Most everyone is familiar with the term "user-friendly". We generally take
the term to mean that some product we are presented with is easy to use and it
makes sense to us without thinking about it much, if at all. We have all had at
least one experience (and hopefully more) with user-friendly products, whether
they were advertised as that or not. Sitting in a chair that just feels right,
driving a car in which the controls and displays are clear and easy to
understand and operate, reading a magazine or book that doesn't strain one's
eyes because it is laid out well so the information is readily comprehensible--
all these are examples of user-friendliness, or good usability.
On the other hand, we've all experienced the opposite as well. Trying to
decipher the controls on audio-video equipment (programming VCRs seems to be a
major culprit) or a microwave oven, sitting in a chair that gives you cramps and
aches no matter what position you twist yourself into, or using a pair of salad
tongs that drop the veggies all over the counter/floor while transferring from
mixing bowl to plates (every time without fail) are everyday examples of
non-user-friendliness, or bad usability.
The fact is, people get very frustrated when a product is difficult and/or
confusing to use, and wind up throwing that product out, or at least not using
it and finding a product that better does what it's supposed to do.
The very same thing applies to web sites.
Now, a lot of web sites are for companies that want to sell things to
customers. These companies are very concerned that their customers are able to
easily find what they want, get important information about the product, and
make a purchase without any hassles. The good companies know that there are
other companies selling the same stuff (or close to it) and if customers get
frustrated trying to find what they want on one company's web site, they'll just
click their way to another company's web site, and spend their money there. That
is a marketer's nightmare. The good companies spend a lot of money on the
development of their web site to make sure that when customers click to their
site, they spend their money there and keep coming back.
However, a huge number of the web sites on the Internet are not created by
companies selling things, or by companies that can afford web development teams.
The fact is, you don't have to be a trained web developer to create and publish
web sites. ANYBODY can do it, with an Internet-connected computer and
affordable programs like Microsoft FrontPage ®, and there are many, many web
hosting companies that charge relatively little to put a site on the Internet.
BUT.... just because anyone can create and publish a web site DOES NOT
MEAN that they know how to design it in such a way that visitors to that web
site will be able to understand what it's all about, and how to navigate from
page to page within the site. And to be honest, a lot of those big companies
with web development teams have terrible web sites too; trying to find a product
or specific information on those sites is horrendous.
So what does all this mean for the educator that wants to either create their
own web sites, or use web sites created by other educators, to enhance a lesson
or unit? It simply means that there are some better ways to design web sites
than others, and there are some rules of thumb for the design of various
elements of web pages and web sites that can help users of a web site understand
more easily what the site is all about and how they can get around and find
information.
