User-Centered URL Design

“But despite the universality of URLs, we often forget that they’re not just a handy way to address network resources. They’re also valuable communication tools. They help orient users in your architecture, and can suggest whether other options are available.” Jesse James Garrett —User-Centered URL DesignAdaptivePath.com)

Ironic… the URL of this article is needlessly long: www.adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000058.php. Why not simply www.adaptivepath.com/essays/58.php or adaptivepath.com/essay58.php? I’m not really one to talk, since the URL of my own article on URL Hacking is http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/handouts/TW/web/url-hacking.htm. Novices, who are most likely to be lost in a website, are also the least likely to experiment with hacking the URL, so the hypertext navigation is really more important.