Unit Three Usability of the E-business Web Site
Few would deny that，the users experience is a critical component of e-business Web site success.Usability testing is one method of assessing the user experience.Usability refers to how easily users can accomplish their tasks.In addition to influencing conversion rates，usability can impact revisit rates，acquisition costs，and order size.Recent estimates indicate that by improving usability，on average，Web sites improved their conversion rates by 100 percent，their traffic by 160 percent and the visitors use of target features by over 200 percent.
Factor Affecting Usability
There are multiple guidelines for establishing usable Web sites.The most important one is that Web sites are quick，such as quick to load，easy to use，searchable，transparent，and consistent.
（1）Quick
A site should be relatively quick to load.One recommendation is that a page takes less than 10 seconds to load through a 28.8 modem using a public ISP like AOL or MSN.Waiting for a page to download，however，need not always result in negative Web site evaluation.Managing users expectationscan help users by reducing uncertainty about the waiting（e.g.，providing a countdown or duration time or informing users that loading a page will wait a mite）.
Others recommend have small and/or few graphics in order to reduce the download time.Yet graphics as well as the effective use of plug ins（e.g.，Flash，Real0ne）can increase users，revisit and purchase intentions by providing an engaging users experience.Rather than adopting an onsite fits all approach，companies should allow users to select whether they want a graphics intensive，flash enabled，or text site.Indeed，experience of allowing users to customize the Web site can elicit such positive results as feelings of alignment with the company and beliefs that it is atrustworthy source.
Regardless of how graphic and technology intensive the site is，it should also be easy for a user to scan a Web page，this means chunking information into meaningful categories as well asusinglight colored，solid backgrounds.Patterned backgrounds merely compete with the text and graphics for the usersattention.In general，be careful with your page real estate，avoid crowding the page with information，graphics，and advertisements.It will make the page slow to load anddifficultto scan，both of which will likely drive your visitors away.
（2）Easy
The site should reduce the degree to which users must learn how to use.To gauge how difficult your site is，consider how much you must explain the steps needed to effectively use the site for the user.Although instructions for using the site should be available and clearly visible from every page，you must ask yourself whether the complexities of the site could be reduced.Furthermore，the site should rely on the users，recognizing rather than recalling where features are and what they are.For instance，links to FAQs，the homepage，contact information，and search engine should be available on every page.Otherwise，the user must learn and recall how to find needed information（e.g.，the firms contact information is available from the home page byclickingon“About Us”and the envelope icon）.
（3）Searchable
Navigation consists of interactive tools that allow individuals to move freely through a site at their own discretion through a series of self initiated searching，acing and retrieving activities.Navigational instruments include search engines，search agents，and site indexes.The availability of navigational tools for compiling and sorting information has positive effects on consumers attitudes，regardless of whether the user has visited the site to browse or to search.Browsers need navigational tools to move fluidly through the site uninterruptedly，whereas searchers need them to mid information quickly.Having the tools is not enough，however.For instance，having a search engine is insufficient.It should include simple guided search forms and display more popular items first.Allowing the user to sort the results by different criteria（e.g.，date，relevance）and facilitate the search process.Furthermore，users often remark that they are“lost”during a Web site visit.Toreducethis feeling，each page should show the user where they are（how deep they went into the Web site），where they came from（e.g.，how they got there），and where they can go next（e.g.，at the same level，up a level or even deeper）.
Such navigational instruments are especially critical.By being associated with information access，the Web heightens users need for understanding and causes them to think moreabouta product and to want more information about it than they would in traditional media environments.Thus，in addition to having a site rich with information，the site must be easy to search.
（4）Transparent
Transparent Web sites are those that speak the language of their users.One common mistake that disrupts the transparency of a site is to list products by their model numbers.For instance，most people likely do not know the difference between Samsungs HPL 6316 and HPL 6026D.However，they likely know the difference between a 63"and a 60" plasma TV.Web sites should also follow conversations that are familiar to users，such as avoiding underlining and icon navigation.On the Internet，underlining represents a hyperlink rather than emphasizing a word.Likewise，icons rarely mean the same thing to all users.There are a few exceptions，such as the company's logo located at the top of the page（often used to redirect the user to the homepage）and a shopping cart（often used for adding something to the cart）.
（5）Consistent
The site should look and feel consistent.This includes the size of the pages.If some pages are small（fast to download）and others are large（slow to download），users will feel that they have lost control over the experience.Likewise，the same words and images should be used throughout the site.Because most Web sites are comprised of pages developed by different people within andoutsidethe company，an inconsistent site is a common usability problem.
The Process of Usability Testing
Testing a sites usability is a relatively simple endeavor.An initial step is to recruit five impartial individuals who are comparable in terms of their age，expertise，Web site proficiency，and etcetera.Research has shown that five users find 86 percent of usability problems.At this point，the best course of action is to stop，redesign the site，and conduct another test with five different users.These new users will likely capture many of the remaining problems unidentified from the first round，as well as identify any new problems arising from the redesign.
During the usability test，each individual should view the site alone to avoid contamination.Although many firms conduct these experiments in usability labs，another approach is to observe users in their natural environments.This provides insight into how most users experience the Web site（e.g.，through a dial up connection rather than an internal server and via a smaller monitor）.The participant should be given a meaningful task that reflects how people typically use the site.Furthermore，it should be complex enough that it would take at least a few minutes to complete：Examples include researching a product，comparing two products，filling out a form for a newsletter，or purchasing a product.
To assess the users thought processes as they click through the site，participants should talk aloud.Furthermore，the person administering the test must resist the strong urge to help the user complete their task.Instead，she/he should remain behind the scenes and capture what the users are saying as well as what they are not saying.Are they leaning forward，sighing and shaking their head？Do they often end up on a page they did not want and need to return to a previous page？How many clicks did it take them to complete the task？From this，look for overall trends andsuggestto design changes.In the case of Samsung，by promoting this product in offline media，the company should ensure that it is easy to find the product by referring to it on the homepage and make sure that the search engine results contain current pages of it.At the Samsung site，the majorityof results are outdated press releases，which are unlikely to meet.The need of the majority of buyers using the search is that a guided search would help solve this problem.For instance，this search could be limited to products at the site posted.Consequently，the search engine would do the work of filtering out the press releases and other less relevant pages.
Concluding Remarks
Much has been said about satisfying and delighting customers on the Web.Yet，doing so is impossible if the Web site's usability is weak.Highly usable sites are quick to load，easy to use，searchable，consistent，and transparent.The use of graphics and plug-ins can increase the time that takes to load a Web site，but they may be necessary to create an engaging users experience.As broadband adoption increases，concerns about whether user will wait for Web sites to load become less relevant.In the meantime，allowing users to customize the site to their own software，hardware，and information needs should fulfill the goals of satisfying the needs of those with dial-up connections，while also delighting those with broadband access and the desire for more engaging experiences.