Usability on the Web

I will be posting the papers I write for Champlain courses. I am required to maintain the "academic standards" and thus my language in these kind of posts might be dry and boring. But I have really done research for these. So take them seriously.

Usability on web sites and web applications is not just a luxury, but a necessity. If the users cannot find a feature, they have the complete freedom to stop using the site / application completely. Paying for good design is cheaper than increasing the marketing budget for the web; web users put usability before everything.

Just as factors of human-to-human interaction do not change with fashion, human-to-web interaction principles also hold well over a period of time. In spite of this, designers frequently make the same mistakes over and over again. First of all, an application designed for a small group of well-understood users will not appeal to the rest of the users with different characteristics. The “design-by-specifications” idea which took place in the dotcom era is withering right now, and tailoring the user experience of each and every application is needed. We do not care for user experience as long as we can check a checkbox on the specifications sheet supplied by the clients. Most of the clients themselves are unaware of the needs of their users.

Studies of user behavior have shown low tolerance for difficult designs or slow sites. Download times rule the web. Recommended page response times for downloading pages is 1 second, or 2 seconds at the most. That means the page sizes should be kept within 15 KB, and such a small size puts a limit on the amount and quality of graphics on the web (Nielsen). If a web application is marketed as a desktop app replacement, then it has to respond as fast as the desktop app too, and desktop features such as keyboard shortcuts and tooltips should be considered too.

There is also the risk of losing the user spatially. If information is spread out all over the screen, and if the user’s eyes have to scan the whole page before knowing where to click next, then we have lost the user (Balkan). There was a notion among web designers that the most important items should be placed ‘above-the-fold’, and this would often leave cramped homepages. Moreover, the user shouldn’t be required to remember items from page to page. Providing too much information may also force users to memorize it from click to click.

Common business sense dictates that it is cheaper and easier to get a return customer than it is to find a new customer. Similarly, converting first time visitors to returning visitors to the web site / application is of paramount importance. This is the job of great design. If the user is bothered too much by usability issues, a return visit is not generally possible. Switching between traditional brick-and-mortar stores requires the buyer to undergo a lot of hassle, while on the web a competitor can be accessed by the user with the same ease as you are accessed. One way to bring buyers again and again to our site is to provide recommendations for new products. Again, care should be taken that these recommendations be not brochures of new products / features, but should be tailored to the user’s specific behaviors. One such example is that of Amazon.com®’s “Recommended Reading Lists”, and personally I find it is the only one that actually works. If the user buys more and more books, then these lists become even more accurate in defining our readings.

While we are on the topic of new content discovery, another very intuitive web application is Musicovery.com®. A new user only need to define his current mood from four clear choices, then the app will play music tailored to the user’s mood. With a very fluid interface and a neat option to buy the music with a single click, Musicovery is the very definition for discovering new music. A first time user is not bothered with registration, and a single click on this web app sets the music going. The app is also available on the Wii, PSP and Flash-enabled phones, and thus mobile users are also catered to.

Speaking of mobile users, more and more websites and web apps are being accessed by mobile devices. As much as 10% of the visitors are from a mobile device. Trying to force a full fledged site on a mobile device doesn’t make sense. Mobile users generally have smaller screens, poor browser rendering capabilities and poor cursor control. Decreasing the text input and making navigation links available make life easier accessing web content on a mobile device.

In terms of accessing the web and all the features that the web provides in an intuitive manner, the iPhone is a commercial breakthrough. By providing a full browser with innovative touch controls on a fairly sized screen makes web usability much easier. Now there are instances wherein websites are being designed especially for the iPhone. While touch gestures are the hot new features now, after some time with every other device having its own proprietary set of touch controls, switching from one device to another will be very cumbersome. Also, touch controls are useful only for general audiences. Instances where pixel-perfect accuracy is needed, like graphic design, will be difficult on touch-based devices. (Caulfield)

A website that runs contrary to popular understanding of good design is put up by Sprint, under their “Now” marketing campaign. It is heavy on Flash and requires almost 30 seconds to load, has ‘corner sensitive’ scrolling, and manages to overwhelm the user instantly. For a moment it seems as if you are glancing at the whole universe in action. There is no isolation point where the user might be directed next, there is very little communication of the idea that the site is trying to convey. The very basics of web design – comprehension and interaction – have been thrown completely topsy-turvy. Maybe the designers intended to make a futuristic site, but their intention was nowhere reflected in their work.


Bibliography:

Balkan, Aral. “User Interface Design Principles for Web Applications.”
AralBalkan.com. 13 August 2006. 2 February 2009. http://aralbalkan.com/687

Nielsen, Jakob. “Jakob Nielsen on Usability and Design.”
Jakob Nielsen’s Website. 14 January 2000. Nielsen Norman Group. 2 February 2009.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703a.html


Caulfield, Brian. “Touch Screens Everywhere.” Forbes. 23 January 2009.
Forbes.com LLC. 2 February 2009.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/23/touch-screen-gadgets-tech-personal-cx_bc_0123touchscreen.html


Rubin, Jeffrey. Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design and Conduct
Effective Tests. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (1994).

Nguyen, Bob Johnson, and Michael Hackett. Testing applications on the Web.
2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2003).

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