Whatever you want to call it, there is a step-change taking place and Web 1.0 is making way for a new generation of better more useful sites. But what characterises all these great new web sites?

Here’s my take on what makes a web site ‘2.0′:

  1. Ground-breaking utility
  2. Great usability
  3. Clean functional design
  4. Lots of user generated content
  5. Personalisation
  6. APIs to allow other sites to hook into content and functionality
  7. Content aggregation / mashups
  8. A bit of luck

If the term paradigm shift hadn’t fallen so far out of favour, I would have used that too! Based on these characteristics, you could say that Web 2.0 is just 1.0 done properly. A gross oversimplification I admit.

One key element of a great W2 site (we need a more suitable moniker for this) is rapid growth and large numbers of users. This would not happen without exceptional usability.

I guess what I am getting around to saying is that usability is a key driver for any successful web site. The W2 phenomenon proves this.