LIS 636: Assignment 2 – Beta Website Version .75

Dr. Anthony Chow

Christina Petty

November 12, 2017

URL: https://travelprosweb.wordpress.com

I. Site Overview

My website’s purpose started out as a site that would have provided

information about traveling to Ireland from Charlotte, NC during Spring

Break of 2018. However, a team member stated, “I know you said the

focus is on people traveling from Charlotte, but is that going to be too

narrow? If someone reads that description on the homepage they may

think that it won't be relevant to them if they don't live there, but there

is still useful information on the site.” The website has since evolved

into a more general site geared toward planning a trip to Ireland from

anywhere at any time of the year. I have moved away from the

narrowly focused website in order to generate a more timeless Web

presence. Additionally, I have chosen a broader travel focus with the

URL’s name, TravelProsWeb, rather than calling it something specific

to Ireland, like “Erin Go Bragh.” I still have the hope that the structure I

mapped out for a trip to Ireland can be applied to planning trips to

other destinations abroad.

Below is a screen shot of an iteration of my website: TravelProsWeb.

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This travel-based website has several information goals. The five

types of information provided to users on my website were going to be:

1. Information About Ireland.

2. How to Get There & Get Around: Transportation options which

include Airlines, Trains, Buses. This will answer how to fly

there and back as well as getting around while in Ireland.

I will not include car-rental information and will explain why.

3. Where to Stay: Lodging options.

4. What to Explore: Links to other travel websites such as Rick

Steves, Trip Advisor, LonelyPlanet, Karen Brown, and others.

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5. FAQ

However, the information goals evolved into this structure for Usability

testing:

1. Home : contact info & brief description of website’s purpose.

2. About Ireland : Photos and lists of Ireland’s attractions.

3. Transportation

a. Air Transport : links to airfare websites.

b. Train Transport : links to Ireland Train schedules

c. Bus Transport : links to Bus Tour websites originating in

Dublin.

4. Lodging : links to lodging websites

5. Contact & FAQ

The structure has changed even further as you will see in the

“Information Architecture NEW: Travel in Ireland” in Section II.

II. User Analysis, Information Architecture, and Results of

my Usability Test

Initially in my preliminary plan with the narrowly focused site, I

thought my major users would be friends and my family, which

included my immediate family of four and my extended family as well.

As the website is neither going to include specific personal itineraries

nor be focused on traveling from Charlotte, NC, during the Spring

2018, the website’s users have evolved into a broader community, one

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that is specifically curious about traveling to Ireland from wherever and

whenever. The Users are general and specific. For example, a specific

group such as Ireland’s Tourism Board may refer to the website to

make sure its country is being represented in a favorable way. Also,

Travel Agents may refer to the website to see if they are covering all

angles with regards to traveling in Ireland.

Therefore, my website’s Revised Potential User Groups are:

1. Friends & Family planning a trip to Ireland

2. Anyone Traveling to Ireland

3. Travel Agents

4. Ireland’s Tourism Board

My Users tested the following scenarios:

Scenarios: You are a friend of mine curious about traveling to

Ireland

1. Starting from the home page, find out about the most popular sites tourists visit in Ireland and where they are in relationship to the airport you would fly to from the US.

2. Starting from the home page, you are wondering what Apps you may need to put on your smartphone before you travel to Ireland.

3. Starting from the home page, you’d like to figure out where to stay while visiting Ireland.

4. Starting from the home page, you are considering renting a car while in Ireland but would like to know if there are better alternatives.

5. Starting from the home page, you want to find the best airfare from your city to major airports in Ireland.

6. Starting from the home page, you are looking to get in touch with me through my Web site and leave a comment.

EES Table 5

(Average Ratings on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest possible rating.)

Usability Factor Average Rating

Effectiveness 7.583333333

Efficiency 6.583333333

Satisfaction 7.833333333

Overall 7.333333333

Effectiveness Efficiency Satisfaction5.5

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6.5

7

7.5

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Average Rating

Average Rating

My EES study revealed that users scored the scenarios low on

efficiency, but their effectiveness and satisfaction scores were

relatively higher yet not ideal with an Overall rating of 7.3 out of 10.

One user pointed out “FAQ” was not what she would think of to answer

question two regarding travel Apps. She thought, “Helpful Hints” was a

better way to categorize that type of information. Another user had

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similar issues and commented that the menu box with the heading

“FAQ” did not immediately lead her to find the answer to the question.

Several users commented that I should break apart “Contact & FAQ”

and create separate pages for “Helpful Hints” and “Contact”. Based on

this input, I have changed the menu bar (navigation title) from

“Contact & FAQ” to “Helpful Hints” and “Contact” in order to properly

reflect the type of information it is perceived to be by my users (See

below: Information Architecture NEW: TRAVEL TO IRELAND).

