Conducting Usability Studies with Users Who Are Elderly or Have Disabilities    

Many disabled or elderly users have embraced the Web as a way to get easier access to information, services, contacts with others, and entertainment. But very often, Web sites are creating barriers for them, at the same time as they are reducing barriers of access. We can safely assume that Web sites are made by designers who have no intention to exclude groups of users from using the site. Our studies, however, have proved that good intentions are not enough to create Web content that is accessible and also usable for people with various kinds of physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. Web designers need to familiarize themselves with accessibility guidelines and apply them properly, but that goal is seldom achieved. Even when the guidelines are applied, a site's ease of use for people with disabilities needs to be confirmed in a usability test with actual users who have disabilities. This article describes how to conduct user-focused tests with test participants who are elderly or who have disabilities.

van der Geest, Thea. Technical Communication Online (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Elderly

Developing Heuristics for Web Communication    

The quicklists presented here are derived from five sets of heuristics that were published in the August 2000 special issue of Technical Communication, 'Heuristics for Web Communication.' They are intended to help Web designers and developers consider crucial communicative aspects of Web site design.

van der Geest, Thea and Jan H. Spyridakis. Technical Communication Online (2000). Design>Web Design>Methods>Usability

Developing Heuristics for Web Communication: An Introduction to This Special Issue    

This article describes the role of heuristics in the Web design process. The five sets of heuristics that appear in this issue are also described, as well as the research methods used in their development. The heuristics were designed to help designers and developers of Web pages or sites to consider crucial communicative aspects of Web site design. Also previewed is a sixth article that presents a framework for characterizing and analyzing the broad variety of heuristics that are available for Web designers.

van der Geest, Thea and Jan H. Spyridakis. Technical Communication Online (2000). Design>Web Design>Assessment>Heuristic Evaluation

Testing the Visual Consistency of Web Sites    

Consistency in the visual appearance of Web pages is often checked by experts, such as designers or reviewers. This article reports a card sort study conducted to determine whether users rather than experts could distinguish visual (in-)consistency in Web elements and pages. The users proved to agree on the elements and pages that were consistent, even when they demonstrated different approaches in describing why elements or pages belonged together. Color, background, and font proved to be the main visual cues that users paid attention to. Card sorting with visual elements is not only a suitable tool for testing visual consistency, but also offers new ways to investigate the effects of particular visual elements of Web sites.

van der Geest, Thea and Nicole Loorbach. Technical Communication Online (2005). Design>Web Design>Assessment