1. Web Content as Usability

2. What do we mean when we say,
“This is a good web site”?
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Web Content as Usability

3. When we see a site the first time
and say it’s good, what we mean
is that it’s attractive.
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Web Content as Usability

4. The problem:
Your design is not your content.
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Web Content as Usability

5. Our Preoccupation
with Design
Reasons
We are visual creatures. We
spend millions of dollars
annually on architecture, visual
arts, home furnishings and
fashion.
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Web Content as Usability
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6. Our Preoccupation
with Design
Reasons
Web development is so abstract
and difficult to communicate that
we latch onto design elements
as the closest things to tangible
objects we can understand and
control.
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Web Content as Usability
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7. Our Preoccupation
with Design
Reasons
The visual aspect of the web is
fun. It’s 16 million crayons and
an unlimited paper supply.
Content production — especially
writing content — is tedious. It’s
work, not play.
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Web Content as Usability
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8. So how do we stop design from
influencing our judgment?
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Web Content as Usability

9. 30 Questions
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Web Content as Usability

10. 30 Questions
In November 2013, Rutgers-Camden was planning for a redesign of its
main site — not for a specific purpose, but because it was “time to
redesign”.
Camden staff members involved in web and digital content were asked
for ideas about what should be accomplished and how to proceed.
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Web Content as Usability

11. 11

12. 30 Questions
The consensus was that it was one of the most beautiful and polished
sites ever created for Rutgers, yet nobody was truly happy with it. It
didn’t “feel” right.
To better understand the site and try to identify what needed work,
several staff members participated in the 30 Questions exercise.
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Web Content as Usability

13. 30 Questions:
How it Works
For each question, start from the
site’s home page and try to find
the information using any search
or navigation tools it offers.
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Web Content as Usability

14. 30 Questions: Can You Find …
1. The phone number for campus security.
2. A map or directions to the cashier’s office.
3. The login page for the university’s online learning system.
4. Additional admissions requirements for international students.
5. The bookstore (to buy required textbook for freshman English).
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Web Content as Usability

15. 30 Questions: Can You Find …
6. Information on facilities rental.
7. Campus events for one week from today.
8. Graduate program tuition and fee information.
9. The next deadline for scholarship applications.
10. A list of student organizations, with descriptions, membership
requirements and contact information.
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Web Content as Usability

16. 30 Questions: Can You Find …
11. The student handbook.
12. Contact information for the IT help desk.
13. The most recent issue of the student newspaper.
14. Child-care services on campus, with hours and rates.
15. The office location, phone number and email address of a biology
professor (pick one before starting).
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Web Content as Usability

17. 30 Questions: Can You Find …
16. Campus parking guidelines.
17. Information on where to order a transcript.
18. The current continuing education course offerings.
19. Contact information and guidelines for accessibility services.
20. The score from the most recent football/basketball/baseball game.
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Web Content as Usability

18. 30 Questions: Can You Find …
21. The login page for university email.
22. Information on where to take the SAT.
23. A list, with descriptions, of athletics/PE facilities.
24. The catalog of current courses for the history program.
25. A list of job opportunities on campus for students, with application
instructions.
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Web Content as Usability

19. 30 Questions: Can You Find …
26. Current library hours.
27. This week’s menu for the dining hall.
28. Current (non-student) job openings on campus.
29. The catalog of current courses for the history program.
30. The university’s online application, with admissions requirements.
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Web Content as Usability

20. 30 Questions: Record Your Results
First, record your ability to find the information.
✦ Did you discover what you were looking for? How long did it take?
If not, how long did you look before giving up?
✦ How many clicks/searches did it take to get there?
✦ Once you reached your destination, were you able to return easily
to the home page?
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Web Content as Usability

21. 30 Questions: Record Your Results
Next, record the quality of the information you found.
✦ Was the information complete?
✦ Did it appear to be current and accurate?
✦ Was it easy to understand?
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Web Content as Usability

