Since the World Wide Web became widely available in the mid 1990s, Web-based applications have developed rapidly. The Web has come to be used by a range of people for many different purposes, including online banking, e-commerce, distance education, social networking, data sharing, collaborating on team projects, and healthcare-related activities. Effective user interactions are required for a Web site to accomplish its specific goals, which is necessary for an organization to receive a proper return on investment or other desired outcomes. Several handbooks exist that describe work in the fields of human factors and human-computer interaction, but they are not specific to Web design. Although several books on Web design are available, this handbook is the only comprehensive volume devoted to human factors in Web design. Given the user-intensive nature of the Web and the relatively unique usability issues associated with performing tasks on the Web, a comprehensive handbook of this type is a must for designers, researchers, students, and anyone else who has interests relating to Web design and usability.

The first edition was favorably received and has proved to be an indispensable reference for researchers and practitioners. However, much has changed since its publication. Probably no technology has progressed as rapidly over the past several years as computer technology, and developments involving use, application, and availability of the Web have been at the forefront of this progress. Because of the rapid growth of the Web since publication of the first edition in 2005 and the increased integration of the Web with emerging technologies, this second edition is needed to bring the coverage of human factors in Web design up to date. Twenty-nine chapters from the original edition have been revised for the second edition to reflect the current state of affairs in their topic areas. In addition, new chapters are included on topics that have emerged as important since the first edition. These include organization of information for concept sharing and Web collaboration, Webbased organization models, searching and evaluating information on the WWW, Web portals, human factors of online games, accessibility guidelines and the ISO standards, use of avatars, analyzing and modeling user activities for Web interactions, and mobile interface design for m-commerce.