E-Commerce User Experience - 2001 - NN/g
This comprehensive usability study by the Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) focused on 20 business-to-consumer (B2C) websites. Sites studied included Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, HermanMiller, Disney, eToys, Jcrew, 1800flowers, Tower Records and BasketHaus to name a few. The results are fascinating, the effectiveness proven and the guidelines established by the NN/g should be implemented into your retail site to guarantee a successful online store. Buy now from Amazon.com

Designing Web Usability - 2000 - Jakob Nielsen
The practice of simplicity. Reading this book may be the most cost-effective action you'll ever take to ensure that your website still matters months and years from now. Through years of research and interaction with users, Jakob Nielsen has arrived at a series of principles that work in support of his findings; Web users want to find what they're after quickly, and if they don't know what they're after, they nevertheless want to browse quickly and access information they come across in a logical manner. Buy now from Amazon.com

Defensive Design for the Web - 2004 - 37signals
Let's admit it: Things will go wrong online. No matter how carefully you design a site, no matter how much testing you do, customers still encounter problems. So how do you handle these inevitable breakdowns? With defensive design. In this book, the experts at 37signals (whose clients include Microsoft, Qwest, Monster.com, and Clear Channel) will show you how. Buy now from Amazon.com

The Elements of User Experience - 2002 - Jesse James Garrett
Like many negative Amazon reviews, some detractors of this book seem to object to the fact that it is this book and not something else. In this case they may not be entirely unfair. If you are looking for advanced techniques in web design you won't find them in Garrett's book. If, however, you are looking for a good framework for thinking about design strategy--for your own thinking, for explaining things to clients, or for students--you will find this book indispensable. It is short, sweet, and straightforward. Whether that's good news of bad is something each reader will need to decide. Buy now from Amazon.com

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability - 2000 - Steve Krug
People won't use your web site if they can't find their way around it. Whether you call it usability, ease-of-use, or just good design, companies staking their fortunes and their futures on their Web sites are starting to recognize that it's a bottom-line issue. In Don't Make Me Think, usability expert Steve Krug distills his years of experience and observation into clear, practical--and often amusing--common sense advice for the people in the trenches. Buy now from Amazon.com

The Unusually Useful Web Book - 2003 - June Cohen
Everything we've learned about why sites succeed! June Cohen is the former VP of Content for HotWired.com, the pioneering site that spun off of Wired Magazine in 1994. She also founded Webmonkey.com, the much-loved site for web developers. This book brings her nine years of experience and 50 interviews with other web experts to you in a jargon-free, specifically detailed useful web book. The 12 steps to web site success is explained in an informative and entertaining fashion that not only lightens the experience but will eventually make you rethink your entire web site strategy. Buy now from Amazon.com