Depth Interview about Web-User Needs - Coursework Example

Depth Interview on Web User Needs Name Institution Date Depth Interview About Web User Needs Introduction Since the internet was invented a few decades ago, the World Wide Web has had a major impact on the way in which many people access and use the large quantities of information stored on the internet. Accordingly, several web-based applications have been developed to help internet users access information with convenience. Most of this information is organized in web pages and therefore majority of internet users rely on websites to access the information. To the users, the acceptability of a web depends on the ease of use usability. Thus, usability is a major factor that influences web user decisions. With the growing acceptance of online marketing, the concept of web usability has received substantial attention from web designers and markets. It is being recognized as a fundamental attribute for the success of any web based applications. The aim of this essay is to identify and analyze web user needs. The essay is based on the findings obtained from an interview that was conducted to determine how user needs are satisfied through web design. Description and Reflection on the Interview Process The methodology of personal interview was relied upon to conduct this research. Also called face-to-face survey, this kind of interview is commonly used when a specified target population is to be involved. Normally, the objective of conducting personal interviews is to gather people’s responses to build a comprehensive information repository about a particular subject. In this survey, the personal interview helped the researcher in probing responses and at the same time in observing the behaviors of the respondents. Due to time and resource constraints, three responded were interviewed. In selecting the respondents, the strategy of simple random sampling was used. This strategy is ideal in simple researches which require a small number of respondents. All the three people interviewed were students in a local university campus. A list of questions was drafted on related theories of consumer purchase decisions. The list consisted of several open ended questions. These types of questions were chosen because they do not limit respondents to specific answers. Respondents can answer in detail and can clarify ambiguous responses. They also permit self-expression, creativity and reveal the respondent’s frame of reference. All questions were expressed in English and therefore the respondents were expected to understand the English language. Another requirement was that the respondents be above the age of eighteen years and frequent users of internet. All the three respondents met the requisite conditions, which enabled them to participate in the interview. In conducting this interview, the interviewer relied on secondary research to develop a strong theoretical basis, which informed the analysis of the findings. Secondary data used to support the analysis was obtained from previous studies, books and journals. All respondents were asked same questions (although with slight variations) to ensure consistency in responses and to make it easier to analyze. The interviews took place outside the main auditorium at the university campus. Each interview session lasted for approximately twenty minutes and therefore the entire exercise took about an hour to complete. The interview started with each user being asked how long they had used the internet. Despite being in their early 20s, each one of them had used the internet for more than fifteen years. The first respondent (Respondent A) had use the internet ever since he was in elementary school. The other two respondents (Respondent B and Respondent C) also had good background in internet use. The interview then progressed to specific questions in accordance with the subject of the interview. The respondents were asked to state how web pages can be optimized to enhance usability and meet user needs. The researcher was careful not to ask leading questions because the respondents were required to give their honest opinions. In addition, the researcher did not want to appear as pressuring the respondents into a certain direction. The interviewee’s responses revolved around the aspect of interactivity and user friendliness, which turned out to be the most important factors affecting web user needs. Factors such as simplicity, color schemes, graphics, navigation and mobile compatibility were mentioned several times. Throughout the interview, the respondents looked calm and settled. They were friendly and did not seem to be bothered whenever the researcher asked for clarification of responses. Overall, the researcher felt that the interview was worthwhile and that it could help in developing a deep understanding of the concept of user needs. The findings of this interview can be used by web designers, companies and online marketers to develop more interactive websites to reach larger audiences. Identification and Analysis of User Needs The needs identified during the interview gave a clear indication that web users expect certain minimum standards to effectively interact with websites. In order for companies to make lasting impressions on their web users, the need to build creative experiences that go beyond a plain usable website. All the three persons concurred that web development and design approaches should be centered on the user user. This ensures that the users’ goals, requirements and mental processes are addressed effectively. Generally, web pages that are poorly designed tend to perform sub-optimally. They record low time on site, high bounce rates, low conversion rates and reduced pages per visit. Web usability was found to be the most important need for web users. A simple web site is one that is optimized to help users to see available information, without having to think really hard to find it. Users visit web sites to find specific information, therefore, adding unnecessary features (such as junk information) can discourage users from visiting the site. Web simplicity comes in different forms such as color, graphics and type faces. Typeface refers to the font style and size used in writing the website. It was established that Sans Serif typefaces such as Verdana and Arial are easier to read online, and therefore should be used more often than other type faces. The ideal size for a font is 16 pixels. If web designers choose other typefaces, they should be clearly legible. Closely related to the issue of typefaces is color. During the interview, it was discovered that a creatively thought-out color scheme can go a long way in attracting web users. All the three interviewees agreed that a combination of