Web Systems Design and Online Consumer Behavior [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Web Design Essentials

Web design is complex because it functions to facilitate the interface between humans and
computers, and to organize information so that the objectives of the Web designer are met. There
are key elements to the communication that the designer cannot control. For example, the impact of
Web design is affected by the size of monitors, by the browser, the video card, the screen
settings, etc., all of which determine the appearance of the Web page. On the Web, what you see is
what you get, but not what others get.

Nonetheless, over the years, some basic design rules for Web sites have emerged, along with
some notable experts, including Jakob Nielsen and the UK design firm, Spooks. For example,
according to Nielsen, “the design elements should always be the same, but the way they are composed
should be different because the sites are doing different things. If you think about cars, all cars
have the accelerator to the right of the brake pedal. This doesn’t mean that all cars are
identical, but the basic elements you need to operate the device follow some conventions.” So, a
logo should always appear in the top left corner and hypertext links should be underlined in
blue.

One compelling element for Web design is the role of time in people’s behavior. People will
abandon a Web site if they get lost or if the site is difficult to navigate. They will not waste
time trying to learn an interface. Fast-loading pages make Web surfers happy. People do not have
the patience to wait minutes for a page to load. The practical guide on the speed of Web loading is
30 seconds. Other people suggest that if we hold our breath and wait until we need to gasp for air,
that period of time is the longest delay that Web surfers can tolerate. In order to build a
fast-loading Web page, reduce the amount of data and the size of the graphics.

Design Elements

• 
  

  Presentation: A Web site’s presentation consists of text,
  animations, images and links as well as audio/video elements. The Homepage
  of a Web site is like a cover of a magazine. It is the place to convey the important
  basic message to Web users. It is important to keep content to a minimum on the home page so that
  users do not need to scroll several pages to view it. Therefore, it is better to chunk information
  and use meaningful links to display the major components of a Web site.



• 
  

  Navigation: Navigation refers to the text and graphic
  links between pages that indicate sequencing between Web pages. Navigation facilitates movement
  from one Web page to another Web page, and so plays a crucial role in getting site visitors to view
  more than just the home page. If navigation choices are unclear, visitors may quickly leave to
  visit other sites which are just a click away.



• 
  

  Visual Appeal: Visual appeal defines the aesthetics of a
  Web site. The colors, text styles and graphics create its overall visual impression. It is very
  difficult to create a Web site that is both effective functionally and aesthetically pleasing. The
  field of Web design has mainly focused on the technical and functional aspects of the construction
  of Web sites. We need models that weigh the analysis of the visual and aesthetic aspects against
  the functional and technical aspects of Web design (Thorlacius, 2002).



• 
  

  Interactivity: Interactivity determines the communication
  flow between users and the Web site, promoting the exchange of information between the Web users
  and the virtual company. Effective communications develop strong relationships, which is especially
  important for commercial Web sites in which interactivity replaces human representatives. A Web
  site needs to communicate a company’s message clearly in a way that fits in with the overall
  corporate image. Teo et al. (2003) suggest that increased levels of interactivity on a
  Web site have positive effects on the user’s perceived
  satisfaction, effectiveness, efficiency, value, and overall attitude towards a Web site. Web
  content management is important in the success of human interactions with computers (Proctor et
  al., 2002) To help ensure that users’ interactions with a system are successful, preparation of
  content and its presentation to users must take into account (a) what information needs to be
  extracted, (b) the way in which this information should be stored and organized, (c) the methods
  for retrieving the information, and (d) how the information should be displayed.
  



• 
  

  Personalization: Most people use the terms customization
  and personalization interchangeably, but there is an important difference. According to Nielsen
  (1998) customization occurs when users have direct control on the Web site by using an internal
  search to produce the desired results. Personalization means that virtual companies provide
  individualized pages tailored to the user’s specific needs. There are different ways to implement
  personalization. Some Web sites offer a variety of options for users to choose from and others
  personalize the Web site for their customers. Amazon.com, for example, provides recommendations to
  its customers based on their prior behavior. These relevant recommendations are said to have
  increased the conversion rate of Web browsers to buyers by 20 percent (Steven, 1999). It seems that
  personalization can improve customer loyalty. A survey by Privacy & American Business shows
  that a majority of Internet users are willing to provide their personal information and like to
  receive the personalized commercial information if they are given the choice to opt out. However,
  as with nearly all aspects of Web design, it is dangerous to generalize.

Popular personalization features in one e-commerce environment may not be effective or useful
for other e-commerce domains (Alper et al., 2003).

