Making the Web More Usable

With more people creating sites for  the Web, it is important to understand how to create an effective Web site so you can make the most out of the World Wide Web.

 
Basic criteria for an effective site include:
  • authority - information on who created the page and how to contact them should be included on each page
  • accuracy - information should be verifiable, understandable, and free of errors
  • objectivity - information that reflects personal opinions should state so or be unbiased
  • currency - information on when the site was created and updated should be included
  • coverage - information on whether the site is complete should be given
 
You also need to take into consideration that not everyone has the same browser or screen size and capability. How the site looks will vary from browser to browser.  If the pages are made too large, it will be hard to view over smaller screens, and too much information will take a long time to download for slower modems.

 
Color and graphics should be uniform to help tie the site together.

Images should be kept small to prevent long loading times.

 
One site I evaluated was www.geocities.com/inhisgrace. It is a personal site created to show the author's interests. The author places her name and a link to her email at the bottom of each page. The page is about the author's personal interests so all the information is based on her opinion. Although it does meet some of the criteria, I don't feel it is an effective web site. It is hard to find the links on the home page because the links are found in the graphics and not labeled well. The pages have different backgrounds and designs making them feel disconnected. 

 
Another site I evaluated was www.shoptysons.com. It was a professional site created to give information on Tysons Corner Center. It met all of the above criteria and was very informative. It had a uniform top bar that kept the different pages tied together. It was easy to find the links and navigate the site.

 
Not all of these criteria have to be followed to have an effective Web site. Some of them don't apply to every site, but the more of them you can use, the more usable your site will be.

 

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Last updated on April 5, 2002.

Created by Robin Gray.