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LIS 636: Assignment 2 – Beta Website Version .75
Dr. Anthony Chow
Christina Petty
November 12, 2017
URL: https://travelprosweb.wordpress.com
I. Site Overview
My website’s purpose started out as a site that would have provided
information about traveling to Ireland from Charlotte, NC during Spring
Break of 2018. However, a team member stated, “I know you said the
focus is on people traveling from Charlotte, but is that going to be too
narrow? If someone reads that description on the homepage they may
think that it won't be relevant to them if they don't live there, but there
is still useful information on the site.” The website has since evolved
into a more general site geared toward planning a trip to Ireland from
anywhere at any time of the year. I have moved away from the
narrowly focused website in order to generate a more timeless Web
presence. Additionally, I have chosen a broader travel focus with the
URL’s name, TravelProsWeb, rather than calling it something specific
to Ireland, like “Erin Go Bragh.” I still have the hope that the structure I
mapped out for a trip to Ireland can be applied to planning trips to
other destinations abroad.
Below is a screen shot of an iteration of my website: TravelProsWeb.
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This travel-based website has several information goals. The five
types of information provided to users on my website were going to be:
1. Information About Ireland.
2. How to Get There & Get Around: Transportation options which
include Airlines, Trains, Buses. This will answer how to fly
there and back as well as getting around while in Ireland.
I will not include car-rental information and will explain why.
3. Where to Stay: Lodging options.
4. What to Explore: Links to other travel websites such as Rick
Steves, Trip Advisor, LonelyPlanet, Karen Brown, and others.
3
5. FAQ
However, the information goals evolved into this structure for Usability
testing:
1. Home : contact info & brief description of website’s purpose.
2. About Ireland : Photos and lists of Ireland’s attractions.
3. Transportation
a. Air Transport : links to airfare websites.
b. Train Transport : links to Ireland Train schedules
c. Bus Transport : links to Bus Tour websites originating in
Dublin.
4. Lodging : links to lodging websites
5. Contact & FAQ
The structure has changed even further as you will see in the
“Information Architecture NEW: Travel in Ireland” in Section II.
II. User Analysis, Information Architecture, and Results of
my Usability Test
Initially in my preliminary plan with the narrowly focused site, I
thought my major users would be friends and my family, which
included my immediate family of four and my extended family as well.
As the website is neither going to include specific personal itineraries
nor be focused on traveling from Charlotte, NC, during the Spring
2018, the website’s users have evolved into a broader community, one
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that is specifically curious about traveling to Ireland from wherever and
whenever. The Users are general and specific. For example, a specific
group such as Ireland’s Tourism Board may refer to the website to
make sure its country is being represented in a favorable way. Also,
Travel Agents may refer to the website to see if they are covering all
angles with regards to traveling in Ireland.
Therefore, my website’s Revised Potential User Groups are:
1. Friends & Family planning a trip to Ireland
2. Anyone Traveling to Ireland
3. Travel Agents
4. Ireland’s Tourism Board
My Users tested the following scenarios:
Scenarios: You are a friend of mine curious about traveling to
Ireland
1. Starting from the home page, find out about the most popular sites tourists visit in Ireland and where they are in relationship to the airport you would fly to from the US.
2. Starting from the home page, you are wondering what Apps you may need to put on your smartphone before you travel to Ireland.
3. Starting from the home page, you’d like to figure out where to stay while visiting Ireland.
4. Starting from the home page, you are considering renting a car while in Ireland but would like to know if there are better alternatives.
5. Starting from the home page, you want to find the best airfare from your city to major airports in Ireland.
6. Starting from the home page, you are looking to get in touch with me through my Web site and leave a comment.
EES Table 5
(Average Ratings on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest possible rating.)
Usability Factor Average Rating
Effectiveness 7.583333333
Efficiency 6.583333333
Satisfaction 7.833333333
Overall 7.333333333
Effectiveness Efficiency Satisfaction5.5
6
6.5
7
7.5
8
Average Rating
Average Rating
My EES study revealed that users scored the scenarios low on
efficiency, but their effectiveness and satisfaction scores were
relatively higher yet not ideal with an Overall rating of 7.3 out of 10.
One user pointed out “FAQ” was not what she would think of to answer
question two regarding travel Apps. She thought, “Helpful Hints” was a
better way to categorize that type of information. Another user had
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similar issues and commented that the menu box with the heading
“FAQ” did not immediately lead her to find the answer to the question.
Several users commented that I should break apart “Contact & FAQ”
and create separate pages for “Helpful Hints” and “Contact”. Based on
this input, I have changed the menu bar (navigation title) from
“Contact & FAQ” to “Helpful Hints” and “Contact” in order to properly
reflect the type of information it is perceived to be by my users (See
below: Information Architecture NEW: TRAVEL TO IRELAND).
