Website designers must understand end users and design simple, easy-to-use websites. To do this, they should consider the audience, design for user experience, conduct usability tests using eye tracking software, apply the UX Five-Seconds Rule to gauge user perception and recall, and redesign based on test results. Following these steps helps website designers create websites that are more user-friendly and achieve product satisfaction for end users.

1. Abstract
Website designers need to understand end users - the people who will
be using the product - notice problems end users are having, and
design simple, sustainable, easy-to-use products for end users to enjoy.
To help end users achieve quick success, website designers need to take
into consideration the layout, navigability, and audience of a website.
They may do so by performing usability tests that incorporate eye
tracking software. Website designers must also consider the UX Five-
Seconds Rule which “gauge[s] what the viewer can perceive and recall
within a very short amount of time.”3 Website designers need to
ultimately “understand existing behavior, capture the…changing
patterns, and create smarter, more sustainable, and socially responsible
designs,”4 in order to achieve success.
User Experience: Achieving Product Satisfaction
Introduction
Have you ever stopped to think about how you interact with
technology? Do most products perform the task you tell it to? This
interaction between humans and technology is known as user
experience (UX). If it weren’t for someone testing a user’s experience
before a product’s release, numerous software like the Microsoft Office
Suite, would not be as user friendly as they are. In 1955, an American
industrial designer described UX perfectly, saying “if people are made
safer…more eager to purchase…more efficient…by contact with the
product, the designer has succeeded.”1 Designers must perform usability
tests to gain knowledge about user experience in order to better design
for end users.
Materials/Methods
There are several steps that must be taken in order for website
designers to effectively design websites for end users. To do so, they
must:
• Consider the audience
• Design in terms of user experience
• Incorporate eye tracking software in a usability test
• Apply the UX Five-Seconds Rule
• Redesign accordingly
Results
After website designers consider the audience, design in terms of user
experience, incorporate eye tracking software in a usability test, apply
the UX Five-Seconds Rule, and redesign accordingly, they should have a
significantly improved website like Figure 3 below.
Figure 2 depicts a heat map associated with eye tracking software. Red indicates the most focus and
longest gaze, while blue indicates less focus time.
Figure 3 shows the before and after pictures of a website. Presumably, the website designers followed each method and the result was
a wonderfully designed, easy-to-use website.
Figure 1 briefly describes what the UX Five-Seconds Rule is and why it is helpful.
Discussion
How the Science has Evolved
New technologies in usability testing and user experience has evolved
greatly since its beginning. In usability testing’s beginning, developers
were becoming aware of the need for end user’s feedback by actually
testing the product. By creating one prototype and releasing it to a
focus group, this put a heavy reliance on the focus group and equated
to several trial and error test runs. Now, there are phases that product,
software, and website developers go through before compiling
participants for a usability test. For website designers, there are cycles
for creation and completion they must abide: 2
• Ideation
• Conceptualization
• Design and development
• Prototypes
• Testing
• Marketing
The ideation cycle is the process of generating ideas for design.
The conceptualization cycle is the process of brainstorming and
fine-tuning ideas generated in the ideation cycle.
The design and development cycle “ensure[s] that such things as
ergonomics are well tested and practical.”2
The prototypes cycle gives shape to the drawings and concepts created
The testing cycle allows for website designers to “redesign…and
rework”2 any problems found in the design from the focus groups.
The marketing cycle is the result of a successful design, test, and
redesign, and is ready to be used by end users.
Progress in Usability Testing and UX
The field has grown to almost every industry, seeing that companies
want to test their products before release. Companies aim to perform
usability tests because they want to gain credibility and reliability by not
receiving as many troubleshooting calls or emails, which costs the
company money.
Academic Pursuits
The education of usability testing has changed dramatically “as courses
are now offered online, educational systems must be intuitive and allow
for easy of learning.”4 Several universities, like the University of North
Texas, offer Technical Communication programs, which offer students
rigorous courses in all aspect of technical communication. Knowing how
to design, knowing how to code for websites, and knowing how to
perform usability tests and track user experience are three aspects of
technical communication that are crucial when it comes to user
experience.
Acknowledgments
1 Beasley, Michael. “Learning about Users.” Practical Web Analytics for User Experience: How Analytics Can Help You Understand Your Users. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 78-80. Print.
2 Doncaster, Paul. “The UX Five-Second Rules.” The UX Five-Second Rules: Guidelines for User Experience Design’s Simplest Testing Technique. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 19-21. Print.
3 Kuniavsky, Mike. “Universal Tools: Recruiting and Interviewing.” Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2003. 117-120. Print.
4 Rosenzweig, Elizabeth. Successful User Experience: Strategies and Roadmaps. Place of Publication Not Identified: Morgan Kaufmann, 2015. 13-14; 18-19; 42-45; 156-157. Print.
Conclusion
In conclusion, website designers need to understand end users - the
people who will be using the product - notice problems end users are
having, and design simple, sustainable, easy-to-use products for end
users to enjoy. To do so, they must go through the proper steps which
include:
• Considering the audience
• Designing in terms of user experience
• Incorporating eye tracking software in a usability test
• Applying the UX Five-Seconds Rule
• Redesigning accordingly
After website designers have gone through each step, they should
have a beautifully designed or redesigned website that is user friendly.