Transcript Slide 10 - Web Usability

Human Computer Interaction
Week 10
Web Usability
1
Introduction



Usability rules the Web
The Web is the ultimate customer
empowering environment
All the competitors (Other Web Sites) in
the world are but a mouse-click away
2
Fundamental Errors in Web
Design (1)

Business Model


Treating the Web as a Marcom brochure instead of
a fundamental shift that changes the way of
conducting business.
Project Management

Managing a Web project as a traditional project,
leads to an internally focused design. Instead, a
website should be managed as a single customerinterface project.
3
Fundamental Errors in Web
Design (2)

Information Architecture


Structuring the site to mirror the company’s
structure. Instead, the site should be structured
to mirror the users’ tasks and their views of the
information space.
Page Design

Creating gorgeous demo pages, resulting in
response-time delays. Instead, design for an
optimal user experience even your demo will be
less “cool”.
4
Fundamental Errors in Web
Design (3)

Content Authoring


Writing in linear style. Instead write in a
new style that is optimized for online
readers who frequently scan text.
Linking Strategy

Treating your site as the only one.
Instead, remember that hypertext is the
foundation of the Web and that no site is
an island.
5
Web Usability

Page Design


Content Design


The most immediately visible part of web design.
Users visit your website for its content.
Everything else is just the backdrop.
Site Design

Never explicitly represented on the screen. But
from a usability perspective, site design is more
challenging.
6
Page Design (1)



Web pages should be dominated by
content of interest to the user.
Many sites spend more screen space on
navigation than they do on the
information.
Navigation is a necessary evil that is
not a goal and should be minimized.
7
Page Design (2)
8
Page Design (3)


Designer have to be considerate of
users with small screens, but there is no
need to suffer in your own use of the
Web.
Users are rarely on a site to enjoy the
design; instead, they prefer to focus on
the content.
9
Page Design (4)


Simplicity should be the goal of page
design.
Ensure that page designs work across
a wide range of platforms and they can
be accessed by people who use old
technology.
10
Content Design (1)



Ultimately, users visit your website for its
content. Everything else is just the
backdrop.
The design is there to allow people
access to the content.
Analogy: When people leave the theatre,
they are discussing how great the play
was and not how great the costumes
were.
11
Content Design (2)

When users get to a new page, they
look immediately in the main content
area of the page and scan it for head
lines and other indications of what the
page is about.
12
Guidelines for Writing for Web
The main guidelines:
 Be succinct.
 Write for scannability.
 Use hypertext.
13
Site Design (1)


The site itself is never explicitly
represented on the screen.
From a usability perspective, site design
is more challenging and usually also
more important than page design.
14
Site Design (2)
“Under Construction”
15
Site Design (3)



All websites are always under
construction.
Don’t tell users what you don’t have.
That’s only frustrating.
Don’t release a partially finished
website.
16
Home Page




Home page is the flagship of the site
and should be designed differently from
the remaining pages.
Should share the same style but there
are differences.
Don’t have a Home button.
Should have a larger logo, company
name, or site name.
17
The Goal of Home Page

Answering two questions:
1. Where am I?
2. What does this site do?
18
Three Features of Home Page



Main Content Areas (Navigation)
Summary of the most important news
or promotions
Search feature.
19
Navigation



The Web is a navigational system.
The basic interaction is mouse clicking.
Navigation interfaces need to help users
answer the three fundamental
questions:
1. Where am I?
2. Where have I been?
3. Where can I go?
20
Site Structure



Hierarchical Structure
Tabular Structure
Linear Structure
21
Search Capabilities

Nielsen (2000):



50% search-dominant users.
20% link-dominant users.
The rest are mixed-behavior users.
22
Summary


Simplicity.
HOME-RUN Websites:







(H)igh-quality content
(O)ften updated
(M)inimal download time
(E)ase of use
(R)elevant to users’ needs
(U)nique to the online medium
(N)etcentric corporate culture
23
Further Reading

Nielsen, J. 2000, Designing Web
Usability: The Practice of Simplicity,
New Riders Publishing
24