Web usability

Web usability includes a small learning curve, easy content exploration, findability, task efficiency, user satisfaction, and automation. These new components of usability are due to the evolution of the Web and personal devices. Examples: automation: auto fill, databases, personal account; efficiency: voice commands (Siri, Alexa, and other artificial intelligence assistants); findability. The number of websites has surpassed 1.5 billion{{cite web|url=https://www.internetlivestats.com/total-number-of-websites/|title=Total number of Websites - Internet Live Stats|website=www.internetlivestats.com|access-date=2019-06-08}} thus increasing the need for well-designed websites that serve their users as best as possible in the constantly more competitive market. With good usability, users can find what they are looking for quickly. With the wide spread of mobile devices and wireless internet access, companies are now able to reach a global market with users of all nationalities at any time and almost any place in the world. It is important for websites to be usable regardless of users' language and culture. Most users in developed countries conduct their personal business online: banking, studying, errands, etc., which has enabled people with disabilities to be independent. Websites also need to be accessible for those users.{{cite web|last1=Da Sie|first1=Chris|title=5 Components Of Usability|url=http://www.chrisdasie.com/myposts/5-components-of-usability|website=www.chrisDasie.com|date=19 February 2014|access-date=13 December 2017}}

The goal of web usability is to provide user experience satisfaction by minimizing the time it takes to the user to learn new functionality and page navigation system, allowing the user to accomplish a task efficiently without major roadblocks, providing the user easy ways to overcome roadblocks, and fixing errors and re-adapting to the website or application system and functionality with minimum effort.

According to ISO 9241 (Ergonomic Requirements for Office Work with Visual Display Terminals), usability is "the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use". Therefore, web usability can be defined as the ability of web applications to support web-related tasks with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. Effectiveness represents accuracy and completeness when users achieve a specified goal. Efficiency is resource cost in relation to the accuracy and completeness. Satisfaction is the comfort and acceptability of use.{{cite book|last1=Mendes|first1=Emilia|last2=Mosley|last3=Matera|first3=Maristella|last4=Rizzo|first4=Francesca|last5=Carughi|first5=Giovanni T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=id829q6RljsC|title=Web Usability: Principles and Evaluation Methods|journal=Web Engineering|date=2006|pages=143–180|oclc=300263327|doi=10.1007/3-540-28218-1_5|isbn=9783540281962|citeseerx=10.1.1.462.3115}}

{{See also|Universal design}}

To attain universal usability for web-based services, designers and developers should take technology variety, user diversity and gaps in user knowledge into consideration.{{cite journal |last1=Shneiderman |first1=Ben |date=2000 |title=Universal Usability |journal=Commun. ACM |volume=43 |issue=5 |pages=84–91 |doi=10.1145/332833.332843 |issn=0001-0782 |s2cid=8937545|doi-access=free }} Web usability improvements may include providing a strong contrast mode for people with color vision deficiency.

Multilingual websites should offer the same experience to the users.{{cite journal |last1=Cyr |first1=Dianne |last2=Trevor-Smith |first2=Haizley |date=2004 |title=Localization of Web design: An empirical comparison of German, Japanese, and United States Web site characteristics |journal=Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology |volume=55 |issue=13 |pages=1199–1208 |doi=10.1002/asi.20075}} UI Alterations because the language and characters used should still provide the different components of usability.{{cite web |last1=Nielsen |first1=Jacob |title=International Usability: Big Stuff the Same, Details Differ |url=https://www.nngroup.com/articles/international-usability-details-differ |website=nngroup.com}}

With many different mobile devices, it is crucial to consider how the users accomplish their task on a small screen. Web usability components should be appropriate for the mobile device. The users should be awarded with a similar level of satisfaction and accomplishment as if they had used a desktop or laptop.{{cite book |last1=Nielsen |first1=Jakob |url=http://www.peachpit.com/store/mobile-usabitlity-9780321884480 |title=Mobile Usability |last2=Budiu |first2=Raluca |publisher=Peachpit |access-date=13 December 2017}}{{Cite web |title=Mobile Usability |url=https://www.nngroup.com/books/mobile-usability/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Nielsen Norman Group}}

According to a survey conducted by Google, users want mobile-friendly websites, especially for research. They found that mobile users value short load times, big buttons and readable text, and simple input boxes. Moreover, if a website is mobile friendly, the users are more likely to return, but they will abandon the website if it is not. Google found that the three most sought-after pieces of information for mobile users are locations, opening hours and contact information.{{cite web |title=What Users Want Most From Mobile Sites Today (Survey) |url=https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/au-what-mobile-users-want.pdf |access-date=2019-06-09 }} Google has also created an online tool called "mobile friendly test" on the Google search console which allows to check mobile-friendliness of a website.{{Cite web |title=Mobile-Friendly Test - Google Search Console |url=https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=search.google.com}}

