1. Prioritizing Web Usability Nielsen and Loranger Chapter 2: The Web User Experience Paul Ammann http://cs.gmu.edu/~pammann/ SWE 432 Design and Implementation of Software for the Web

2. 9/6/20152 Overview How Well Do People Use the Web? User Satisfaction with Web Sites How People Use Sites Search Dominance Scrolling Complying with Design Conventions and Usability Guidelines Information Foraging First Time User: You have Less Than Two Minutes!

3. 9/6/20153 How Well Do People Use the Web? The Measure of Success –Progress Users Make in Completing a Task at a NEW Site –Example Task: Make a Reservation Web-Wide Success Rates –66 % (Site Specific Tasks) vs. 40% in the 1990s! –(60% Web-Wide Tasks) Success by Experience Level –Low Experience: 59% (Site-Specific) to 52% (Web-Wide) –High Experience: 72% (Site-Specific) to 67% (Web-Wide) Users Fail a Lot!

4. 9/6/20154 User Satisfaction With Web Sites Users Often Don’t Realize What They’ve Missed –Hence Satisfaction is Hard to Accurately Measure Key Distinction: Home Page (40%) vs. Deep Link (60%) Three Guidelines for Supporting Deep Link Users –Tell Users Where They Are and Where They Can Go Name/Logo on every page Direct, One-Click Link to Home Page Search, Preferably in Upper Right Corner –Orient User to the Rest of the Site –Don’t Assume that Users Have Drilled Down Make All of Your Site Accessible

5. 9/6/20155 How People Use Sites Average 3.2 Sites Per Task –Less Than Two Minutes Prior to Abandoning –Rarely Revisit A Site The HomePage: So Much to Say, So Little Time –Average Times: 35 Seconds (Novice) vs 25 Seconds (Expert) –Experienced Users are Ruthless! –Clarity is Crucial –No Long Winded Text – Users Won’t Read It Anyway –Users Aren’t Reading the Page – They are Figuring Out Where to Go Next Examples: QuadGraphics Dial Before You DigQuadGraphicsDial Before You Dig You Need to Support The User’s Task

6. 9/6/20156 How People Use Sites (2) Four Goals in Thirty Seconds For a Home Page –What Site User Has Arrived At –What Benefits the Organization Offers Them –Something About the Company and its Products/Benefits –Their Choices And How to Navigate To Desired Section Interior Page Behavior –Users Read More Content on Interior Pages –Eye Scans Show Users Spend More Time In Content Area Tip: Optimizing Interior Page Links –Put Important Links in Content Area of Interior Pages Homepage vs. Interior: Apple vs. IPhones SettingsAppleIPhones Settings Home Pages and Interior Pages Are Used Differently

7. 9/6/20157 Search Dominance Percentage a Task Starts at a Search Engine: 88% The Rise of “Answer Engines” –Users Search for Answers, Not for Promising Sites Four Ways to Grab Value From Search Engine Visitors –Offer Flytrap content: Narrowly Focused Pages With Answers to Common Problems –Embellish the Answer with Rich “See Also” links –Go Beyond Pure Information Provide Analysis and Insight –Publish a Newsletter with Additional Tips and Information Users Don’t Want You; They Want Your Data!

8. 9/6/20158 Search Dominance(2) Organic vs. Sponsored Links –Organic Links Are Best Matches for User’s Query –Sponsored Links are Ads How People Use the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) –93 % Visit First SERP Only –Only 47% Scroll the First SERP With Google, 4 or 5 Organic Sites “Above the Fold” –51% Click on First Site; Only 16% Click on Second Site Number One Guideline for Search Engine Optimization –Aim for the Top Spot! Users Don’t Go For a Lot of Breadth

9. 9/6/20159 Search Dominance(3) Keyword Pricing Estimates For Usability Improvements –Bottom Line: Google is Making a LOT of Money Determining the Optimal Bid for a Search Keyword Ad –Maximize Profit, Not Total Business How Much is Improved Usability Worth? –Typically Doubles “Conversion Rate” Three Reasons to Improve Your Site –Keyword Bids Will Gradually Become Insufficient –Beat Your Competitor –Keep The Customers You Get Through Other Channels Business Case for Commercial Sites

10. 9/6/201510 Scrolling Tip: Design for Short Scrolling –23% Scroll Home Page First Visit –14% Later Visits to Home Page –42% Scroll Interior Pages –47% Scroll SERP “Users are Lazy and Ignorant” (page 45)

11. 9/6/201511 Complying with Design Conventions and Usability Guidelines Seven Reasons for Standard Design Elements. –Users Know What Features to Expect –Users Know How Features Look in Interface –Users Know Where on Site/Page to Find Features –Users Know How to Operate Features –Users Don’t Ponder Meaning of Unknown Design Elements –Users Don’t Miss Important Features –Users Don’t Get Surprised Part of Good Design Is Community Standards

12. 9/6/201512 Information Foraging Information Scent: Predicting a Path’s Success –Users Persist If the Scent is Getting Stronger Diet Selection: What Sites to Visit –An Easy Catch –A Tasty Meal Three Ways to Enhance Information Scent –Ensure that Links Describe Precisely What User Will Find –Use English Instead of Made-Up Words –Remind Users They Are On The Right Path Provide Feedback About Their Location And Its Relevance Web Sites In Darwinian Competition

13. 9/6/201513 Information Foraging(2) Patch Abandonment: When to Hunt Elsewhere –Old Advice: Try to Trap Users On Your Site –New Advice: Thanks To Improved Search Engines, Users Now Leave When the Foraging Grows Stale Design Strategies for Attracting Information Foragers –Support Short Visits: Be an Information Snack –Encourage Users to Return –Emphasize Search Engine Visibility Informavore Navigation Behavior –Users Ruthlessly Apply Cost/Benefit Analysis For Information Nuggets Understand the Informavore!