Web usabilityMay 2006Jenny Clift

How usable are University websites?

• Study done by Deakin University on the prospective student experiencelate 2004 http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw05/papers/refereed/alexander/

• UniSA website was looked at by 5 international prospective students

• Findings talk more about usability and accessibility in general

Usability findings

• UniSA website participants successfully completed 72% of these tasks– degree/diploma you’re interested in? - 100%– do you have the qualifications needed to complete this degree?

- 100%– how much will it cost you? - 60%– where is it taught from? - 80%– are scholarships available for it? - 20%

Usability findings

• Overall 5 point Likert scale indications were– Confidence in information found - 4.4– User satisfaction – 3.9

In other words pretty good compared to other uni’s

Usability suggestions

• Watch what terminology and jargon is being used within webpages

• Organise the information architecture for the user and don’t replicate organisational structure

• Write contextual link text• Make the content clear and meaningful

Usability suggestions

• Improve search results• Be careful with PDF document use within

webpages• Be aware of links opening new browser

windows

Usability resources

• UniSA Web authoring guide – www.unisa.edu.au/wag

• Jakob Nielsen’s website– http://www.useit.com/