Jakob Nielsen's heuristics are widely adopted in interface design. It provides expert reviewers with a set of principles to discover usability problems and then categorize and rate them in a quick way. This set of heuristics includes visibility of system status, match between system and the real world and so on. According to Nielsen, there are 10 general principles:{{cite book |last1=Nielsen |first1=Jakob |title=Heuristic evaluation of user interfaces |date=April 1–5, 1990 |publisher=Proceeding CHI '90 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems |location=Seattle, Washington, USA |isbn=0-201-50932-6 |pages=249–256 |edition=New York, NY, USA ©1990 }}

• Visibility of system status: the users should be informed by a system all the time that people can make better decisions.
• Match between system and the real world: the systems' language should be similar to users' language.
• User control and freedom: It happens many times that users choose the wrong system functions by a mistake, therefore, the system needs to contain the "emergency exit" to give an option for users to leave the unwanted state without any problem.
• Consistency and standards: the users have to be aware that different words, actions and situations can mean the same thing.
• Error prevention: System should have a careful design that can prevent a problem that can occur in the first place.
• Recognition rather than recall: the system should have the actions and options visible so the users do not need to memorize everything from previous steps. Instructions about the system usability should be always visible.
• Flexibility and efficiency of use: the system should have an accelerator to help experienced and inexperienced users to make work faster and easier.
• Aesthetic and minimalist design: the systems needs to contain only relevant and useful information. The information should be clear and short.
• Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors: the error messages should be presented in a clear language and understandable form (no codes), and suggest the solutions.
• Help and documentation: the information about help and documentation should be easy to find and should focus on the users' tasks.

The W3C publishes a set of guidelines on Web accessibility called Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WGAC).{{cite web|title=WCAG 2.0 at a Glance ◦ Web Accessibility Initiative ◦ W3C|url=https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/glance/|website=W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)}}

The second revision of WCAG, WCAG 2.0, is composed of twelve guidelines, distilled following the four principles that Web content should adhere to: being Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust.{{cite web|title=Introduction to Understanding WCAG 2.0|url=https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/intro.html#introduction-fourprincs-head}}

W3C also provides a detailed checklist for this set of guidelines.{{cite web|title=How to Meet WCAG 2.0|url=https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/}}

The concept of usability, particularly in the context of the internet, is most effectively understood from the perspective of the users.

Digital literacy has been growing steadily,{{Cite web |title=12 Months Of The ConnectedEconomy™ - December 2022 {{!}} PYMNTS.com |url=https://www.pymnts.com/study/12-months-of-the-connectedeconomy-consumer-digital-engagement/ |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=www.pymnts.com |language=en-US}} leading to a transformation in what Steve Krug highlights "how we really use the internet".{{Cite web |title=Advanced Common Sense - Sample chapter from Don't Make Me Think |url=https://www.sensible.com/chapter.html |access-date=2019-06-08 |website=www.sensible.com}} Owing to the familiarity and frequency of internet use, users have evolved from reading websites thoroughly to scanning them quickly, often in pursuit of specific information. This shift reflects the efficiency with which users have learned to filter and identify only the information they need, delving deeper only if the initial information doesn't fully meet their requirements.

Moreover, users tend to prioritize satisfactory outcomes over optimal ones when browsing the web, a behavior known as satisficing. This is largely due to the fast-paced nature of internet use and the negligible consequences of incorrect choices, such as clicking a wrong link, which can be easily rectified with a single click of the back button. This lack of penalty for guessing eliminates the need for users to deliberate extensively over which options to select.

As a consequence, most users are less concerned with understanding the underlying mechanics of websites as long as they can effectively navigate and utilize them. However, this behavior can lead to unanticipated thinking patterns and usage methods, which may deviate from the intended functionality of a website.

As more results of usability research become available, this leads to the development of methodologies for enhancing web usability.{{cite web|publisher=GOSS Interactive|date=October 2011|title= Conducting a website review and implementing results for increased customer engagement and conversions|url=http://www.gossinteractive.com/community/whitepapers/conducting-a-website-review-and-implementing-results-for-increased-customer-engagement-and-conversions}}

Usability testing is evaluating the different components of web usability (learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors and satisfaction) by watching the users accomplishing their task. Usability testing allows to uncover the roadblocks and errors users encounter while accomplishing a task. However, testing is not a one time event but rather an ongoing process.

• Eye tracking, a fast and accurate usability tool
• Multivariate testing, a statistical testing of user responses
• Web development
• Web navigation

{{reflist}}

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• [http://www.usability.gov/ Usability.gov]—usability basics with focus on web usability
• [http://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/Overview.html Evaluating Websites for Accessibility]—accessibility is a crucial subset of usability for people with disabilities. This W3C/WAI suite includes a section on involving users in testing for accessibility.
• [http://www.surl.org/usabilitynews/ Usability News] from the Software Usability Research Laboratory at Wichita State University

Category:Usability

Category:Web design

pl:Użyteczność (informatyka)