Table of Contents

Contents
Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... 1

1.0 Evaluating website with good usability elements .......................................................... 2

1.1 - Introduction of Apple’s website .................................................................................... 2
1.2 - Evaluating the website with all TEN (10) Nielsen’s Usability Principles ........................ 3
1. VISIBILITY OF SYSTEM STATUS .................................................................................... 3
2. MATCH BETWEEN SYSTEM AND THE REAL WORLD .................................................... 3
3. USER CONTROL AND FREEDOM .................................................................................. 5
4. CONSISTENCY AND STANDARDS ................................................................................. 5
5. ERROR PREVENTION.................................................................................................... 6
6. RECOGNITION RATHER THAN RECALL......................................................................... 7
7. FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY OF USE .......................................................................... 7
8. AESTHETIC AND MINIMALIST DESIGN......................................................................... 8
9. HELP USERS RECOGNIZE, DIAGNOSE AND RECOVER FROM ERRORS ......................... 8
10. HELP AND DOCUMENTATION ................................................................................... 10
1.3 - Observation and Conclusion ........................................................................................ 11

2.0 Evaluating website with bad usability elements ......................................................... 12

2.1 Introduction of Suzanne Collins’ website .................................................................... 12
2.2 Introduction of Suzanne Collins’ website .................................................................... 12
1. VISIBILITY OF SYSTEM STATUS .................................................................................. 12
2. HELP AND DOCUMENTATION ................................................................................... 13
3. FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY OF USE ........................................................................ 14
4. CONSISTENCY AND STANDARDS ............................................................................... 14
5. AESTHETIC AND MINIALIST DESIGN .......................................................................... 15
2.3 - Observation and Conclusion ........................................................................................ 16
1.0 - Evaluating website with good usability elements

1.1 - Introduction of Apple’s website

Apple is a famous technological company known for their aesthetic flagship products.
Hence, it wouldn’t be a surprise that this award-winning company that caters to billions will
have a website that is as good as their products.

The website provides research information on every and all of Apple’s products as well as
functioning as a platform to purchase items.

https://www.apple.com/
1.2 - Evaluating the website with all TEN (10) Nielsen’s Usability Principles

1. VISIBILITY OF SYSTEM STATUS

Without appropriate feedback, users won’t know what is happening in the system as it
carries out the task. Therefore, there needs to be feedback provided to the user within a
reasonable amount of time, in the form of a progress bar, change in color or a pop-up
notification.

Apple has a navigation menu that is set to change to a darker color when a user hover over
it.

2. MATCH BETWEEN SYSTEM AND THE REAL WORLD

System-oriented terms should be avoided to communicate effectively to your users.
Systems should communicate to their users on their ground. Hence, natural and logical
order of information is a necessary outflow to ensure the user understands what is being
presented on the system.

Apple uses layman terms to communicate

i. the size of the screen notice how instead of an “x” between the width and height
of the screen, Apple uses the word “by”.
ii. the color fidelity of their iMac display, stating “support for millions of colors”
instead of using elaborate system terms.

Apple presents a natural order of information by first presenting to the user the inches of
the screen, so they are informed of its size, then to the quality of the LED display, followed
by the resolution and then its support for millions of colors. Not once will the user feel a
piece of information is out of place.
 3. USER CONTROL AND FREEDOM

Users make mistake and systems should support clearly marked undo and redo features for
users to easily amend any unintended actions they may have taken.

Apple provides the user in the shopping bag page to reduce or increase the number of items
the user would want to purchase, in case they mis-clicked or decided to buy more.
Furthermore, there is a remove button to completely delete the item from the user’s
shopping bag.

4. CONSISTENCY AND STANDARDS

Consistency builds a healthy sense of familiarity. Hence, maintaining that consistency

throughout the website will increase the effectiveness for the user’s understanding of what
will take place if they take a selected action.

Apple has a button on the left side of the page that has the same color, same size and same
hover effect (icon turns grey) with a button that is on the far-right side of the page. This is
consistent across every page on the website.
 5. ERROR PREVENTION

Following from how users make mistakes, it is therefore helpful to let them know they have
made a mistake through clear and understandable notices. For example, the way Apple
notifies users that their ID or Password entered is wrong, is by having a alarming red pop-up
informing the user of their incorrect password.
 6. RECOGNITION RATHER THAN RECALL

We want to minimize how much the user has to remember in order to take an action in
relation to the server.

In the Mac section, users are not forced to recall of the many types of Macs that Apple sells.
Instead, they have a clear selection above from their famous MacBook’s, to their desktops,
and even to Mac Accessories needed, et cetera.

7. FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY OF USE

It’s important for users to have a speedy interaction with our systems because the system is
for them.

