Understanding of website usability: Specifying and measuring constructs and their relationships

Developing a usable website is pivotal for e-business success. Researchers have devoted effort to develop metrics, guidelines and theories of website usability, yet there still is a lack of consensus on the multifaceted dimensions of website usability and lack of investigation of the nomological networks among website usability constructs. This study first investigated the common dimensions of website usability by integrating the findings of previous studies and a focus group study with website usability experts. Instruments to measure the constructs were developed and empirically validated. Then nomological networks between website usability constructs and between those constructs and online purchase intention and purchase were examined. Three field studies including two questionnaire surveys and a causal mapping analysis were conducted. The research identified ten website usability constructs with strong psychometric properties. A number of nomological networks between usability constructs were discovered, contributing to identification of sources of variances of purchase intention and purchase behavior. Findings of this study are expected to provide useful insights for practitioners to develop more usable websites and for researchers to better assess the effect of website usability on online customer behavior.     

The impact of age on website usability

As the general and working populations age in most developed nations, the study of website usability for older adults is becoming increasingly relevant. Website usability is concerned with both utilitarian (i.e. functional) and hedonic (i.e. pleasure-related) aspects. A new website usability model is proposed that considers the effects of age on website usability through cognitive antecedents that are most relevant to age-related effects. Specifically, spatial ability is the declining cognitive skill of particular interest in this research. A laboratory experiment was conducted where younger and older participants interacted with an experimental website. The results suggest that age has a pronounced impact on performance as a mediated effect through declining levels spatial ability and mental model accuracy as well as through a direct effect suggesting the presence of other objective and subjective changes associated with aging that could impact performance. Perceived disorientation was also examined within the proposed website usability model, revealing both expected and surprising findings.     

Integrating website usability with the electronic commerce acceptance model

This paper analyses the role of website usability in a B2C electronic commerce environment. The authors identify dimensions of website usability that have been examined in the literature and integrate those usability dimensions within an electronic commerce acceptance model using an e-commerce simulation. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the relationship between several website usability and e-commerce variables (design credibility, content, interactivity, navigability, responsiveness, download delay, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and satisfaction with design) as well as trust, perceived risk, and intention to transact. The results demonstrate that website usability does influence several outcomes that are important for businesses to attract and retain customers.     

Repurchase intention in B2C e-commerce—A relationship quality perspective

Information systems professionals must pay attention to online customer retention. Drawing on the relationship marketing literature, we formulated and tested a model to explain B2C user repurchase intention from the perspective of relationship quality. The model was empirically tested through a survey conducted in Northern Ireland. Results showed that online relationship quality and perceived website usability positively impacted customer repurchase intention. Moreover, online relationship quality was positively influenced by perceived vendor expertise in order fulfillment, perceived vendor reputation, and perceived website usability, whereas distrust in vendor behavior negatively influenced online relationship quality. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Training software developers and designers to conduct usability evaluations

Many efforts to improve the interplay between usability evaluation and software development rely either on better methods for conducting usability evaluations or on better formats for presenting evaluation results in ways that are useful for software designers and developers. Both of these approaches depend on a complete division of work between developers and evaluators. This article takes a different approach by exploring whether software developers and designers can be trained to conduct their own usability evaluations. The article is based on an empirical study where 36 teams with a total of 234 first-year university students on software development and design educations were trained through an introductory course in user-based website usability testing that was taught in 40 h. They used the techniques from this course for planning, conducting, and interpreting the results of a usability evaluation of an interactive website. They gained good competence in conducting the evaluation, defining user tasks and producing a usability report, while they were less successful in acquiring skills for identifying and describing usability problems.     

Website design attributes for retrieving health information by older adults: an application of architectural criteria

The objectives of this research were to identify design attributes to develop easy-to-use websites for older adults. Forty-one males and 58 females (age range 58–90) were asked to retrieve information on a health-related topic from the NHS Direct and Medicdirect websites, and were asked to fill in a website evaluation questionnaire. An exploratory factor analysis of data identified navigation/search usability, link usability, usefulness and colour as important dimensions of a senior-friendly website. A two-stage, three-component regression model with these dimensions as predictor variables and the satisfaction level in using a website as the dependent variable has been proposed.     

Collaborating for Change: Leveraging Campus Partnerships to Create a User-Centered Library Website

This article details a series of website usability studies conducted by librarians at Fresno State in collaboration with faculty and students from the university's anthropology department. Building on an ethnographic study of the library, we sought to understand how students used the site. Collaboration with individuals outside the library allowed us to use their expertise in behavioral research, accomplish a larger series of studies, and redesign the website from a less library-centric perspective. In this article, we detail the study's genesis, methodology, results, and offer our experiences using a large-scale usability test to drive changes to an academic library website.     

