HOMEPAGE USABILITY JAKOB NIELSEN & MARIE TAHIR

USABILITY What is usability? –Usability means making products and systems easier to use, and matching them more closely to user needs and requirements. Usability is about: –Effectiveness - can users complete tasks, achieve goals with the product, i.e. do what they want to do? –Efficiency - how much effort do users require to do this? (Often measured in time) –Satisfaction – what do users think about the products ease of use?

USABILITY Effectiveness, Efficiency and Satisfaction are affected by: –The users - who is using the product? e.g. are they highly trained and experienced users, or novices? –Their goals - what are the users trying to do with the product - does it support what they want to do with it? –The usage situation (or 'context of use') - where and how is the product being used? Usability should not be confused with ‘accessability', however, as this is purely concerned with the functions and features of the product and has no bearing on whether users are able to use them or not. Increased accessabilitydoes not mean improved usability!

THE ROLE OF THE HOMEPAGE  MAGAZINE COVER  YOUR FACE TO THE WORLD  ARTWORK  COMPANY RECEPTIONIST  BOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS  NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGE  BROCHURE

THE ROLE OF THE HOMEPAGE THE HOMEPAGE HAS MULTIPLE GOALS BECAUSE THE USERS ALSO HAVE MULTIPLE GOALS Vs INEXPERIENCED USERS OFTEN FEEL OVERWHELMED BY HOMEPAGES THAT DON’T CLEARLY HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THEIR OPTIONS

THE ROLE OF THE HOMEPAGE  THE CHALLENGE IS TO DESIGN A HOMEPAGE THAT ALLOWS ACCESS TO ALL IMPORTANT FEATURES  FOCUS AND CLARITY ARE KEY, AS IS AN UNDERSTANDING OF USER’S GOALS.

COMMUNICATING THE SITE’S PURPOSE THE HOMEPAGE COMMUNICATE IN ONE SHORT GLANCE:  WHERE USERS ARE  WHAT YOUR COMPANY/INSTITUTION DOES  WHAT USERS CAN DO AT YOUR SITE

COMMUNICATING THE SITE’S PURPOSE USERS MUST RECOGNIZE THE HOMEPAGE IMMEDIATELY:  SHOW THE COMPANY NAME AND/OR LOGO IN A RESONABLE SIZE AND NOTICEABLE LOCATION  INCLUDE A TAG LINE THAT EXPLICITLY SUMMARIZE WHAT THE SITE OR COMPANY DOES

COMMUNICATING THE SITE’S PURPOSE  EMPHASIZE WHAT YOUR SITE DOES THAT IS VALUABLE FROM THE USER’S POINT OF VIEW  EMPHASIZE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY TASKS SO THAT USERS HAVE A CLEAR STARTING POINT ON THE HOMEPAGE

COMMUNICATING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR COMPANY  INCLUDE A HOMEPAGE LINK TO AN “About Us” SECTION  INCLUDE “Contact Us” LINK ON THE HOMEPAGE THAT GOES TO A PAGE WITH ALL CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOUR COMPANY (primary address, phone number and )  IF YOUR SITE GATHERS ANY CUSTOMER INFORMATION, INCLUDE A “Privacy Policy” LINK ON THE HOME PAGE

NAVIGATION THE NAVIGATION AREA SHOULD ALSO REVEAL THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTENT OF THE SITE LOCATE THE PRIMARY NAVIGATION AREA IN A HIGHLY NOTICEABLE PLACE (ADIACENT TO THE MAIN BODY OF THE PAGE) GROUP ITEMS IN THE NAVIGATION AREA SO THAT SIMILAR ITEMS ARE NEXT TO EACH OTHER

NAVIGATION DON’T PROVIDE MULTIPLE NAVIGATION AREAS FOR THE SAME TYPES OF LINKS DON’T INCLUDE AN ACTIVE LINK TO THE HOMEPAGE ON THE HOMEPAGE DON’T USE MADE-UP WORDS FOR CATEGORY NAVIGATION CHOICES

SEARCH USERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND “SEARCH” COMMAND EASILY AND USE IT EFFORTLESSLY MAKE IT VISIBLE, WIDE AND KEEP IT SIMPLE DON’T LABEL THE SEARCH AREA WITH A HEADING (use “SEARCH” button to the right of the box)

GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION GRAPHICS CAN GREATLY ENHANCE A HOMEPAGE, BUT CAN WEIGH DOWN THE DESIGN IN VISUAL CLUTTER IT IS IMPORTANT TO USE THEM CAREFULLY AND EDIT THEM FOR THE WEB

GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION ANIMATION RARELY HAS A PLACE ON THE HOMEPAGE BECAUSE IT DISTRACTS FROM OTHER ELEMENTS NEVER ANIMATE CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF THE PAGE, SUCH AS THE LOGO, THE TAG LINE, OR MAIN HEADING LET USERS CHOOSE WHETHER THEY WANT TO SEE AN ANIMATED INTRO TO YOUR SITE – DON’T MAKE IT THE DEFAULT!

