The Four Parameters of Web Sites

Parameter I: Communication

Three Enabling Principles:

• Clarity ~ clear communication
• Legibility ~ visitors are able to see the text clearly, without impediment
• Readability ~ legible text invites the eye, but readable text engages the ear
  
   

Qualifying Questions

Clarity

1. Does the site communicate clearly and efficiently with logical organization?

2. Does the site communicate how the user can benefit from the site?

3. Does the site meet high-quality publishing standards by being error free?

Legibility

1. Is the font on the site easy to read?

2. Do headings, bulleted lists, numbered lists, and other textual components make the verbal content more graphic and thus easy to read and understand?

3. Are text formats suitable in terms of color contrasts, fonts, and density of text?

Readability

1. Does the site provide a context for understanding the text, including familiar terms and phrases?

2. Is the site's language vivid, active, and personable?

3. Is the reader able to follow the concepts being presented and remember them?

Parameter II: Visual Appeal

Three Enabling Principles:

• Visual Richness ~ richness, not pollution, is critical to attracting visitors to stay
• Style ~ the look and feel of a Web site
• Unity ~ repetition is one way to achieve a unified design
  
   

Qualifying Questions

Visual Richness

1. Does the layout of the site look welcoming and interesting, combining graphic and text elements well?

2. Do all the graphic elements balance well with each other rather than compete?

3. Are graphics used effectively to increase the clarity and communication of the site?

Style

1. Is the style of the page suitable for the purpose, content, and intended audience for the site?

2. Do the various stylistic elements of the page seem to fit together, including color combinations, fonts, and graphic elements?

3. Do the various stylistic elements create an overall effect that is attractive?

Unity

1. Does the design present a simplified, visually oriented way of accessing the site and its content?

2. Is an appropriate, consistent visual style used throughout the site (including buttons, colors, layout, typography, and the metaphor it might employ)?

3. Do visual relations and contrasts create pleasing effects that help orient visitors to the site's organization?

Parameter III: Utility

Three Enabling Principles:

• Intuitive Interface ~ to “interface” means to interact with an environment
• Navigability ~ the ease with which the user moves or navigates a Web site
• Value ~ perception of a site’s value increases if it proves valuable to returning visitors
  
   

Qualifying Questions

Intuitive Interface

1. Is the interface clear and predictable?

2. Do users learn how to interact with the site without difficulty or frustration?

3. Do users successfully accomplish what they came to do?

Navigability

1. Is it immediately clear how users can move around the site?

2. Are users able to move around the site, forward and backward, without encountering barriers, dead ends, or other frustrations?

3. Are users able to make guided choices on the site, or are they forced to resort to trial and error?

Value

1. Are users able to accomplish tasks that are of value to them while visiting the site?

2. Will users remember the site for providing something of value?

3. Will users come back to the site the next time they need to accomplish a similar task?

Parameter IV: Engagement

Three Enabling Principles:

• User Awareness ~ go beyond considering visitors as a passive audience
• User-Centered Purpose ~ invite users in and consider the unique wants and needs
• Interpersonal Rapport ~ understand the process of constructive, valued relationships
  
   

Qualifying Questions

User Awareness

1. Is it clear what types of visitors this site hopes to engage?

2. Would the site draw these intended visitors and succeed at engaging them in interaction?

3. Would these targeted users recognize immediately that this is a site with which they would benefit from interaction?

User-Centered Purpose

1. Is the site purposeful from a user viewpoint (for knowledge, decision support, accomplishing tasks, interconnectedness, enjoyable experience)?

2. Is the user-centered purpose of the site immediately apparent from the entry page and forward?

3. Will the site invite in and engage visitors who arrive to accomplish this purpose?

Interpersonal Rapport

1. Would visitors feel sufficient comfort, trust, understanding, and warmth to be drawn to relate to the site actively?

2. Would they have the sense that they are appreciated and that they have entered into a positive relationship?

3. Will this sense of relationship be sufficiently engaging to bring them back?