Response to Classmates Discussions
kingstonman41
BUS637Week5-DiscussionForum1.docxWeek 5 - Discussion Forum 1
Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ or instructor posts in a substantive manner and provide information or concepts that they may not have considered. Each response should have a minimum of 100 words and be respectful of others’ opinions and beliefs that differ from your own. Support your position by using information from the week’s readings. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful and interactive discourse in this discussion forum. Continue to monitor the discussion forum until Day 7 and respond with robust dialogue to anyone who replies to your initial post.
SundayOct 18 at 12:32pm
Site usability refers to the simplicity people find while using a website. Technopedia (n.d.) discusses simplicity as the ease in navigation, attractive use of font size and color, automatic page resizing based on device use, and promotions.
An article with sound usability from the Nielsen Norman Group (n.d.) is Refine, Remodel, Rebuild: 3 Strategies for Experience Improvement. The article reflects the following two practices; reviewing the opportunities available for improvement in the customer service experience and detailing three specific options to follow as the organization deems fits its strategy.
An article that offers information about practices that frustrate usability from the Nielsen Norman Group (n.d.) is Opening Links in New Browser Windows and Tabs. The article reflects the difficulty people find using multiple web browsers windows and the cumbersome nature relative to mobile devices versus computers. These practices create confusion and frustration among users with lost material, pop-ups, and downloads; those less tech-savvy lose interest, therefore lose a customer.
The Nielsen Norman site could undoubtedly be more usable with a description of its offering at the top and more attractive coloring and fonts to start. Using drop-down menus to filter options is efficient for sorting through multiple changes. Opening links automatically to a new web browser is nice to keep the original search page intact.
References
Nielsen Norman Group. (n.d.). Articles & Videos. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ (Links to an external site.)
Technopedia. (n.d.). Website Usability. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/23903/website-usability (Links to an external site.)
MondayOct 19 at 3:33pm
Usability isn’t just about how well users can find what they’re looking for on a website. (Witten, 2018) explains that “The usability of a website tells us how effectively, efficiently, and satisfactorily its visitors or users can see, or examine by other means, the website. That includes everything a user would typically experience when they visit the website, including any navigation bars, menus, content, images, videos, hyperlinks, buttons, forms, games, etc.” (p. 3). Usability is a plethora of components that come together that impact the experience of the person. It can influence their thought on your product and if they want to revisit your site. For this discussion, I’ve decided to view the Red Bull website and found its usability to be one of the best I’ve experienced. There are only four tabs, so it wasn’t overwhelming. There were no subcategories, which reduced search time and frustration. Finally, the images were strategically placed and limited, which help avoid an eyesore.
One website provided insight into having multimedia on websites. (Nielson, 1995) says, “Unconstrained use of multimedia results in user interfaces that confuse users and make it harder for them to understand the information. Not every webpage needs to bombard the user with the equivalent of Times Square in impressions and movement” (p. 1). Having too much movement, photos, or colors can distract users and rush them off the site. There are many things that frustrate usability; however, the one that stuck out to me the most was registering to view the site. (Kumar, 2019) explains, “This mistake is commonly made by e-commerce sites. For instance, you must have come across plenty of sites that ask you to register before you checkout. I am sure 9 times out of ten you must have abandoned such sites” (p. 2).
Information on both sites was useful, but I do have critiques about each site. Nielson’s site doesn’t offer suggestions on how much is too much. For example, having five different colors and five pictures may seem to look perfect for the web designer, but Nielson may consider that too much. While registration may seem like a hassle Kumar doesn’t consider that some of the sites that ask you to register are because the site is for paying customers, which keeps the site running. Or they’re hoping to obtain your email to send out discount codes.
After learning about site usability and visiting the Red Bull site, I would make changes to the Nielson Norman site for usable. First, the site was filled a lot of text, and while there might be great information there, it was too overwhelming to read. Second, the site’s background was plain and uninviting.
Reference
Kumar, S. (2019, September 15). 10 Characteristics Of A Bad User Experience. Usability Geek. https://usabilitygeek.com/10-characteristics-bad-user-experience/ (Links to an external site.).
Red Bull Gives You Wings. Red Bull. https://www.redbull.com/.
Witten, B. (2018, March 13). What Is Website Usability & Why Is It Important? https://health.usf.edu/is/blog/2018/03/13/What-Is-Website-Usability--Why-Is-It-Important (Links to an external site.).
