Usability of Websites

Website usability is a website that does the job right and does the right job.

· Easy to navigate

· Useful: a user can actually perform the task he/she wanted to do

Heuristic Evaluation

· Performing your own usability assessment

· The term heuristic means “rule of thumb”

· Heuristic will not always tell you what is right or wrong with a website design

· Heuristic is a guide to go by, but the person making the assessment will need to make his/her own interpretations and judgments

· Heuristic are typically used as a checklist of things to review

Usability Checklist

Checklist for Assessing Website Usability

· Intuitive

· Design consistency

· Site efficiency

· Supportability

· Engaging

· Accuracy

Usability Checklist: Intuitive

Is there good navigation?

· Navigation tool bar, breadcrumb trail, table of contents, titles on each page, hyperlink terms clearly identifying where they lead, do graphics used have meaning, etc.

· Breadcrumb trail: Home>Shop by Brand>Adidas>Shoes

Does the site behave consistently throughout?

How easy is it to use the site with only partial knowledge of “how it works”?

Is it easy to learn?

Does the site guide the user?

Are the terms/menus used on the site meaningful and representative to the user?

Usability Checklist: Design Consistancy

Does it follow conventions that users are familiar with?

Is it obvious from one page to another that the user is on the same site?

Are colors, screen format and terminology consistent throughout the site?

Usability Checklist: Site Efficiency

Is the site easy to read?

Is key information above the fold? (on the first page of the site)

Do animation/images serve informational purposes? Can they be more simplistic?

Can users turn off graphic displays in their browsers?

Does the site download fast enough?

Does it take three click or less to access information needed?

Do frequent users have the ability to use shortcuts?

Can tasks be performed with keyboard strokes?

Are text blocks small enough to eliminate the need for scrolling over the right of the screen?

Usability Checklist: Supportability

Does the site allow for mistakes to be easily undone?

Does the site offer informative feedback to the user?

Does it provide guidance, advice, tools, reference materials, access to help?

Does the site enable visitor feedback?

Does the site have access for the disabled?

Does the site avoid red and green color combinations for color-blind individuals?

Usability Checklist: Engaging

Do users enjoy their site experience?

Do users tell the computer what to do and not vice versa?

Do users feel in control?

Does the site have good readability?

Is the site appealing?

Usability Checklist: Accuracy

Do the links work properly?

Is the content in the site current and accurate?

Are words spelled correctly?

The categories and the questions on the checklist will vary depending on the type of website you are assessing

· For example, the categories for an e-commerce site will be different than for a university site