Getting Started
When our group sat down and really decided to analyze the Rowan Technology Webpage there were numerous ideas coming in through each spectrum. Should we completely redesign the site? What can we do about the overwhelming redundancy on the homepage? Why are there so many links that do not pertain to technology whatsoever? These were all questions that we had to decide on. Finally, we came to the conclusion that we would not completely change the website, for that would take too much time and be unnecessary. Instead, we would modify the page, keeping aspects we thought worked well and take out or adjust the aspects we did not like.
The usability theories that have specifically informed our ideas on redesigning the page are paying attention to interaction conventions, vaporous content and empty hype, dense content, low-relevancy search listings, and making sure all relevant information is visible on the home page. Our web page makes sure users do not have any difficulty finding what they need. Interaction conventions that are predictable empower people to navigate without fear of encountering obstacles, and that is exactly what we intend to happen. Since Web users are extremely impatient and allocate little time to each page, it is crucial that our page comes clean from the start and tells the user what it is we are there to do. This way, there is no vaporous content. People should know our page is dedicated to Technology. Also, we do not want too much text on our site. We want users to be able to find what they want fast, and reading through bulky text is not the way to accomplish that. Knowing that the Search Browser is the most common way people find what they're looking for on Web sites, we want to make sure our search listings post a lot of results. Lastly, all key information should be visible on the initial screen. For good usability, this is a key concept we want to advocate on our page.