Comparing the effects of website quality on customer initial purchase and continued purchase at e-commerce websites

To succeed in the highly competitive e-commerce environment, it is vital to understand the impact of website quality in enhancing customer conversion and retention. Although numerous contingent website attributes have been identified in the extant website quality studies, there is no unified framework to classify these attributes and no comparison done between customer conversion and retention according to the different website quality attributes and their varying impact. This study adopts the model of Information Systems (IS) success by DeLone and McLean to provide a parsimonious and unified view of website quality, and compares the impact of website quality on intention of initial purchase with that on intention of continued purchase. With the proposed framework, we seek to understand how a company can increase customer conversion and/or retention. Our findings demonstrate the strength of our framework in explaining the impact of website quality on intention to purchase on the Web, and that website quality constructs exert different impact on intention of initial purchase and intention of continued purchase. The results suggest that an online company should focus on system quality to increase customer conversion, and on service quality for customer retention.     

High and low spatial frequencies in website evaluations

Statement of Relevance:

Which features of websites are important for users' perceptions regarding aesthetics or usability? This study investigates how evaluations of aesthetic appeal and usability depend on high vs. low spatial frequencies. High spatial frequencies convey information on fine details, whereas low spatial frequencies convey information about the global layout. Participants rated aesthetic appeal and usability of 50 website screenshots from different domains. Screenshots were presented unfiltered, low-pass filtered with blurred targets or high-pass filtered with high-pass filtered targets. The main result is that low spatial frequencies can be seen to have a unique contribution in perceived website aesthetics, thus confirming a central prediction from processing fluency theory. There was no connection between low spatial frequencies and usability evaluations, whereas strong correlations were found between ratings of high-pass filtered websites and those of unfiltered websites in aesthetics and usability. This study thus offers a new perspective on the biological basis of users' website perceptions.

This research links ergonomics to neurocognitive models of visual processing. This paper investigates how high and low spatial frequencies, which are neurologically processed in different visual pathways, independently contribute to users' perceptions of websites. This is very relevant for theories of website perceptions and for practitioners of web design.     

A blessing,not a curse: Experimental evidence for beneficial effects of visual aesthetics on performance

The present experiment investigated the effect of visual aesthetics on performance. A total of 257 volunteers completed a series of search tasks on a website providing health-related information. Four versions of the website were created by manipulating visual aesthetics (high vs. low) and usability (good vs. poor) in a 2 × 2 between-subjects design. Task completion times and error rates were used as performance measures. A main effect of usability on both error rates and completion time was observed. Additionally, a significant interaction of visual aesthetics and usability revealed that high aesthetics enhanced performance under conditions of poor usability. Thus, in contrast to the notion that visual aesthetics may worsen performance, visual aesthetics even compensated for poor usability by speeding up task completion. The practical and theoretical implications of this finding are discussed.     

Determinants of repurchase intention in online group-buying: The perspectives of DeLone & McLean IS success model and trust

The purpose of this study is to propose a theoretical model to examine the antecedents of repurchase intention in online group-buying by integrating the perspective of DeLone & McLean IS success model and the literature of trust. The model was tested using the data collected from 253 customers of a group-buying website in Taiwan. The results show that satisfaction with website, satisfaction with sellers, and perceived quality of website have positive influences on repurchase intention, while perceived quality of website and perceived quality of sellers have significant impacts on satisfaction with website and satisfaction with sellers, respectively. The results also show that trust in website has positive influences on perceived quality of website and satisfaction with website, whereas trust in sellers influence perceived quality of sellers and satisfaction with sellers significantly. Finally, the results show that perceived size of website has positive influence on trust in website, while reputation of website and reputation of sellers significantly affect trust in website and trust in sellers, respectively. The implications for theory and practice and suggestions for future research are also discussed.     

Understanding the Different Influences of Online Trust on Loyalty by Risk Takers and Avoiders

In this article, the different influences of online trust, such as integrity, benevolence, and ability, on customer loyalty to the website are tested and discussed with risk taker and risk avoider samples. Specifically, these different influences of trust on customer loyalty is tested with the mediating construct of intention to use the website using a large number of risk taker samples (n = 149) and risk avoider samples (n = 176). In the risk taker samples, the influence of online trust through website ability on customer loyalty is fully mediated by the intention to use the website. However, in the risk avoider samples, online trust beliefs such as ability and integrity as well as intention to use website have direct influences on customer loyalty. There is no relationship of benevolence in this model in both samples. The model explains 43% and 48% of R squares for each sample group. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Beyond the User Preferences: Aligning the Prototype Design to the Users’ Expectations

It is important for practitioners to conceptualize and tailor a prototype in tune with the users’ expectations in the early stages of the design life cycle so the modifications of the product design in advanced phases are kept to a minimum. According to user preference studies, the aesthetic and the usability of a system play an important role in the user appraisal and selection of a product. However, user preferences are just a part of the equation. The fact that a user prefers one product over the other does not mean that he or she would necessarily buy it. To understand the factors affecting the user's assessment of a product before the actual use of the product and the user's intention to purchase the product we conducted a study, reported in this article. Our study, a modification of a well‐known protocol, considers the users’ preferences of six simulated smartphones each with different combination of attributes. A sample consisting of 365 participants was involved in our analysis. Our results confirm that the main basis for the users’ pre‐use preferences is the aesthetics of the product, whereas our results suggest that the main basis for the user's intention to purchase are the expected usability of the product. Moreover, our analysis reveals that the personal characteristics of the users have different effects on both the users’ preferences and their intention to purchase a product. These results suggest that the designers should carefully balance the aesthetics and usability features of a prototype in tune with the users expectations. If the conceptualization of a product is done properly the redesign cycles after the usability testing can be reduced and speed up the process for releasing the product on the market.     