GRAPHIC DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGN IS NOT THE STARTING POINT FOR THE HOMEPAGE DESIGN, BUT THE FINAL STEP: LIMIT FONT STYLES AND OTHER TEXT FORMATTING USE HIGH-CONTRAST TEXT AND BACKGROUND COLOURS AVOID HORIZONTAL SCROLLING

GRAPHIC DESIGN THE MOST CRITICAL PAGE ELEMENTS SHOULD BE VISIBLE IN THE FIRST SCREEN OF CONTENT, WITHOUT SCROLLING USE A LIQUID LAYOUT SO THE HOME PAGE SIZE ADJUSTS TO DIFFERENT SCREEN RESOLUTION

ADVERTISING KEEP ADS FOR OUTSIDE COMPANIES ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE PAGE KEEP EXTERNAL ADS AS SMALL AND DISCREET AS POSSIBLE RELATIVE TO YOUR CORE HOMEPAGE CONTENT

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS BY THE TIME A USER ARRIVES AT YOUR HOMEPAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME, THAT USER WILL ALREADY BE CARRYING A LARGE LOAD OF MENTAL BAGGAGE.

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS AND BY THIS TIME, USERS HAVE ACCUMULATED A GENERIC MENTAL MODEL OF THE WAY HOMEPAGES ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK.

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS *** ESSENTIAL RECOMMENDATION ** STRONG RECOMMENDATION * DEFAULT RECOMMENDATION THIS STAR RATING INDICATES HOW CRITICAL THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINE IS TO A SATISFACTORY USER EXPERIENCE.

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS HOMEPAGE ISSUESRECOMMENDED DESIGNSTRENGTH OF RECOM. DOWNLOAD TIMEAt most 10 sec. at the prevalent connection speed for your customers. *** PAGE WIDTHOptimized for 770 pixels, but with a liquid layout that works at anything from 620 to 1024 pixels. ** LIQUID Vs FROZEN LAYOUT Liquid. ** PAGE LENGTH1 or 2 full screens. No more than 3. ** LOGO PLACEMENTUpper left. ***

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS HOMEPAGE ISSUESRECOMMENDED DESIGNSTRENGTH OF RECOM. LOGO SIZE80x68 pixels. ** SEARCHProvide search. Have it on the homepage. Make it a box. *** SEARCH PLACEMENT Upper part of the page, preferably in right or left corner. *** SEARCH BOX COLOUR White *** SEARCH BUTTONCall it “Search” (“Go” also acceptable). **

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS HOMEPAGE ISSUESRECOMMENDED DESIGNSTRENGTH OF RECOM. WIDTH OF SEARCH BOX At least 25 characters, but 30 characters is better. ** TYPE OF SEARCHSimple search. (Advanced or scoped search relegated to secondary pages). ** NAVIGATIONOne of the four main types: left- hand rail, tabs, links across the top, or categories in the middle. ** FOOTER NAVIGATION LINKS Use for links such as copyright and contact info. * SITEMAP LINK“Site Map” if you have one. **

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS HOMEPAGE ISSUESRECOMMENDED DESIGNSTRENGTH OF RECOM. ABOUT THE COMPANY Always include this feature. *** ABOUT LINKCall the link “About ”. ** CONTACT INFORMATION Provide a link to contact info and call it “Contact Us”. ** PRIVACY POLICYInclude one if the site collects data from users and link to it from the homepage. *** NAME OF PRIVACY LINK Call it “Privacy Policy”. **

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS HOMEPAGE ISSUESRECOMMENDED DESIGNSTRENGTH OF RECOM. HELPDon’t offer it unless the site’s complexity makes help unavoidable. * HELP PLACEMENTUpper right. ** AUTO-PLAYING MUSIC No. *** ANIMATIONNo. ** GRAPHICS/ ILLUSTRATIONS Somewhere between 5-15% of the space on the homepage. *

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS HOMEPAGE ISSUESRECOMMENDED DESIGNSTRENGTH OF RECOM. ADVERTISINGAt most, 3 ads (whether external or internal). ** BODY TEXT COLOUR Black. ** BODY TEXT SIZE12 points. * BODY TEXT SIZE FROZEN No. Always use relative sizes that make it possible for users to make the text larger or smaller as desired. *** BODY TEXT TYPEFACE San-serif (Verdana, Arial). *

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS HOMEPAGE ISSUESRECOMMENDED DESIGNSTRENGTH OF RECOM. BACKGROUND COLOUR White. ** LINK COLOUR, UNVISITED LINKS Blue. ** LINK COLOUR, VISITED LINKS Purple, light blue, red. * LINK UNDERLININGYes, except in lists in navigation bars **

USABILITY Case studies