ACUI 2001 Conference Site

Update (07-30-04): The 2001 Conference site has been deleted from ACUI's server.

The good:

This page employs a liquid design suitable for viewing at many different monitor resolutions, while maximizing use of screen real estate.
The javascript rollovers provide additional link information.
The layout (multicolor columns and appropriate use of headings) do a good job of differentiating sections and allow the page's information to be scanned relatively easily.

The not so good:

The machine-generated naming scheme for the navigation bar images is confusing and does not allow for easy bandwidth-saving reuse for separate pages.
The physical layout of the navigation bar discourages use of "alt" attributes for the images, because on some platforms the resulting pop up text obscures the rollover text. The use of blank "title" attributes accompanying the alt attribute was considered but not implemented, because this would only work for Internet explorer.
The "Welcome" page's amount content causes the page to be rather long.

Recommendation:

Use internal anchors and links to make intrapage navigation easier.
Design a layout where alt attribute pop up text would not obscure any vital page element.
Use a meaningful naming scheme for the images used in order to make file reuse and maintenance easier.