Chapter 36

The World Wide Web

Jonathan Lazar
Towson University

 

Outline

Introduction

Challenges of Designing for This Environment

An Unpredictable, Distributed Network

Browser Incompatibility

Generations of Web Browsers

Usability of Web Sites

Navigation Design

Information Architecture

Download Time

Accessibility to Those With Disabilities

Internationalization

Use of Graphics and Animation

How Users Find A Web Site

Development Methodologies for the Web

Usability Testing and Evaluation of Web Sites

Usability Testing Over the Web

Usability Guidelines for the Web

Automated Usability Testing

Evaluation Surveys for Web Sites

Other Methods of Web Site Evaluation

Current Research

Summary

References

 

Figures

Figure 36.1: A first-generation text browser, Lynx.

Figure 36.2: A second-generation graphical web browser.

Figure 36.3: An example of sectional navigation.

Figure 36.4: Graphical navigation that has not loaded yet.

Figure 36.5: Navigation that is hard for the user to find.

Figure 36.6: A Web site that requires a plug-in application and does not provide any alternatives or instructions to the user, and is therefore not universally usable.

Figure 36.7: Links to many localized Web sites for different languages and cultures.

Figure 36.8: BOBBY, an automated usability testing tool.