Additionally, users thought my question one was too difficult as it

involved two steps to get the answer. Finally, one user commented

that I expressed an opinion about not including car rental information

without supporting my stance. This will be addressed with well worded

text and an image. For future testing scenarios, I plan to make sure all

of the tasks are straight-forward.

Information Architecture

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OLD: Travel To Ireland Spring 2018

NEW: Travel To Ireland

My Revised Information Goals are prioritized among the Revised

Potential User Groups:

Home

About Ireland Transportation

Air Transport Bus Transport Train Transport

Lodging Other Travel Websites FAQ & Contact

Home

About Ireland Transportation

Air Transport Bus Transport Train Transport

Lodging Helpful Hints Contact

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Priority Friends & Family

planning a trip to Ireland

Anyone traveling to

Ireland

Travel Agents

Ireland’s Tourism Board

1 About Ireland About Ireland Helpful Hints About Ireland2 Contact Transportation Transportation Lodging3 Transportation Lodging Lodging Transportation4 Lodging Helpful Hints About Ireland Helpful Hints5 Helpful Hints Contact Contact Contact

Due to the pivotal change for my website to be less focused on a

specific Spring Break 2018 timeframe and departure from Charlotte,

NC, not only did my user groups change, but so did the categories for

my website’s Information Goals as you can see in the Table above. My

Information Architecture is divided into logical sections related to what

one must consider before committing financially to a trip to Ireland. A

user will be able to investigate airfare options through the sub-menus.

For example, the Transportation menu button leads to a sub-menu, Air

Transport web page with links to websites related to finding airfare

options. Moreover, a user will be able to investigate lodging options

through the links to vetted lodging websites. The website’s goal is to

share relevant and impartial information except where noted.

The GINCUE Table and Chart below reveals some helpful advice

to use while working on creating a final version of my website.

GINCUE Table (Ratings on a scale of 1-10. 10 being the highest

possible rating.)

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Graphic Design 7.666666667

Information Architecture 7.666666667

Navigation 8.333333333

Content 8

Utility 7.5

Ease-of-Use 7.666666667

Overall 7.805555556

Grap

hic D

esig

n

Info

rmati

on A

rchi

tect

ure

Navi

gatio

n

Cont

ent

Utilit

y

Ease

-of-U

se7

7.2

7.4

7.6

7.8

8

8.2

8.4

Series1

The website scored the highest in Navigation compared to all of

the other elements in the GINCUE usability tests. The Content was not

far behind at an 8 out 10. The lowest score was the Utility which was a

combination of having a Header that was too large and having some of

the scenario questions too difficult.

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Regarding the Graphic Design of my site, several comments

were made related to the Header image height with which I agree. If I

were able to shrink the height, the navigation bar would not appear so

far down the page. However, due to WordPress, I have not been able to

adjust heights nor all of the font colors to achieve my desired

consistent graphic design effects.

In addition to the size of the Header, one tester’s comments

targeted at Graphic Design and specifically the number of images and

font color choices stated, “I think there is too much going on with the

use of images on the site. I get that showing Ireland is important but

having too many photos on each page detracts from the content. I was

not a fan of the green text. Maybe changing the menu color or using

green in specific scenarios, like a header with the body in black text

would look nicer.” This insight will be considered when the final font

color is chosen for the text. My goal is to overcome the WordPress

coding obstacles by bringing up my questions in class as I have

attempted to implement the changes in WordPress coding by using

answers I found online, all to no avail.

Font color and image number are critical Graphic Design choices.

Moreover, image quality is also a concern on my website. Some were

blurry. I agree with these concerns and will address these Graphic

Design issues in the next iteration. I am curious to see if the Graphic

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Design improvements could bump up the ratings in the other segments

of the GINCUE evaluation.

III. From Mockup to Beta Website

It was a good idea to create an initial mockup of a website a few

weeks ago when I thought I was going to build it in HTML. However,

since I have forgone DreamWeaver and am now using WordPress, I had

to accept the WordPress Theme’s constraints. Even though I was not

able to get the exact design I had previously envisioned, my website:

TravelProsWeb has many elements I had in my mockup, which I had

copied from my Web model: http://www.travelforteens.com/.

As I explained in my previous paper, what I liked about the Web

model (TravelForTeens) were the following features:

1. Menu options stand out. The menu/navigation bars in

TravelForTeens and my website (TravelProsWeb) are both well

located in the middle of the screen.