Web Usability

Usability measures the ease with which a user can learn to operate, prepare inputs for, and
interpret outputs of a system or component (IEEE 90). When we extend this concept to the Web, Web
usability refers to how easily users of a Web site can achieve whatever it is they want from the
Web site. There is a difference between usability and aesthetics. Nielsen distinguishes between
look and feel: Feel is the
experience of navigating the site, and he argues that the site organization should be user
friendly. He has developed five dimensions of usability:

1. 
   

   Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic
   tasks during their first visit?



2. 
   

   Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how
   quickly can they perform tasks?



3. 
   

   Memorability: When users return to the design after a
   period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?



4. 
   

   Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are
   those errors and how easily can they recover from those errors?



5. 
   

   Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?

Usability is a concern for marketers because of its potential impact on marketing metrics
such as conversion rates that affect profitability. The user interface of a site determines the
ease of navigating through its content. Web features designed to enhance the user’s Web experience
are considered to improve usability.

Until recently, measuring ease of use was entirely the responsibility of specialists.
Usability specialists within companies or Web-development agencies perform usability tests to
observe users’ browsing experience and discover usability problems. The results of these tests
provide feedback and suggestions for a better design. Multiple usability tests with different
groups of users help developers to get complete usability information of a Web site. With
advancement in software tools, however, some usability tasks can be automated, including the
assessment of downloading time and the identification of broken links. But software tools cannot
replace observation for some tasks. Tools cannot detect the subjective measurements of a Web site
such as quality of content, ease of learning and ease of use.

Although usability studies have provided useful results in the past, the area of Web
usability still needs more systematic research. Most research in this area is considered anecdotal,
and often involves small numbers of users. In the emerging digital environment, creating
customer-centered Web sites is of great importance. Zhang and Dran (2001) explored user perceptions
of Web sites with Kano’s model of quality. They found that customers’ quality expectations change
over time. Moreover, customers have different expectations of different domains. Therefore, quality
measures need to cope with both changing expectations of the same Web site and different
expectations of different Web sites.

Sear et al’s study examined cultural differences on Web usability. Their results indicate
that there are significant differences between the US and the Swiss users in Web evaluation.
Cultural differences are of particularly significance to the Internet because the information on
the Web is accessible to anybody. Designing a global Web site means considering the national
differences and providing multi-language access. E-commerce companies must take into account the
symbols, texts, graphics used on the Web site that could be confusing or may even be offensive to
international Web users.

Cultural differences and the effects of demographic factors on Web usability are other areas
in need of study. Practitioners suggest that periodic user testing is an important element in
developing and maintaining a user-friendly Web site, but formal usability tests are often expensive
and time-consuming. Methods such as free-form site review and structured tasks, however, can
provide cost-effective means of assessing the usability of Web sites. A site review is basically an
unstructured inspection by a third party, typically focusing on the site’s usability and
aesthetics. Web usability assessment needs to be conducted at every stage of the development
process. A quick checklist of usability with a few users can give Web designers insightful ideas
for improvement.

Such a usability checklist focuses on accessibility, navigation and presentation. The
instrument measures the tone and clarity of a Web site. Accessibility
at a Web site means it loads at a tolerable speed. It can also refer to accessibility
for users with physical impairments. A Web site’s design should include audio effects to help blind
or visually impaired users understand a Web page. One of the easiest and most effective techniques
for easing blind users’ navigation is to tell them in advance what will be on the screen. It is
also considered a thoughtful practice to display narratives beside graphics to aid in
visualization. White space and ALT tags can be used in the design of a Web site to visually
strengthen it. Web designers should also take into account users with other physical impairments in
their designs. For example, people with impaired motion need larger links, graphics and text to
enable site navigation.

Usability professionals gain first-hand information on the actual usage pattern of a Web site
by direct observation. The site review, the unstructured inspection by a third party, typically
focusing on the site’s usability and aesthetics, should include representatives from different user
groups. The way users, whatever their physical capabilities, navigate throughout the site, how they
search for information, using the buttons and links, and the sequence of clicking these links all
indicate the usefulness and users’ perceptions of the Web design.

Speed

Background images often increase the load speed of a Web page. So, in designing a Web site,
keep the background images small to reduce the chance that users will abandon the Web site.
Research suggests that long load times have a measurable negative impact on readers’ perception of
a Web site’s organization and quality of content.
Graphics-intensive pages are more likely to be perceived as poor in quality than pages that are
text heavy.

A recent Forrester Research (www.forrester.com) poll of online households surveyed participants on Web site
characteristics that would drive a repeat visit. Content, ease of use, quick downloading, and
frequent updates are important factors. All other factors, including incentives, favorite brands,
and cutting-edge technology, were ranked of low importance in attracting more visitors. Quality of
content is inherently a subjective measure. But download speed and frequency of updates can be
measured in an automated fashion.