Increase Blog Usability … Add A Print Option

With more and more people choosing a blogging platform to communicate their thoughts and ideas to the world, the need for good blog usability has never been more important.

Although others have provided guidelines for increasing blog usability (e.g., Blog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes; The Blog Usability Checklist; etc.), one issue that has slipped under the radar is the need for “clean” post printing.  Failing to allow for easy printing lessens the usefulness of the post and decreases the likelihood that it will be referenced at a later point.

Fortunately, for users of WordPress, there’s an easy to install plugin that simplifies the printing process – WP-Print.  Besides allowing for easy printing, it also provides important information that is transferred to the printed page, including:

• title and URL for the blog;
• URL for the post; and
• URLs for each of the websites cited within the post.

Each of these options facilitates the ability of the person who has printed the page(s) to later find and/or reference the post, thus increasing its permanence and usefulness.

Just another example of good human factors that takes into account the needs of the user.