February 11, 2003, 1:31 AM ET
Read our lead story: We dare you
A fun challenge: Visit The Woburn (Mass.) Daily Times Chronicle and time how long it takes you to figure out how to access the lead story.
This interface takes news Web sites to a new level of user-hostility.
Not only is the headline unclickable; once you locate the 12-by-12-pixel circular image link that takes you to the story, its measly size makes it unnecessarily difficult to click.
Users of non-graphical browsers, such as Lynx, aren't much better off. That circular image link lacks an alt attribute (explanatory text that non-graphical browsers substitute for graphics), which means Lynx and its text-browser cousins won't display helpful text explaining that link.
How to fix this? Make the headline clickable. And if the graphic must remain, enlarge it; Fitt's Law dictates it'd be a lot easier to click if it were bigger.
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