Website Usability and Interaction - Research Proposal Example

Website Usability and Interaction Executive Summary The EF Sports website is designed to provide up-to sports information to sports enthusiasts.The site should be attractive and should be designed in such a way that users can easily find the very specific information that they are looking for. While the site scores highly in terms of simplicity; relevance of buttons, controls and links; accessibility on different devices and browsers; and legibility of the font, it scores poorly in terms of overall attractiveness and interactiveness. The website should be given a more pleasing and lively background color as a way of improving its attractiveness. Furthermore, it should be organized such that users are encouraged to take action through the use of appropriate call to action messages. All images, text and icons that are hyperlinked should also show when they are pointed at or clicked as a way of improving the sites useability. Furthermore, the site should be redesigned such that users can tell which pages they have visited or which links they have clicked already. Goals of the project EF Sports website has been created with a view of providing sports fans with up-to-date information on sporting activities and events and news about players. In addition to these, the website is dedicated to providing users a forum through which they can air their views about players, games, and matches. More specifically, the website targets football, tennis, volleyball enthusiasts. The website design should be such that it offers users the information they need clearly, concisely by arranging them appropriately. More specifically, the use-ability goals for the website include: 1. To be accessible to users on various browsers and devices 2. To provide quick access to relevant information to users 3. To provide information to users clearly and in such a way that is comfortable to the eye Results A view of the website reveals that it has five menus that are located near the top of the page. The menu buttons are of good size although they seem dull to the user. The buttons and controls are well labeled. However, an inexperienced user may not be able to tell that the buttons lead to other major sections of the site. The name of website features at the top of the page and is positioned on the left side. The background of the site is generally dull as it has a lot of black and grey. The name of the site is legible and stands out clearly on the home page. In addition to the menu, the website is equipped with a site map that is useful in helping users navigate through it. The site map, page notes, and discussion sections are positioned on the left side of the page in a window that can be closed or minimized by the user at will. The site also has a provision for subscription much as it has provision for signing into the site. A lot of the content that is written on the site is brief and concise, relevant pictures accompanying the text. The pictures/images and content are laid out in a manner such that they do not distract or confuse the visitor. The pictures serve to keep the pages attractive. The paths to subscription and login are generally clear and little scrolling and clicking is required to navigate through the pages. There are also several links that lead to other pages or articles within and outside of the site. The hyper text links are easily identifiable as they are underlined or presented in a different color from the body text. Many of the links indicate when they are clicked or when the mouse is hovered over them. Some of the links in this respect are broken though. The font used is legible and the writings are well spaced making it comfortable for the eye. While this is the case, the pages lack consistency as evidenced in the different structures of the home pages (for the different languages). Given that the website targets users across different locations and who speak different language, it has different pages written in different languages, one of which is English. A test of the site on different browsers and devises reveals that they site is well accessible to users on different platforms. In the different browsers and devises, the site loads quickly and easily and looks the same. A search on the site for specific words reveals that one needs to search manually for specific content. This is in effect time consuming and diminishes the overall experience of the user. The web page makes uses a lot of bold words to give emphasis. The net effect of this is that the reader’s attention is drawn to everything at the same time. This coupled with the low contrast between the content and the background negates the gains made by the font and font size. The site works such that there is no change in the color of hyperlinks when a user clicks on them. This means that a user may not be able to tell which links they have clicked on already or the pages that they have already visiting, which reduces the overall user experience as the user may waste time visiting the same page multiple times against their wishes. Generally, the site is simple, and offers relevant information to users. Conclusion There are a number of recommendations that may be implemented for the site to be more useable and positively interactive. Indeed according to FW Taylor, the work should be arranged so that the worker (or user) can be efficient (Zeepedia par. 3). Furthermore, according to Taylor, social interaction should be part of the deal in the work setting as noted by Open Learning World (par 4). In respect of this fact, the website should be attractive much as it should engage its users. One way of making the site interactive especially with respect to the way pages appear is by making them such that the user can pan through them and zoom in to view finer details (User Focus par 5). Yet another way the site can be designed to be more interactive is by balancing color and the layout of content. Since different users are interested in different subjects, personalities, and events, the website could be made more interactive by adding to it a search feature. This will enable users easily search and find information that they need without having to visit several pages or make numerous clicks. One of the features that the site has is registration. While the site has registration and log in provisions, the site does very little to encourage users to register. This weakness can be overcome by using clear calls for action. To improve the useability of the site, its pages should be more consistent in design and structure. The background of the site should have more lively colors and most of the content in the web pages should be plain (not bolded). The site has a strong point in that it provides relevant, interesting, up-to-date information to users. However, the site’s credibility needs to be improved. There is nothing on the site that serves to demonstrate its credibility (User Focus par 5). This weakness can be solved by providing “About Us” and contact information. The motivational approach to work design demands that workers/users should have an enriching experience and have opportunity for autonomy. With respect to a website, the user should be able to find their way through the site without having to be guided by someone else. This being the case, the site map should be enhanced, the menu buttons should be more pronounced, and broken links corrected. The site’s useability and interactiveness can further be improved by enabling visitors/users know the pages they have already visited as recommended by Studyweb (par. 19). This way, they will know which pages that they have not visited and may be interested in. Works Cited Open Learning World. Engineering Approach. 2015. Web. http://www.openlearningworld.com/books/Job%20Design%20and%20Enrichment/Job%20Design%20and%20Enrichment/Approaches%20to%20Job%20Design.html Studyweb. Test your Website: A 57-Point Checklist for Maximum Usability. 2015. Web. http://www.studyweb.com/test-your-website-a-57-point-checklist-for-maximum-usability/ User Focus. 38 page layout and visual design usability guidelines. 2015. Web. http://www.userfocus.co.uk/resources/layoutchecklist.html Zeepedia. Organization Development: Work Design. 2015. Web. http://www.zeepedia.com/read.php?work_design_the_engineering_approach_individual_differences_vertical_loading_organization_development&b=52&c=38 Read More