complementary colors creates harmony and balance, which makes websites visually attractive. In addition, using contrasting colors for the background and text makes it easier for web users to read the text. Vibrant colors tend to evoke emotional feelings and should be used rarely (for example on buttons). Lastly, negative space combined with complementary colors is effective at making websites look uncluttered and modern. Graphic images were found to play a complementary role to texts. For online marketers, choosing the right images for the website can help with brand positioning as well as connecting with the target audience. Closely related to the need for simplicity is the principle of visual hierarchy. This refers to the strategy of organizing and arranging different web elements in such a way that web users naturally navigate to the most important ones first. Visual hierarchy is an important user need because it helps in leading users to complete actions in enjoyable and natural ways. By adjusting the size, position, color and frequency of major elements, high levels of visual hierarchy can be achieved without distracting users when they visit the site. Familiarity, consistency and guidance are the most important building blocks of visual hierarchy. They help in creating a user friendly experience throughout the website, which is an important concern for many web users. The concept of learnability was also identified as an important user need during the interview. All the three interviewees agreed that their needs are satisfied easily if the website interface does not require a lot of instructions and learning to understand it. It is therefore the responsibility of web designers to design intuitive interfaces and avoid long processes of trial to figure out. This can be easily achieved by creating what people are familiar with or creating a new thing which is easy to learn. By applying the concept of learnability consistently, the user’s experience is enhanced and their expectations met. Indeed, companies that embrace the concept of learnability help meet the goals of their visitors more quickly. Communication and credibility are also important user needs that should be addressed sufficiently when designing web sites. According to the interviewees, web users are unlikely to visit a website if they do not trust the owner or information posted there. The manner in which a website is designed can cause users to be skeptical about a company or its business in various ways include whether the company is genuine or exists. To avoid such doubts, the website should be clearly designed with detailed but succinct ‘About Us’ page. The page should give the company’s contacts and physical address if possible. As the interviewees noted, websites that do not give information about the owner are associated with fraudulent activities and thus are rarely visited. Content also plays a vital role in enhancing the perceived credibility of a website. Therefore, web owners must be precise and honest about the information they place on the internet. Petty mistakes such as incorrect grammar, spelling errors and typos should be avoided. Navigation and use of grids was also established as a key user need. Navigation refers to how easy it is for web users to move around a website and take action. Usually, it is the case that information is located on several web pages on the same website, which necessities the need to move from one page to another. A well designed web page should be easy to navigate. Common strategies for effective web navigation include using bread crumbs, logical site hierarchy and clickable buttons. Another strategy relates to the three clicks rule, which states that site visitors should be able to locate information within three clicks. Therefore, websites should not be easy to navigate to make the user experience more enjoyable. Using grid based layouts ensures that content does not appear randomly on the web pages. A grid based layout helps in organizing web content into columns, sections, headlines and boxes, which leads to more visually appealing web design. Mobile friendly and load time were also identified as essential user needs that should be addressed during web design. In today’s technological era, it is common for web users to access pages using different devices such as desktop computers and handheld devices. It is therefore imperative for web owners to consider if their websites are compatible with different devices including smart phones and other mobile devices. For websites that are not mobile friendly, they should be redesigned with a responsive layout so that they can be used with mobile devices. Ideally, a mobile friendly web page should adjust to different sizes so that user do not have to look for specific devices to open them. Similarly, the web pages should take minimum time to open. The interviewees reckoned that they loath visiting web pages that take too long to open. Key strategy for making web pages open fast include optimizing image sizes, minifying HTML and compressing codes. Conclusion The interview revealed that web users are very sensitive to the ability of websites to meet their needs. As revealed in the analysis, any website can justify the needs of its users if it is simple, relevant, attractively designed and easy to navigate. Because mobile devices are used quite often to access web pages, it was revealed that mobile compatibility is an important user need and a key aspect of a good website. Optimizing websites to open and load quickly on mobile devices is a good way to satisfy web user needs. A key implication of the above findings is that website has a major impact on the manner in which companies communicate with their audiences. Poorly designed websites can discourage potential visitors from using them. Therefore, the issue of web usability should be taken into account when designing websites and updating content in them. Appendix List of Interview Questions i. How long have you been using the internet? ii. How often do you use the internet in a week? iii. What do you use the World Wide Web for? iv. What platforms do you prefer for accessing the web (mobile devices or desktop computers). please explain v. Are there websites you like and other you don’t like? vi. What attracts you to a particular website? vii. Do color schemes have an impact on your decision to visit a particular website? viii. Do you prefer particular font styles for a website? ix. What effects do graphics have on you user experience? x. Do you find navigation buttons helpful or annoying? xi. Does it bother you if a website takes too long to load pages? xii. Should web pages be optimized to open on mobile devices? xiii. What other web design features help satisfy your user needs? Read More