and his site, a good deal of traffic.)

Jeff Croft, a web developer and designer from Kansas, takes Jakob to task with his post “Jakob’s Ten Mistakes: Responses From A Real Live Web Designer.” For the most part, he agrees with Jakob. Jeff is just bothered by his reliance on the single solution. To see how heated things can get between people who follow Jakob to the letter, and others who don’t, read through the spirited comments on Jeff’s posting.

Our take? Jakob is consistently on the mark when it comes to design mistakes and usability problems on the Web today. It’s when he begins to suggest there is one solution to those mistakes, that he hinders the work of others trying to provide good solutions to those very problems.