2. Video/Scrolling moving Images. TravelProsWeb would require

an upgraded WordPress plan for Video. Scrolling Images are

do-able.

3. Graphic layout with picture headings (Ideal for Lodging or

Transportation Page). I have emulated this with the 3 square

photos on the Home page which are part of the WordPress

Dara’s Theme.

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4. Contact Info on the Home Page, Main Menu Bar. I used

PhotoShop to put my email address on the top right corner of

my Header image. I have also included a Contact Form.

WEB MODEL: TRAVEL FOR TEENS

INITIAL MOCKUP

Family Travel Contact me: capetty@uncg.edu

SEARCH

Hom

e

About

Ireland

Transportatio

n

Lodgin

g

Other

Travel

FAQ

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Websites

TRAVEL TO IRELAND SPRING 2018

Culling the information you

need to plan your family

Spring Break week long trip

originating in Charlotte, NC

going to Ireland without the

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help of a Travel Agent.

Although I had the Web model and mockup to help guide my

design in HTML, I ended up using WordPress for my website which

meant the overall format was already pre-determined. Fortunately, I

was able to select a WordPress Theme, Dara, which shared many

graphic design elements with my original mockup.

As you can see, my mockup above has the contact information in

the Header area, a Navigation/Menu Bar in the middle of the page, and

an Irish flag. In my WordPress version below, I used a different image

of the Irish flag on the Home page in my WordPress site due to the

color pallet I am hoping to use throughout my site.

https://TravelProsWeb.wordpress.com

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The top nine questions are answered on my Home page:

1. Where am I? I am on a Web site about traveling to Ireland.

2. I know what I am looking for, how do I search for it? Use the

Navigation Bar.

3. How do I get around this website? Use the Navigation Bar.

4. What’s important/unique about this organization? It is not

associated with any travel agent, lodging establishment, or

transportation organization.

5. What’s available at this website? Information about how to get

to and travel around Ireland to see its sights.

6. What’s happening there?

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7. Do they want my opinion about this website? Go to Contact

and use the form.

8. How can I contact a human? Email address on the Header

image or go to Contact.

9. What’s their address? Email address is located on all pages.

My home page includes the unique information I am trying to

provide: Information for Travelers to Ireland. The text is brief,

“Welcome! Are you interested in traveling to Ireland? With so much to

see, you have come to the right spot to plan your dream vacation in

Ireland. Erin Go Bragh!” The Menu bar includes the types of

information I deem necessary to consider when planning a trip: the

foreign country’s attractions and geography along with transportation

and lodging options. For those who use my website and want to get

more focused information, they can use the links on my site for other

travel websites I have vetted.

Finally, the Helpful Hints menu option (which will be separated

from Contact in future versions) includes information applicable to all

travelers to all destinations. In addition to prominently displaying my

contact information on the top right corner of every page, the separate

Contact page has my email address listed again and a comment form

for feedback/comments/questions regarding my website.

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IV. Conclusion

The Usability Tests revealed several areas for improvement one

cannot detect when it is your own website. Outside opinions are always

helpful as they instigate new ways of approaching how to satisfy

others’ information needs. I have made changes to the website’s

Information Architecture and will forge ahead to address the more

complicated Graphic Design concerns related to colors and images.

Even though my website had such a small testing group, I am pleased

with the helpful comments and constructive concerns.

When designing my website, I had hoped to follow the advice

outlined in Nielsen & Loranger’s Prioritizing Web Usability, which

included the “less is more” approach to what my design should entail.

However, the testing pointed out, I had strayed from that guidance and

need to simplify the images included in the website. Additionally, as

writing for Web pages is different from writing for papers, I agree that,

“Web text should be short, scannable, and approachable” (2006, p.81).

Selecting the best font color will add to the text approachability.

With the current heightened sensitivity to what is the truth and the

habits of websites such as TripAdvisor which has been under scrutiny

for censoring negative reviews from visitors who have been harmed at

various travel destinations (see Further Reading below), I feel it is even

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more important to aim to fill my website with the best (uncensored and

reliable) content as possible.

Although this website is in its beta .75 iteration, the final version will

include significant modifications, perhaps even a WordPress Theme

change in order to address the concerns the Usability Tests revealed. I

do hope to learn more about how to change the coding in WordPress

as I have tried to alter it but it will not let me save the changes. Editing

WordPress seems like it should be something easily done even if one is

not using an upgraded, fee-based WordPress platform.

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References

Nielsen, J. & Loranger, H. (2006) Prioritizing Web Usability. Berkeley:

New Riders.

Further Reading

Retrieved on November 9, 2017

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/tripadvisor-reviews-

reporting-rape-censored-50892397

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