Web User Experience Blog

I get asked a lot about user interface (UI) and design elements for our sites. While we create styleguides for all our sites, these documents can be overwhelming, cumbersome, and not as easily distributable. As a result, I thought that putting together a Website with site guidelines would not only be more appropriate for the medium, but would also make it more widely accessible and usable.

We've been working on it for a few months and are very excited to announce the launch of the VeriSign UI & Design Patterns Library. The site is a resource of Web Style Guidelines and Design Patterns for the VeriSign family of Web sites. It also covers social media UI & design guidelines for new media such as video, blogs, microblogs, social networks, podcasts, RSS, wikis, and forums. The Library provides resources from solutions for common UI problems to social bookmarking execution.

These guidelines are intended to avoid re-work and re-invention and allow for more standardization and efficiency. It's of value to user interface designers, graphic designers, and developers who are creating and working on our Web properties globally. External agencies we work with can leverage it to guide them in the design of our Web creatives. And, Web producers and project managers can use it as a quick reference guide.

This site is currently for internal use only but we are working to make it externally available in the near future. This would enable access for external designers and design agencies engaged by VeriSign.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

VeriSign is at Information Security Conference, RSA® Conference 2009, this week in San Francisco. If you are attending the Expo, check us out at booth #1332. Jugglers, uni-cyclists, and guys in straight-jackets are on-hand to entertain. And, you get a chance to win encrypted thumb drives, iTunes and Starbucks certificates, and T-shirts.

We've decided go green with no paper collateral this year. So, in case you are looking for our RSA related content and collateral, here is where you can find that: VeriSign.com/VeriSignGoesGreen.

If you are interested in attending the exhibits, please email event_passes@verisign.com. Schedule: Wednesday, April 22nd, 11:00a.m. - 6:00p.m. and Thursday, April 23rd, 10:00a.m. - 4:00p.m.

Here are some pics:

More photos

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We recently redesigned the Code Signing section of the VeriSign Website. This was yet another step for our site in the migration to a more updated and improved user experience. The redesign utilizes a wider page layout which opens up the pages and makes it cleaner, clearer, and better maximizes the screen real estate. The information architecture, navigation, and content of the site were simplified and streamlined to improve the usability. The treatment and presentation of the content were improved upon for easier scanning and consumption. And, graphics and multimedia were incorporated to provide richer and more useful content along with a cooler, lighter, and fresher color palette.

And, in case you were wondering what code sign is, how it works, and why you need it, check out the site.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tax season is upon us and many of us are scrambling to meet the deadline for filing. And not surprisingly, more and more people are filing their taxes electronically. Approximately six out of every ten taxpayers filed online in 2008 and this number is expected to increase in 2009. There are many sites enabling taxpayers to file their taxes online for free. But how do you protect yourself from online fraud, scams, and phishing attacks?!

Here are some easy to follow tips:

1. Be skeptical of emails that feature Web links. Those links can be part
of a phishing scam that takes you to look-alike Web pages designed to
steal your sensitive personal information, from Social Security Numbers
to credit card account information. If you need to log-in, do so
independently and through the usual log-in Web page -- not by clicking
on a link.
2. When you go to file your taxes, make sure you've reached the correct
site. One easy way is to look for the green address bar that is used
today by leading tax filing sites. The green address bar, which is
recommended by the IRS, is displayed on sites protected by EV SSL
Certificates. Don't see the green address bar? Make sure you are using
the latest version of your Web browser.
3. Make sure you're entering your personal information in a secured
session by looking for https://
4. When you finish your taxes, be sure you've logged out of your session.
If you don't log out, fraudsters can potentially log-in to your session
after you leave the site.
5. Do not respond to any tax issues or requests using fax. A recent email
scam received by hundreds of taxpayers called for a fax with personal
information to be sent back to "the IRS." The IRS will never request
personal information via fax.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Social Security Awards Finalists have been announced! Two VeriSign bloggers are among the 25 finalists: Tim Callan who is nominated for "Best Corporate Blog" and Branden Williams who is up for "Most Entertaining" Security Blog.

Five finalists are listed in each category and there were nearly 500 nominees. We are proud to see Tim and Branden's dedication pay off as they are included amongst highly respected bloggers like Schneier on Security and the Security Now Podcast.

Congrats Tim and Branden! Just making it to the finals is a huge honor. Here's hoping you both take the prize at RSA!

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Domain Name News Blog decided to play an April Fools' Day joke on everyone, including us. Preying upon the paranoia induced by the Conficker C worm, these pranksters knew that the mention of it would catch people's attention.

We are honored that the notion of our servers being infiltrated is incredible enough to be the basis for an April Fool's Day prank. Good one!

Here's the gotcha from them:

Happy April 1st!

Sorry to say, but when you end up on this page it's very likely that you clicked on an external link from one of our April's fools posts for April 1st.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)