HOMEPAGE USABILITY

JAKOB NIELSEN & MARIE TAHIR

2002

http://www.nngroup.com/

USABILITYhttp://www.usabilitynet.org

• What is usability?– Usability means making products and systems easier to use,

and matching them more closely to user needs and requirements.

• Usability is about:– Effectiveness - can users complete tasks, achieve goals with the

product, i.e. do what they want to do?– Efficiency - how much effort do users require to do this? (Often

measured in time)– Satisfaction – what do users think about the products ease of

use?

USABILITY http://www.usabilitynet.org

• Effectiveness, Efficiency and Satisfaction are affected by:– The users - who is using the product? e.g. are they highly

trained and experienced users, or novices?– Their goals - what are the users trying to do with the product -

does it support what they want to do with it?– The usage situation (or 'context of use') - where and how is the

product being used?

• Usability should not be confused with ‘accessability', however, as this is purely concerned with the functions and features of the product and has no bearing on whether users are able to use them or not. Increased accessabilitydoes not mean improved usability!

THE ROLE OF THE HOMEPAGE

MAGAZINE COVER

YOUR FACE TO THE WORLD

ARTWORK

COMPANY RECEPTIONIST

BOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGE

BROCHURE

THE ROLE OF THE HOMEPAGE

• THE HOMEPAGE HAS MULTIPLE GOALS BECAUSE THE USERS ALSO HAVE MULTIPLE GOALS

Vs

• INEXPERIENCED USERS OFTEN FEEL OVERWHELMED BY HOMEPAGES THAT DON’T CLEARLY HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THEIR OPTIONS

THE ROLE OF THE HOMEPAGE

THE CHALLENGE IS TO DESIGN A HOMEPAGE THAT ALLOWS ACCESS TO ALL IMPORTANT FEATURES

FOCUS AND CLARITY ARE KEY, AS IS AN UNDERSTANDING OF USER’S GOALS.

COMMUNICATING THE SITE’S PURPOSE

• THE HOMEPAGE COMMUNICATE IN ONE SHORT GLANCE:

WHERE USERS AREWHAT YOUR COMPANY/INSTITUTION

DOESWHAT USERS CAN DO AT YOUR SITE

COMMUNICATING THE SITE’S PURPOSE

• USERS MUST RECOGNIZE THE HOMEPAGE IMMEDIATELY:

SHOW THE COMPANY NAME AND/OR LOGO IN A

RESONABLE SIZE AND NOTICEABLE LOCATION

INCLUDE A TAG LINE THAT EXPLICITLY SUMMARIZE WHAT

THE SITE OR COMPANY DOES

COMMUNICATING THE SITE’S PURPOSE

EMPHASIZE WHAT YOUR SITE DOES THAT IS VALUABLE FROM THE USER’S POINT OF VIEW

EMPHASIZE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY TASKS SO THAT USERS HAVE A CLEAR STARTING POINT ON THE HOMEPAGE

COMMUNICATING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR COMPANY

INCLUDE A HOMEPAGE LINK TO AN “About Us”

SECTION

INCLUDE “Contact Us” LINK ON THE HOMEPAGE THAT

GOES TO A PAGE WITH ALL CONTACT INFORMATION

FOR YOUR COMPANY (primary address, phone number

and email)

IF YOUR SITE GATHERS ANY CUSTOMER

INFORMATION, INCLUDE A “Privacy Policy” LINK ON

THE HOME PAGE

NAVIGATION

THE NAVIGATION AREA SHOULD ALSO REVEAL THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTENT OF THE SITE

• LOCATE THE PRIMARY NAVIGATION AREA IN A HIGHLY NOTICEABLE PLACE (ADIACENT TO THE MAIN BODY OF THE PAGE)

• GROUP ITEMS IN THE NAVIGATION AREA SO THAT SIMILAR ITEMS ARE NEXT TO EACH OTHER

NAVIGATION

• DON’T PROVIDE MULTIPLE NAVIGATION AREAS FOR THE SAME TYPES OF LINKS

• DON’T INCLUDE AN ACTIVE LINK TO THE HOMEPAGE ON THE HOMEPAGE

• DON’T USE MADE-UP WORDS FOR CATEGORY NAVIGATION CHOICES

SEARCH

• USERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND “SEARCH” COMMAND EASILY AND USE IT EFFORTLESSLY

• MAKE IT VISIBLE, WIDE AND KEEP IT SIMPLE

• DON’T LABEL THE SEARCH AREA WITH A HEADING (use “SEARCH” button to the right of the box)

GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION

GRAPHICS CAN GREATLY ENHANCE A HOMEPAGE, BUT CAN WEIGH DOWN THE DESIGN IN VISUAL CLUTTER

IT IS IMPORTANT TO USE THEM CAREFULLY AND EDIT THEM FOR THE WEB

GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION

• ANIMATION RARELY HAS A PLACE ON THE HOMEPAGE BECAUSE IT DISTRACTS FROM OTHER ELEMENTS

• NEVER ANIMATE CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF THE PAGE, SUCH AS THE LOGO, THE TAG LINE, OR MAIN HEADING

• LET USERS CHOOSE WHETHER THEY WANT TO SEE AN ANIMATED INTRO TO YOUR SITE – DON’T MAKE IT THE DEFAULT!

