Website Usability

When examining the user-friendliness and effectiveness of websites, online forms, registration/login procedures, online transactions, and other web-based tasks, Rockbridge’s philosophy is not merely to track eyeballs but to understand through a talk-aloud methodology why the user’s eye is drawn to a particular location on that webpage or form. Does it even make sense to look there versus somewhere else? How do the elements of layout, terminology, content, navigation choices and other factors affect users’ experiences and their likelihood to successfully meet their objectives? Eye movement is therefore but one factor to consider when assessing the user-friendliness and broader effectiveness of a website or online form. Rockbridge provides two strategies to test the user experience: Navigation Testing and Usability Testing.

In cases where the strategic issues of the purpose and intuitiveness of a website or form have not yet been tested and confirmed, those larger considerations can, and often should, overshadow the more tactical ones of deciding on, say, a dropdown menu or the number of characters to allow in a text box. Rather, it makes more sense to take a step back and review the big picture through Navigation testing, where a prototype or live version of the site is projected onto a screen and discussed in terms of its logic and flow, often in a group setting. For example, it does little good to refine a website’s online application form if most site visitors view the website as providing information only and consequently might not think to look for or fill out a form.

Usability testing typically involves review of a website, online application or order form, log-in/registration or transactional procedure. It departs from a standard market research study in that it aims to simulate the actual user experience by literally placing the user at the keyboard to perform a number of specific tasks firsthand. Such one-on-one Usability testing adds value to website and form design by fine-tuning their functionality in line with the expectations, general knowledge and concerns of the users.