22. 30 Questions: Record Your Results
Jot down any incidental details such as obvious accessibility issues,
broken links, content errors or related content that would have been
useful.
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Web Content as Usability

23. 30 Questions: Get Outside Help
For fresh viewpoints I invited Facebook friends to help with the project.
Each volunteer got five of the questions.
The volunteers ranged in age from mid-20s to nearly 70, and their
experience with the web was equally diverse. None was associated
with Rutgers or familiar with the Camden site.
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Web Content as Usability

24. 30 Questions: the Findings
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Web Content as Usability

25. 23.3%
23.3%
20.0%
16.7%
6.7%
10.0%
<30 seconds
30-60 seconds
1-1.5 minutes
1.5-2 minutes
2-2.5 minutes
>2.5 minutes
Performance on
Tasks, in Seconds
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Web Content as Usability

26. 23.3%
23.3%
53.3%
<30 seconds
30-60 seconds
>1 minute
*acceptable performance levels
Performance on
Tasks, in Seconds*
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Web Content as Usability

27. 10.0%
13.3%
13.3%
20.0%
13.3%
30.0%
0-1 clicks
2 clicks
3 clicks
4 clicks
>4 clicks
not found
Performance on
Tasks, in Clicks
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Web Content as Usability

28. *acceptable performance levels
36.7%
33.3%
30.0%
0-3 clicks
>3 clicks
not found
Performance on
Tasks, in Clicks*
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Web Content as Usability

29. 30 Questions: the Findings
Finding for: information on where to take the SAT (3:23)
The participant finally gave up. She reached the admissions site, which
stated only that scores are needed for admission. It provided no
information about taking these tests or links to college testing services.
Finding for: campus parking guidelines (1:41)
It took four clicks to reach this information. The participant wasn’t clear
as to which lots were approved for which drivers. The map was too
small to read.
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Web Content as Usability

30. 30 Questions: the Findings
Finding for: a map or directions to the cashier’s office (1:04)
It took three clicks to reach the cashier’s page. The participant found
the address but no map or directions.
Finding for: current continuing education course offerings (2:24)
Nothing useful was found on the main site. A search on "Camden
continuing education" led to the Continuing Education site in New
Brunswick. It contained no listings for Camden. The participant
pursued several dead ends.
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Web Content as Usability

31. 30 Questions: the Findings
Finding for: graduate program tuition and fee information (:51)
Nothing useful was found on the Graduate Admissions page. From the
main menu she found a Net Price Calculator tool, but it takes 10-15
minutes to complete and requires access to various financial
documents she did not have in hand.
Finding for: information on facilities rental or reservations (2:32)
It took five clicks to reach this information on the Events Office page.
To get to this page, the participant passed through the Conference
Services page, described as “useless”.
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Web Content as Usability

32. 30 Questions: the Findings
Finding for: additional admissions requirements for international
students (1:34)
It took five clicks to reach this information on an Application Process
page. At one point the participant fell into a loop sending her back to
the Apply Now page.
Finding for: the next deadline for scholarship applications (:50)
The information was found in two clicks, but it provided information for
first-year and transfer students only. There was no comprehensive list
and description of scholarships.
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Web Content as Usability

33. 30 Questions: the Findings
Finding for: the most recent issue of the student newspaper (1:02)
Nothing was found on the main site or under student organizations. A
search on “Camden student newspaper” turned up the Gleaner as the
first result, but it was a dead site. She learned later that the newspaper
had moved to Tumblr and didn’t notify anyone.
Finding for: a list, with descriptions, of athletics/PE facilities (:25)
The participant found the page in four clicks, but it contained no list or
descriptions. The page had an image rotation and a story on the facility
opening dated four years previously.
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Web Content as Usability

34. 30 Questions: the Findings
Finding for: the catalog of current courses for the history
program (2:13)
It took nine clicks to reach this information. The participant described
the entire Brochures & Catalogs section as “a mess”.
Finding for: this week’s menu for the dining hall (:59)
The page containing menus was three clicks from the home page. The
menus themselves were PDF files buried on the page. No nutrition
information was available.
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Web Content as Usability