GRAPHIC DESIGN

GRAPHIC DESIGN IS NOT THE STARTING POINT FOR THE HOMEPAGE DESIGN, BUT THE FINAL STEP:

• LIMIT FONT STYLES AND OTHER TEXT FORMATTING

• USE HIGH-CONTRAST TEXT AND BACKGROUND COLOURS

• AVOID HORIZONTAL SCROLLING

GRAPHIC DESIGN

• THE MOST CRITICAL PAGE ELEMENTS SHOULD BE VISIBLE IN THE FIRST SCREEN OF CONTENT, WITHOUT SCROLLING

• USE A LIQUID LAYOUT SO THE HOME PAGE SIZE ADJUSTS TO DIFFERENT SCREEN RESOLUTION

ADVERTISING

• KEEP ADS FOR OUTSIDE COMPANIES ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE PAGE

• KEEP EXTERNAL ADS AS SMALL AND DISCREET AS POSSIBLE RELATIVE TO YOUR CORE HOMEPAGE CONTENT

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

BY THE TIME A USER ARRIVES AT YOUR HOMEPAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME, THAT USER WILL ALREADY BE CARRYING A LARGE LOAD OF MENTAL BAGGAGE.

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

AND BY THIS TIME, USERS

HAVE ACCUMULATED A GENERIC

MENTAL MODEL OF THE WAY

HOMEPAGES ARE SUPPOSED TO

WORK.

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

*** ESSENTIAL RECOMMENDATION

** STRONG RECOMMENDATION

* DEFAULT RECOMMENDATION

THIS STAR RATING INDICATES HOW CRITICAL THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINE IS TO A SATISFACTORY USER EXPERIENCE.

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

HOMEPAGE ISSUES RECOMMENDED DESIGN STRENGTH OF RECOM.

DOWNLOAD TIME At most 10 sec. at the prevalent connection speed for your customers.

***

PAGE WIDTH Optimized for 770 pixels, but with a liquid layout that works at anything from 620 to 1024 pixels.

**

LIQUID Vs FROZEN LAYOUT

Liquid. **PAGE LENGTH 1 or 2 full screens. No more

than 3. **LOGO PLACEMENT Upper left. ***

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

HOMEPAGE ISSUES RECOMMENDED DESIGN STRENGTH OF RECOM.

LOGO SIZE 80x68 pixels. **SEARCH Provide search. Have it on the

homepage. Make it a box. ***SEARCH PLACEMENT

Upper part of the page, preferably in right or left corner. ***

SEARCH BOX COLOUR

White ***SEARCH BUTTON Call it “Search” (“Go” also

acceptable). **

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

HOMEPAGE ISSUES RECOMMENDED DESIGN STRENGTH OF RECOM.

WIDTH OF SEARCH BOX

At least 25 characters, but 30 characters is better. **

TYPE OF SEARCH Simple search. (Advanced or scoped search relegated to secondary pages).

**

NAVIGATION One of the four main types: left-hand rail, tabs, links across the top, or categories in the middle.

**

FOOTER NAVIGATION LINKS

Use for links such as copyright and contact info. *

SITEMAP LINK “Site Map” if you have one. **

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

HOMEPAGE ISSUES RECOMMENDED DESIGN STRENGTH OF RECOM.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Always include this feature. ***ABOUT LINK Call the link “About <name-of-

the-company>”. **CONTACT INFORMATION

Provide a link to contact info and call it “Contact Us”. **

PRIVACY POLICY Include one if the site collects data from users and link to it from the homepage.

***

NAME OF PRIVACY LINK

Call it “Privacy Policy”. **

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

HOMEPAGE ISSUES RECOMMENDED DESIGN STRENGTH OF RECOM.

HELP Don’t offer it unless the site’s complexity makes help unavoidable.

*

HELP PLACEMENT Upper right. **AUTO-PLAYING MUSIC

No. ***ANIMATION No. **GRAPHICS/ ILLUSTRATIONS

Somewhere between 5-15% of the space on the homepage. *

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

HOMEPAGE ISSUES RECOMMENDED DESIGN STRENGTH OF RECOM.

ADVERTISING At most, 3 ads (whether external or internal). **

BODY TEXT COLOUR

Black. **BODY TEXT SIZE 12 points. *BODY TEXT SIZE FROZEN

No. Always use relative sizes that make it possible for users to make the text larger or smaller as desired.

***

BODY TEXT TYPEFACE

San-serif (Verdana, Arial). *

HOMEPAGE DESIGN CONVENTIONS

HOMEPAGE ISSUES RECOMMENDED DESIGN STRENGTH OF RECOM.

BACKGROUND COLOUR

White. **LINK COLOUR, UNVISITED LINKS

Blue. **LINK COLOUR, VISITED LINKS

Purple, light blue, red. *LINK UNDERLINING Yes, except in lists in

navigation bars **

USABILITYCase studies

• http://www.governo.it/

• https://www.usa.gov/