Additionally, users thought my question one was too difficult as it
involved two steps to get the answer. Finally, one user commented
that I expressed an opinion about not including car rental information
without supporting my stance. This will be addressed with well worded
text and an image. For future testing scenarios, I plan to make sure all
of the tasks are straight-forward.
Information Architecture
7
OLD: Travel To Ireland Spring 2018
NEW: Travel To Ireland
My Revised Information Goals are prioritized among the Revised
Potential User Groups:
Home
About Ireland Transportation
Air Transport Bus Transport Train Transport
Lodging Other Travel Websites FAQ & Contact
Home
About Ireland Transportation
Air Transport Bus Transport Train Transport
Lodging Helpful Hints Contact
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Priority Friends & Family
planning a trip to Ireland
Anyone traveling to
Ireland
Travel Agents
Ireland’s Tourism Board
1 About Ireland About Ireland Helpful Hints About Ireland2 Contact Transportation Transportation Lodging3 Transportation Lodging Lodging Transportation4 Lodging Helpful Hints About Ireland Helpful Hints5 Helpful Hints Contact Contact Contact
Due to the pivotal change for my website to be less focused on a
specific Spring Break 2018 timeframe and departure from Charlotte,
NC, not only did my user groups change, but so did the categories for
my website’s Information Goals as you can see in the Table above. My
Information Architecture is divided into logical sections related to what
one must consider before committing financially to a trip to Ireland. A
user will be able to investigate airfare options through the sub-menus.
For example, the Transportation menu button leads to a sub-menu, Air
Transport web page with links to websites related to finding airfare
options. Moreover, a user will be able to investigate lodging options
through the links to vetted lodging websites. The website’s goal is to
share relevant and impartial information except where noted.
The GINCUE Table and Chart below reveals some helpful advice
to use while working on creating a final version of my website.
GINCUE Table (Ratings on a scale of 1-10. 10 being the highest
possible rating.)
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Graphic Design 7.666666667
Information Architecture 7.666666667
Navigation 8.333333333
Content 8
Utility 7.5
Ease-of-Use 7.666666667
Overall 7.805555556
Grap
hic D
esig
n
Info
rmati
on A
rchi
tect
ure
Navi
gatio
n
Cont
ent
Utilit
y
Ease
-of-U
se7
7.2
7.4
7.6
7.8
8
8.2
8.4
Series1
The website scored the highest in Navigation compared to all of
the other elements in the GINCUE usability tests. The Content was not
far behind at an 8 out 10. The lowest score was the Utility which was a
combination of having a Header that was too large and having some of
the scenario questions too difficult.
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Regarding the Graphic Design of my site, several comments
were made related to the Header image height with which I agree. If I
were able to shrink the height, the navigation bar would not appear so
far down the page. However, due to WordPress, I have not been able to
adjust heights nor all of the font colors to achieve my desired
consistent graphic design effects.
In addition to the size of the Header, one tester’s comments
targeted at Graphic Design and specifically the number of images and
font color choices stated, “I think there is too much going on with the
use of images on the site. I get that showing Ireland is important but
having too many photos on each page detracts from the content. I was
not a fan of the green text. Maybe changing the menu color or using
green in specific scenarios, like a header with the body in black text
would look nicer.” This insight will be considered when the final font
color is chosen for the text. My goal is to overcome the WordPress
coding obstacles by bringing up my questions in class as I have
attempted to implement the changes in WordPress coding by using
answers I found online, all to no avail.
Font color and image number are critical Graphic Design choices.
Moreover, image quality is also a concern on my website. Some were
blurry. I agree with these concerns and will address these Graphic
Design issues in the next iteration. I am curious to see if the Graphic
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Design improvements could bump up the ratings in the other segments
of the GINCUE evaluation.
III. From Mockup to Beta Website
It was a good idea to create an initial mockup of a website a few
weeks ago when I thought I was going to build it in HTML. However,
since I have forgone DreamWeaver and am now using WordPress, I had
to accept the WordPress Theme’s constraints. Even though I was not
able to get the exact design I had previously envisioned, my website:
TravelProsWeb has many elements I had in my mockup, which I had
copied from my Web model: http://www.travelforteens.com/.
As I explained in my previous paper, what I liked about the Web
model (TravelForTeens) were the following features:
1. Menu options stand out. The menu/navigation bars in
TravelForTeens and my website (TravelProsWeb) are both well
located in the middle of the screen.
