HCI Slide 10 - Web Usability

8/7/2019 HCI Slide 10 - Web Usability

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Human Computer Interaction

Week 10

Web Usability



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Introduction Usability rules the Web

The Web is the ultimate customerempowering environment

All the competitors (Other Web Sites) inthe world are but a mouse-click away



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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, awebsite should be managed as a single customer-interface project.



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Design (2) Information Architecture

Structuring the site to mirror the companys

structure. Instead, the site should be structuredto mirror the users tasks and their views of theinformation space.

Page Design

Creating gorgeous demo pages, resulting inresponse-time delays. Instead, design for anoptimal user experience even your demo will beless cool.



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Design (3)

Content Authoring

Writing in linear style. Instead write in anew style that is optimized for onlinereaders who frequently scan text.

Linking Strategy

Treating your site as the only one.Instead, remember that hypertext is thefoundation of the Web and that no site isan island.



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Web Usability Page Design

The most immediately visible part of web design.

Content 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 morechallenging.



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Web pages should be dominated bycontent of interest to the user.

Many sites spend more screen space onnavigation than they do on theinformation.

Navigation is a necessary evil that isnot a goal and should be minimized.

Page Design (1)



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Page Design (2)





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Page Design (4) Simplicity should be the goal of page

design.

Ensure that page designs work acrossa wide range of platforms and they canbe accessed by people who use old

technology.



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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 playwas and not how great the costumeswere.



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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 headlines and other indications of what thepage is about.



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Guidelines for Writing for WebThe main guidelines:

Be succinct. Write for scannability.

Use hypertext.



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Site Design (1) The site itself is never explicitly

represented on the screen.

From a usability perspective, site designis more challenging and usually alsomore important than page design.



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Site Design (2)

Under Construction



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Site Design (3) All websites are always under

construction.

Dont tell users what you dont have.Thats only frustrating.

Dont release a partially finished

website.



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Home Page Home page is the flagship of the site

and should be designed differently fromthe remaining pages.

Should share the same style but thereare differences.

Dont have a Home button.

Should have a larger logo, companyname, or site name.



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The Goal of Home Page Answering two questions:

1. Where am I?2. What does this site do?



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Three Features of Home Page Main Content Areas (Navigation)

Summary of the most important newsor promotions

Search feature.



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Navigation The Web is a navigational system.

The basic interaction is mouse clicking. Navigation interfaces need to help users

answer the three fundamentalquestions:

1. Where am I?

2. Where have I been?

3. Where can I go?



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Site Structure Hierarchical Structure

Tabular Structure Linear Structure



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Search Capabilities Nielsen (2000):

50% search-dominant users.

20% link-dominant users.

The rest are mixed-behavior users.



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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



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Further Reading Nielsen, J. 2000, Designing Web

Usability: The Practice of Simplicity,New Riders Publishing

Documents

HCI Slide 10 - Web Usability