Web Page Usability

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Web Page Usability
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Determine User Goals

• Brainstorm
• Why would users come to your page?
• What level of information will you deliver?
• What tasks will users have?

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• Write each task on a separate piece of paper or
  index card.
• Create specific categories for these tasks.
• For tasks that fit under multiple categories,
  consider using a placeholder in other categories.

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• Plan on one page per category.
• Consider one page per task.
• Tradeoffs Breadth versus Depth.
• Long individual pages.
• Vs.
• Several clicks to reach information.

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What do users want?

• Users look for different information
• Is this page on my topic?
• General information on the topic.
• Specific information on the topic.
• Is this information trustworthy?

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Level of interest

• No interest
• This is not the page theyre looking for.
• Some interest
• Title only.
• One sentence summary
• One paragraph summary.
• Major points.

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• Strong interest
• Minor points.
• Will scan headers to get to information quickly.
• Detailed interest.
• Written at more length,
• Can assume a focused audience.
• Hungry for more information.
• Link to authoritative and/or useful sources.

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What do users look for?

• Highlighted keywords.
• Specific keywords and context.
• Scannable, informative headers and sub-headers.
• Headers should describe the underlying text.
• Headers should include keywords.

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• Bulleted lists.
• Users tend to look at bullet lists first.
• Keep these short, if possible.
• One idea per paragraph.
• If you reference something complex, link it.

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• Write concisely.
• Keep sentences simple and focused.
• Use about half the word count of conventional
  writing.
• Begin with the conclusion.
• Inverted-pyramid structure.
• Users typically dont scroll down to find your
  point.
• Instead, they do another search to find an easier
  description.

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Language Choices

• There are often different terms for the same type
  of material.
• Computational Biology or Bioinformatics?
• Pick whatever is most widely used
• Be consistent
• Meta Description tags can be helpful
• When your page shows up in Search Results, it
  will list your descriptive statement.
• ltMETA NAMEDescription CONTENTYour
  descriptive statement goes here.
• Meta Keyword tags are ignored by most modern
  search engines

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Localization

• Also known as
• Globalization, Internationalization,
  Glocalization
• Looking for readers outside the US?
• Metric system vs. English Units
• Any regularly timed updates, list in GMT
• Be aware of cultural issues
• PRC vs. ROC, etc.
• You dont have to change your content if you
  dont want to but be prepared.
• You cant make everyone happy.

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Credibility

• What makes a site trustworthy?
• Style.
• Is this site clear? Professional? Amateurish?
• Credentials.
• Who are you? What do you know about this topic?
• Disclosures.
• What are your limitations? What dont you know?

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Credibility

• Who links to your page?
• Trustworthy sites?
• Untrustworthy sites?
• You have limited control over this.
• What does your page link to?
• Link to other quality information sources.
• Describe your links.

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• Be consistent.
• Keep the same style throughout.
• Give equal levels of information on different
  topics.
• Stay current.
• Outdated information lowers user confidence.
• Highlight new developments visibly.

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User feedback

• Collect feedback from peers.
• Ask them to accomplish specific goals.
• Accept feedback from visitors.
• Be aware that negative responses often outnumber
  positive ones.
• Also, negative feedback is typically more
  specific.
• Dont be offended. But take note of common
  problems.

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Navigation

• Make it easy to get from the central page to
  sub-pages, and from sub-pages to the central
  page.
• Keep Navigation predictable Call Home Home not
  Beginning
• Label links clearly describe where the link
  leads.

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Navigation

• Useful links
• Home
• FAQ
• Search
• About Me/Us
• Contact Us
• Whats New
• Help
• Location
• Right/Left sidebars take up more screen space
  than Header/Footer.

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For the 285 Web Assignment

• Page should include
• A clear purpose
• A homepage linked to a few sub-pages
• Content should be task-related
• An About Me page
• A contact/feedback page
• (An email link or feedback form)

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Credits

• Web writing for Many Interest Levels - Nathan
  Wallace, 1999.
• http//www.e-gineer.com/articles/web-writing-for-m
  any-interest-levels.phtml
• Writing for the Web - Jakob Nielson, 2003.
• http//www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/