2. Video/Scrolling moving Images. TravelProsWeb would require
an upgraded WordPress plan for Video. Scrolling Images are
do-able.
3. Graphic layout with picture headings (Ideal for Lodging or
Transportation Page). I have emulated this with the 3 square
photos on the Home page which are part of the WordPress
Dara’s Theme.
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4. Contact Info on the Home Page, Main Menu Bar. I used
PhotoShop to put my email address on the top right corner of
my Header image. I have also included a Contact Form.
WEB MODEL: TRAVEL FOR TEENS
INITIAL MOCKUP
Family Travel Contact me: [email protected]
SEARCH
Hom
e
About
Ireland
Transportatio
n
Lodgin
g
Other
Travel
FAQ
13
Websites
TRAVEL TO IRELAND SPRING 2018
Culling the information you
need to plan your family
Spring Break week long trip
originating in Charlotte, NC
going to Ireland without the
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help of a Travel Agent.
Although I had the Web model and mockup to help guide my
design in HTML, I ended up using WordPress for my website which
meant the overall format was already pre-determined. Fortunately, I
was able to select a WordPress Theme, Dara, which shared many
graphic design elements with my original mockup.
As you can see, my mockup above has the contact information in
the Header area, a Navigation/Menu Bar in the middle of the page, and
an Irish flag. In my WordPress version below, I used a different image
of the Irish flag on the Home page in my WordPress site due to the
color pallet I am hoping to use throughout my site.
https://TravelProsWeb.wordpress.com
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The top nine questions are answered on my Home page:
1. Where am I? I am on a Web site about traveling to Ireland.
2. I know what I am looking for, how do I search for it? Use the
Navigation Bar.
3. How do I get around this website? Use the Navigation Bar.
4. What’s important/unique about this organization? It is not
associated with any travel agent, lodging establishment, or
transportation organization.
5. What’s available at this website? Information about how to get
to and travel around Ireland to see its sights.
6. What’s happening there?
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7. Do they want my opinion about this website? Go to Contact
and use the form.
8. How can I contact a human? Email address on the Header
image or go to Contact.
9. What’s their address? Email address is located on all pages.
My home page includes the unique information I am trying to
provide: Information for Travelers to Ireland. The text is brief,
“Welcome! Are you interested in traveling to Ireland? With so much to
see, you have come to the right spot to plan your dream vacation in
Ireland. Erin Go Bragh!” The Menu bar includes the types of
information I deem necessary to consider when planning a trip: the
foreign country’s attractions and geography along with transportation
and lodging options. For those who use my website and want to get
more focused information, they can use the links on my site for other
travel websites I have vetted.
Finally, the Helpful Hints menu option (which will be separated
from Contact in future versions) includes information applicable to all
travelers to all destinations. In addition to prominently displaying my
contact information on the top right corner of every page, the separate
Contact page has my email address listed again and a comment form
for feedback/comments/questions regarding my website.
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IV. Conclusion
The Usability Tests revealed several areas for improvement one
cannot detect when it is your own website. Outside opinions are always
helpful as they instigate new ways of approaching how to satisfy
others’ information needs. I have made changes to the website’s
Information Architecture and will forge ahead to address the more
complicated Graphic Design concerns related to colors and images.
Even though my website had such a small testing group, I am pleased
with the helpful comments and constructive concerns.
When designing my website, I had hoped to follow the advice
outlined in Nielsen & Loranger’s Prioritizing Web Usability, which
included the “less is more” approach to what my design should entail.
However, the testing pointed out, I had strayed from that guidance and
need to simplify the images included in the website. Additionally, as
writing for Web pages is different from writing for papers, I agree that,
“Web text should be short, scannable, and approachable” (2006, p.81).
Selecting the best font color will add to the text approachability.
With the current heightened sensitivity to what is the truth and the
habits of websites such as TripAdvisor which has been under scrutiny
for censoring negative reviews from visitors who have been harmed at
various travel destinations (see Further Reading below), I feel it is even
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more important to aim to fill my website with the best (uncensored and
reliable) content as possible.
Although this website is in its beta .75 iteration, the final version will
include significant modifications, perhaps even a WordPress Theme
change in order to address the concerns the Usability Tests revealed. I
do hope to learn more about how to change the coding in WordPress
as I have tried to alter it but it will not let me save the changes. Editing
WordPress seems like it should be something easily done even if one is
not using an upgraded, fee-based WordPress platform.
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References
Nielsen, J. & Loranger, H. (2006) Prioritizing Web Usability. Berkeley:
New Riders.
Further Reading
Retrieved on November 9, 2017
http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/tripadvisor-reviews-
reporting-rape-censored-50892397
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