The selected website for review in this usability test is www.chanel.com. This website is designed for a fashion oriented clientele since it mainly markets fashion products. The major products being promoted in the website are designer products including sunglasses, jewellery, watches, and skincare products, makeup among other similar products.
Usability checklist
Page Titles and Headings were used effectively? 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: According to the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, (p. 78), website title pages ought to be unique concise, meaningful and descriptive. However, the website under review fails in this regard since the title and headings are greatly generalized by putting the website name which also is the brand is being promoted in every page title and headings.
Page Length was appropriate for the site? 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: The page length in the website under review is appropriate. According to the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, (pp. 45-57), clutter should be avoided in webpages. Websites should also ensure that only a moderate amount of white space is displayed. This minimizes the scrolling time when navigating webpages.
Search capabilities were available on the web site? 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: The website under review lacks a search functionality. The lack of a search capability makes it user unfriendly. Based on the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, (p.184), websites ought to be structure to accommodate the entry of small words or numbers by users. Websites also need a search option on every web page (p. 182). Rarely do people perform complex searches such as Boolean search hence this basic functionality ought to be present to make the website user friendly.
The site used sound navigational principles? 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: The website scores high on navigation. Navigating the website is relatively easy. According to the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, (p. 59), websites should not contain links which direct users to additional non navigable pages. In contrast, webpages need to be short and easy to navigate such as www.chanel.com. However, recommendations for improvement exist to make this functionality better.
Graphics were used effectively on the site? 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: The used graphics were relevant, and they included images and animation which added value to the website. According to Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, (p. 143) this use of simple background images improves a website use.
The use of fonts was appropriate for the site? 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: The website mainly used upper case as the proffered font style. The letters used were however visible enough and simple to read.
The content layout and organization were appropriate for the site? 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: Content Organization and layout in the website was useful and well written and in line with the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, (p. 170-177).
The site was accessible to multiple audiences with multiple needs? 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: The site was not user friendly to various users with diverse needs. According to the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, (p. 23), websites ought to ensure that users with the need to use assistive technology are considered. Including audio preferences will go a long way in mitigating against this user design problem.
The site followed appropriate design principles? 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: The website ranked low on design. According to the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, (p. 183), website designs search engines need to respond to users’ terminology. According to this guideline, users often carry out a maximum of two searches using key words before moving to other websites.
Recommendations for website redesign
The website needs to be redesigned to make it user friendly. The search engine, for one, needs improvements. This is because users often carry out a maximum of two searches using key words before moving to other websites (Leavitt and Shneiderman, 2006, p. 182). Improving traffic flow to this website is vital, the website being a fashion oriented site. In this regard, the company needs to establish the key words commonly used by users. This can be achieved by using surveys, or search engine logs in a bid to determine preferred search words for the website.
The website also needs a search functionality on each page. When creating this search option, equality for both upper and lower case will be vital such that user entries in both cases are treated equally (p. 183). This functionality will improve user experience and interaction with the site. Additionally, navigation in the website can be improved by differentiating elements and by providing a clickable list of page contents. More graphics such videos and audio can also be added to make the website better.
References
Chanel. (n.d.). Chanel. Retrieved from Chanel.com: http://www.chanel.com/en_US/
Leavitt, M. O., & Shneiderman, B. (2006). Research-based web design & usability guidelines. US Department of Health and Human Services.