Apple’s comparing Mac models feature is an essential tool for a user’s decision making to be
educated and efficient.
 8. AESTHETIC AND MINIMALIST DESIGN

Irrelevant information presented is useless as it competes with actual relevant units of

information and diminishes their effective visibility. Therefore, a clean UI design is crucial for
users to have a maximized experience because they can search what they are looking for a
and understand what is going on.

Apple’s UI presents to you strictly what you need to know. The white spaces at the sides
helps you focus on the middle. And each textual section of the page has a hierarchy in terms
of informational priority that is clean and easy to read with fonts that aren’t different from
one another.

9. HELP USERS RECOGNIZE, DIAGNOSE AND RECOVER FROM ERRORS

This heuristic is a mixture of some of the above. The message is simple: users make
mistakes, show a clear and plain solution

For Apple, when I typed in gibberish at the end of the link to search for a 404 website error,
It leads me to this page where I can then search for anything in the system and reach my
desired location or visit the site map to see an overview of the website to easily navigate
through it.
 10. HELP AND DOCUMENTATION

Majority of the users are able to navigate through websites with ease and have no need for
a tutorial. However, providing help and documentation is necessary. It is better for the users
to have the option and ability to reach for help than not.

This is Apple’s Support page. Below, it has every category listed for your benefit.
Helpful links to more specific and elaborated support.

1.3 – Observation and Conclusion

In conclusion, Apple’s website is as usable as their products. For every heuristic principle,
Apple manages to maintain their commitment to it. Other technological companies are able
to learn something from Apple’s timeless website.
2.0 - Evaluating website with bad usability elements
2.1 - Introduction of Suzanne Collins’ website

Suzanne Collins is a website about the American television writer and author Suzanne
Collins. She writes books in the genre of Fantasy, science fiction, Children’s literature and
young adult fiction. Born on August 10 1962 in Hartford Connecticut to Jane Brady Collins
and Lt, Col Micheal John Collins.

Link:- http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/index.htm

Her most famous writing: The Hunger Games, amongst others. So this website features her
works, biography and her interviews and comments and reviews of her books by critiques.

2.2 - Introduction of Suzanne Collins’ website

1. VISIBILITY OF SYSTEM STATUS

Well this website has absolutely none of it. It doesn’t show the user what’s happening when
they press a link or a button in it. Instead it just directly goes to the next page without
showing any progress bar or a loading bar. When you click the button work it doesn’t show
any loading or progress bar. It just abruptly goes to the next page WORK. There is no
smooth transition.
According to the Nielson’s 10 usability principles it is said that we are supposed to keep the
users informed about what is going on, through providing appropriate feedback within
reasonable time.
Suggestions for improvement would be for the developer of this site to add a loading or a
progress bar or a small and subtle slide show to let the user know what’s happening.

2. HELP AND DOCUMENTATION

In this website there is not much match about the real world. It’s extremely plain and super
simple but this website doesn’t do a good job in communicating with the user very properly.
This website doesn’t even have a Help section for the users to ask questions. This website
does a very bad job in terms of making it clear to the user about the functions.
In the Nielsen’s principles, websites should speak the user’s language using words, phrases
and some concepts that are familiar to the user, rather than the system-oriented terms.
This site doesn’t have a section to help or communicate with the users.
Improvements would be putting a help button which says “How can I help you?”
 3. FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY OF USE

As you can see there is not much flexibility in this website at all. This website only has a few
button tabs and some links.

According to the Nielsen’s usability principles the user should be provided with advanced
controls for much more interactions with the website.
Improvements can be made by giving the user more ways to interact with the website and
more control over what they want to do. Clear indications and dedicated buttons.

4. CONSISTENCY AND STANDARDS

This website is not very consistent. The pictures are not aligned properly. And there is not
enough consistency between the pages.
In Nielsen’s principles it states that “Avoid making users wonder whether different words,
situations, or mean the same thing”
But in this page even though the design is simple still confuses users over the consistency.
 5. AESTHETIC AND MINIALIST DESIGN

Even though this website has a minimalist design but in terms of aesthetics it doesn’t do
very well. This website looks like it had been made by some high school kids who are
learning how to make a website. Not a very good design, especially in this day and age
where websites are getting more and more functional and with very good aesthetics.

Nielsen made it clear that websites should have a good aesthetics with a minimalist design
and should function properly.

It does have a minimalist design but not the aesthetics and functionality that should have
come with it. Making this website a bit more modern won’t hurt. Taking cues from the from
other websites about some design and trends would certainly help it for its betterment.
2.3 - Observation and Conclusion

This website is a very bad a 3rd class website at best dues to lack of features from visibility
and system design, aesthetics and minimalist design, consistency and standards, flexibility
and efficiency of use, and no help and documentation. So in conclusion this website can be
improved by having all these in mind and in the website as well. All in all any website can be
a great website as long as we follow the usability principles of Nielsen.