35. 30 Questions: the Findings
Finding for: the login page for university email (2:34)
Nothing of use was found on the main site. A search on "email" turned
up six possibilities in the top seven results with no clear indicator which
system was which. None were ScarletMail.
Finding for: the student handbook (1:37)
Nothing was found on the main site. A search of "Camden student
handbook" turned up only a nursing handbook. Is there no
university/campus general student handbook?
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Web Content as Usability

36. Dysfunction in your organization
will manifest itself as dysfunction
on your website.
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Web Content as Usability

37. 30 Questions: Surprise Findings!
Wasted space: an enormous amount of the Camden site’s prime
screen real estate was dedicated to content irrelevant to the tasks:
✦ Civic Engagement
✦ Our Vision
✦ Global Rutgers-Camden
✦ Faculty & Research
✦ Office of the Chancellor
✦ Custom Services for You
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Web Content as Usability

38. 30 Questions: Surprise Findings!
We discovered two major problems related to the search function:
1. It defaulted to a people search. A visitor had to manually switch the
search type to web search — which took several tries to figure out.
2. The search results page disabled the browser’s Back button. The
only way to get back to the Camden home page was to retype the
URL.
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Web Content as Usability

39. Adapting 30 Questions
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Web Content as Usability

40. Adapting 30
Questions
Start with Journalism 101
questions: the 5 W’s and the H:
✦ Who
✦ What
✦ When
✦ Where
✦ Why
✦ How
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Web Content as Usability

41. Adapting 30 Questions
As you formulate questions, make them task-oriented. Instead of
asking, “Are the operating hours on the site?” try, “How late are you
open tonight?”
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Web Content as Usability

42. Adapting 30 Questions
Look at comparable sites for ideas. Don’t get hung up focusing solely
on competitors in the immediate area. If the site is for a bakery in
Flagstaff, Arizona, see what the bakeries are doing in Springfield,
Oregon, or Sarasota, Florida.
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Web Content as Usability

43. Adapting 30 Questions
Ask the people in the know: receptionists, administrative assistants,
interns, problem solvers.
What do they get the most calls, emails, complaints, inquiries about?
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Web Content as Usability

44. Adapting 30 Questions
If you can interview front-line employees, pull them together in informal
small groups for feedback, away from managers.
Follow up with an alternative research method such as an online
survey.
Extroverts will talk first and dominate groups. Introverts will want to
think first and answer privately in their own time.
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Web Content as Usability

45. Adapting 30
Questions
If there’s a support email or a
help desk, can you get a
summary of the requests they’ve
fielded in the past month? Six
months?
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Web Content as Usability

46. Adapting 30 Questions
If you’re working with an existing site, dig deep into Google Analytics
for a clearer idea of who the visitors are and how they behave. A high
bounce rate at an unexpected point may indicate they’re having trouble
with the site.
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Web Content as Usability

47. Adapting 30
Questions
If you’re working with an existing
WordPress site, the Relevanssi
plugin is helpful because it logs
the search terms used on the
site.
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Web Content as Usability

48. Adapting 30 Questions
If you want to strengthen your skills in these areas, try auditing an Intro
to News Writing course, which will help you organize facts and identify
holes in information.
An Interviewing course will help you in almost any field where you need
to interact with clients and obtain useful information.
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Web Content as Usability

49. Adapting 30
Questions
Check whether there’s a content
strategy Meetup in your area.
There’s one in Philly!
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Web Content as Usability

50. Adapting 30 Questions
A related presentation from Content Strategy Philly: How to Be Leslie
Knope for Content in a Website Redesign.
Slides
https://www.slideshare.net/nchess/be-the-leslie-knope-for-content-in-a-
website-redesign
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUUy4zg5b5I
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Web Content as Usability

51. Susan Walker
susanwrotethis.com
@susanwrotethis
Thank You