Usability Study

Usability means how easy and user-friendly tasks can be that are associated with your web site. When we're developing a website, we try to keep things simple for the prospects, if we keep it simple for them, then it will become a website that has high usability. Simple doesn't mean low quality, it means doing all that it takes to make it understandable for the users. We are not able to fully control a few aspects that affects usability like which browser is the user using, the screen resolution. Not all browsers are the same and therefore some will display websites differently than others, and some won’t be able to display anything at all. The most widely used browser and version is Internet Explorer 8.0 according to multiple sources, and the most widely used operating system is soon to be Windows 7. User’s screen resolution will also impact how a website is displayed. Typography, accessibility, speed, structural speed, and interaction are other parts of usability we have control of. Keep in mind the fonts that are being used as well. It is important to use fonts that are that are common among all computers such as Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, and Verdana. The size should be at least 10pts or should be used as a percentage instead of assigning point size, though the user can change the type of font and the size to their preference via the browser settings. Loading speed of your site should be quick and the navigation/content should be quickly scannable by users.

Some great examples for a well-designed website would be Black Estate, Jeff Croft, and Rare Form Branding. All of these websites have one thing in common and that is great visual appeal, second their structural speed is presented in the right way. Black Estate for example has a menu that will follow your screen as you scroll down, though it would have been nice if you can minimize the menu so it doesn't interfere with the content. Some bad examples of web design are (unless they haven't improved it) Wizards Tattoo, Cyber Rebate, these websites are jam-packed and make you feel lost, they also tend to have long loading times, many unappealing ads, and are visually stuck in the 90's. Personalized websites such as this one, Comcast Personal, will hurt your eyes.