Usability
USABILITY: PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME THINK!- Emphasize the highest priority tasks so that users have a clear starting point.
- Use user-focused language. Label sections and categories.
- Avoid clever phrases. Spell out abbreviations and acronyms on first use followed by the abbreviation.
- Begin links with the information-carrying word. Do not use “Click here.”
- If linking to anything other than another Web page, such as a pdf file or audio
file, make sure the link indicates what will happen when the user clicks the
link.
TESTING AND PLANNING WITH USABILITY
- Ease of learning: How fast can a user who has never seen the site before learn it sufficiently well to accomplish basic tasks?
- Efficiency of use: Once an experienced user has learned to use the site, how fast can he or she accomplish tasks?
- Memorability: If a user has used the site before, can he or she remember enough to use it effectively the next time or does the user have to start over again learning everything?
- Error frequency and severity: How often do users make errors while using the site, how serious are these errors and how do users recover from these errors?
- Subjective satisfaction: How much does the user like using the site?
There are many ways to evaluate the site including card sorting, focus groups, or observing how a user can complete a task on your site. University Relations – Digital Services can help you with this if you would like to improve your website.