E-Learning Courseware Usability: Building a Theoretical Model

Based on a stream of research, this study identified four components of the e-learning courseware usability: fundamental, appearance, information presentation, and communication. The communication component was considered an expanded component of the e-learning courseware usability. A theoretical model was built and three hypotheses were developed to examine whether the communication component as an expanded component of the e-learning courseware usability significantly and positively contributed to the three components of the e-learning courseware usability (fundamental, appearance, and information presentation). An instrument was developed and administered to subjects taking various e-learning courses. The collected data were analyzed using a variance-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) package that uses Partial Least Square (PLS). Analyses of the results indicated a strong validated model supporting all stated hypotheses.     

Usability,expectation, confirmation,and continuance intentions to use electronic textbooks

A trend in education is the use of electronic textbooks (e-textbook, [Stone, R. W., and L. Baker-Eveleth. 2013. “Students’ Expectation, Confirmation, and Continuance Intention to Use Electronic Textbooks.” Computers in Human Behavior 29 (3): 984–990.]). A variety of research has examined the motivations for e-textbook adoption as well as continuance intentions of e-textbooks after an initial adoption. This research extends the continuance intentions literature using the expectation–confirmation model ([Bhattacherjee, A. 2001. “Understanding Information Systems Continuance: An Expectation–Confirmation Model.” MIS Quarterly 25 (3): 351–370.]) and including the constructs of e-textbook usability and its dimensions. The data were responses to an online questionnaire by students at a medium-sized (USA) university. A total of 1434 responses were received for a 12.52% response rate. These responses were partitioned to include only complete responses from students who had previously used an e-textbook. This produced a sample of 639 questionnaire responses for empirical analysis. The analysis was performed using structural equation modelling (i.e. Procedure Calis in PC SAS version 9.2). The results showed that students' continuance intentions of e-textbooks are driven by students' satisfaction with e-textbooks and perceived usefulness. Additionally, students' expectation–confirmation and e-textbook usability positively influence both students' satisfaction and perceived usefulness and hence the intentions for continued e-textbook adoptions. Finally, the usability dimensions of efficiency and effectiveness significantly influence e-textbook usability.     

网站用户行为数据收集和分析方法

为改善网站的可用性 ,一般采用可用性工程方法 ,其核心是以用户为中心的设计方法论 (UCD)。综合介绍了目前国内外对于用户行为数据收集和分析方法所进行的研究 ,各种方法的特点 ,并介绍一些利用相应方法所开发出的工具实例 ,使得建设的网站更加符合用户的需要 ,以保障用户与网站之间沟通的顺畅。     

Expressive and classical aesthetics: two distinct concepts with highly similar effect patterns in user–artefact interaction

This study examined the utility of the concept of expressive aesthetics by testing websites that did or did not match this concept. A website scoring highly on this concept was created and was then compared to websites that were either non-aesthetic or corresponded to the concept of classical aesthetics. Sixty website users of a broad age range (18–60 years) were allocated to three experimental groups (expressive, classical, and non-aesthetic) and asked to complete a series of information search tasks. During the experiment, measures were taken of performance, perceived usability, perceived aesthetics, emotion, and trustworthiness. The results showed that expressive aesthetics can be considered a distinct concept. It also emerged that the website scoring high on expressive aesthetics shows a similar pattern of results to classical aesthetics. Both aesthetically appealing websites received higher ratings of perceived usability and trustworthiness than the non-aesthetic website. The effects of website aesthetics on subjective measures were not moderated by age.     

Interplay between trust,information privacy concerns and behavioural intention of users on online social networks

Trust and privacy features of websites have evolved as an important concern for any businesses or interactions, particularly in online networks. The study investigates the relationship between trust, privacy concerns and behavioural intention of users on the social network. The behavioural intention of users on the online social network (OSN) is captured by intention to disclose information and intention to interact with others in OSN. The study was conducted on a sample of 457 active users from one of the major social networking website, Facebook. Partial least squares based structural equation modelling was used for analysing the results. The findings of the study reveal that intention to disclose information mediates the relationship between trust in the website and the intention to interact with others. Another important finding of the study indicates that prior positive experience with the website significantly impacts the trust in website, and the trust in website also plays a crucial role while determining the information privacy concerns in the OSN.