How can you make your website more usable, accessible, and useful to audiences whose first language is not English?

1. Hits from around
the world
Website usability for multi-cultural audiences
Research by Nikki Van Dusen, MA

2. Problem
• Audience diversity
is increasing
• Web resources are
scarce
• Making multiple
sites for
multicultural
audiences not often
possible

3. Theories

6. Hofstede’s Cultural
Dimensions
• Power Distance
• Uncertainty Avoidance
• Time Orientation
• Masculinity-Femininity
• Individual-Collective

7. Method
• Lit review and critique
• Address readability
• Focus groups

8. Findings
• Wireframes are no longer culturally
specific
• Content can be made to "satisfice" for
multiple audiences

9. Lit review and critique

17. Readability
• Establish readability score for content
using Flesch-Kincaid
• Re-write the test content

18. Focus groups
Samples tailored to cultural dimensions

20. "10" tips according to the
research
Formatting for readability
• Write plainly, using easy English
• Keep text as short as possible
• Define or replace advanced
vocabulary
• Use point form
• Keep line length between
50 & 70 characters

21. "10" tips according to the
research
Tone
• Tone should match content
• If changing tone for culture, avoid
awkward, artificial constructions

22. "10" tips according to the
research
Images
• Use multiple, literal photographs
throughout the text if possible
• Use rich media whenever possible

23. "10" tips according to the
research
General
• Remember objective cultural
differences such as ways of formatting
time, dates, currency & numbers
• Remember your audience & be
human