Web usability does overlap with web accessibility. However,
it differs from the latter by looking at how all users interact
with web sites rather than those who are specifically disabled.
As such, it needs to be considered as a separate topic.
Anybody can design and publish a web site. It's even claimed
that there are more web pages than there are people in the
world! Given the sheer number of sites out there, your ultimate
goal should be to have an effective site.
Most people who out-source their web sites choose a web designer
based on price and portfolio. But is a fancy design necessarily
an effective one?
Web
design is complex because it exists to allow communication
between people via computers. Yet some studies have shown
that:
Over 40% of online purchase attempts fail
50% of new visitors do not go beyond a site's home page
Less than 10% of visitors revisit a site.
Why?
Sites like Amazon
and Expedia
are extremely successful, so what other sites missing?
The answer might be web usability.
What is Usability?
Usability is defined as "A measure of how easy it is
for a user to complete a task".
In the context of the web, this is a means of measuring how
easy it is for a visitor to carry out a task such as find
a given piece of information or buy a certain product.
Web usability can be sub-divided into five core components:
Learnability
How easy it is for visitors to find their way around the site
during their first visit?
Effectivity
How quickly and easily they can perform tasks?
Memorability
When visitors return to the site after a period of time, how
quickly do they recall how to use the site?
Reliability
How many errors do visitors make, how severe are those errors
and how easily do they adjust?
Enjoyability
How pleasant is the site to use?
Why Is Usability An Issue?
Simply
having a web site does not guarantee a competitive advantage.
Potential customers have many choices. Not only are there
plenty of other web sites out there but they also have the
option of obtaining items, information or services, from real
people either by telephone or in person. Web sites, by definition,
lack the human touch so they have to work much harder in other
areas to entice people in.
Usability is a very complex subject which includes a number
of well-established theories such as the Theory of Reasoned
Action (TRA) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).
The Theory of Reasoned Action
This theory focuses on how people approach a task and the
effect that their preconceptions have on their behaviour.
If a person believes that the outcome from performing a task
is likely to be positive, she/he will have a positive attitude
towards performing that task.
Obviously, the opposite applies if the outcome appears likely
to be negative.
If an individual sees, or hears of, others enjoying a positive
experience, that person will be motivated to try the task
themselves and/or approach the task with positive expectations.
The Technology Acceptance Model
This theory suggests that an individual's decision to make
use of a given system is actually based upon two factors,
or perceptions:
Perceived usefulness
Will I get better/easier results if I use this system compared
to another system?
Perceived ease of use
Will this system take less effort to use than another one?
So
web surfers may automatically classify sites based upon their
perceptions of how complex the site appears to be rather than
how complex it actually is in reality.
Fancy graphics and presentation may not always impress them.
Even if they do initially, the novelty soon wears off. The
downside to overly fancy presentations is that they may contribute
towards an increased perception of "this site is going
to be difficult to use".
Site functionality and service quality, on the other hand,
rarely fail to impress long term
Determining Site Functionality And Service Quality
Site Functionality
Can visitors find what they look for quickly and easily?
Is there a site map or search option?
Is the site easy to navigate? Even without a mouse?
Service Quality
Service Quality is defined as the extent to which a delivered
service level matches customer expectations.
Factors affecting perceived service quality include:
Reliability
Responsiveness
Reassurance
Empathy
Results
Design Considerations
What information needs to be stored?
How should this information to be organised?
What methods should be used for retrieving the information?
How should the information be displayed?
One major factor within any web design project is the general
impatience of web surfers.
People will abandon a web site if it is slow to download,
they get lost or if they feel that the site is difficult to
navigate.
The faster speeds of broadband compared to dialup haven't
reduced this impatience. In fact, anecdotal evidence suggests
that, if anything, broadband surfers are becoming even more
impatient!
Just ask yourself whether you want a great looking web site
or you want a web site that your customers find easy to use
and love to visit again and again.
If you choose the latter, then web usability has to be an
important part of the overall site design process.
Locus Creations Ltd's Web Usability Services
Site design and development in accordance with relevant
web usability best practice recommendations
Expert reviews of existing sites
Site usability testing support
Recommendations for increasing your site's overall usability
and performance levels.
Web
design is complex because it exists to allow communication
between people via computers. Yet some studies have shown
that:
Simply
having a web site does not guarantee a competitive advantage.
So
web surfers may automatically classify sites based upon their
perceptions of how complex the site appears to be rather than
how complex it actually is in reality.