This report describes the fall 2013 evaluation of the University of Minnesota
Duluth (UMD) home page. The report and its recommendations are endorsed by the ITSS Web Team and the Campus Accessible Technology Team.
The Methodology section of this report describes the
participants, equipment and venue. The Results section documents
participant experiences in completing 8 tasks and their responses to questions.
The Findings and Recommendations section provides an an analysis of results and ways of modifying the home
page to improve it in order to be more accessible to people
with disabilities (PWD) . Findings with corresponding recommendations are organized into the categories: perceivability, operability, and usability. While most of the recommendations address
problems encountered by users in the study, some recommendations
are derived from research-based principles of accessible and usable web
design.
Test objectives as described in the Test Plan were to ascertain: if people with disabilities
can find information efficiently and effectively, if attitudes and satisfaction levels toward
the home page are favorable, and to obtain user suggestions. The goal is to better understand how well PWD can use the UMD home page in order that it can be improved and barriers removed.
Executive Summary
A significant amount of tasks were unsuccessfully completed (35%) and rated as being difficult to very difficult to find (42%). Upon completing all tasks, 39% of participants rated the page unfavorable to very unfavorable.
Perceivability, operability, and usability issues exist, which can be resolved by adding text alternatives, adjusting background images and CSS rules, re-prioritizing page content, adding links for core content, removing redundant links, simplifying, reducing scrolling, and reducing load time.
Implementing recommendations would help remove accessibility barriers for people with disabilities and help improve usability for all. Not resolving identified issues would be counter to supporting an inclusive campus climate, opens the University to litigation, and leaves money on the table.
Methodology
17 people with disabilities completed the study. 10
participants were derived from Knowbility's Accessworks
database; four were from W3C's Web Accessibility
Initiative Interest Group, and 3 were from the WebAIM community. The
majority of participants (94%) described themselves as having
intermediate to advanced Assistive Technology (AT) proficiency.
Table 1: Participant Profile
Participant
Assistive Technology (AT)
AT Proficiency
Referrer
Participant 1
Magnifier
Intermediate
WebAIM
Participant 2
Keyboard Only
Advanced
W3C WAI
Participant 3
JAWS for Windows 14
Advanced
Knowbility
Participant 4
JAWS
Advanced
WebAIM
Participant 5
Zoom Text
Beginner
Knowbility
Participant 6
JAWS
Advanced
Knowbility
Participant 7
Zoomtext
Intermediate
Knowbility
Participant 8
JAWS 9
Intermediate
Knowbility
Participant 9
Window-Eyes (screen reader)
Intermediate
Knowbility
Participant 10
VoiceOver on the iPhone
Advanced
Knowbility
Participant 11
Laptop
Intermediate
Knowbility
Participant 12
System Access (screen reader)
Advanced
Knowbility
Participant 13
Jaws Version 14
Advanced
Knowbility
Participant 14
Text based, devorak keyboard
Advanced
W3C WAI
Participant 15
Zoom
Advanced
W3C WAI
Participant 16
Keyboard only
Advanced
W3C WAI
Participant 17
ChromeVox (screen reader)
Advanced
WebAIM
Testing took place October 11- 28, 2013 via an accessible
online remote testing tool, Loop11. Eight task/scenarios where presented to each participant, for example: locate the "Register for Classes link". Participants were asked likert scale questions to obtain ease of locating information and and satisfaction levels. The testing tool recorded task completion rate, time on task, common fail pages, paths taken, answers to questions.
Overall Task Completion
Average Ease of Locating Info
Word Cloud: Terms Used to Describe the UMD Home Page
A post test summary question asked participants to "Name 3 words that describe the UMD home page." The word cloud documents all of the words used and their frequency is depicted via text size. The words "cluttered", "confusing", "crowded", and "overwhelming" were the most frequently used at a rate of 3 to 1. Followed by the words "informative" and "interesting" used at a rate of 2 to 1.
Results (Details)
Locate Library Database
Task/Scenario: "You are doing research on ethnic minorities and need minority population figures. Locate where you can find this information on the UMD web site."
Task Success, Failure, and Abandon Rates (Average page
views: 5.6, Average time 341.4 seconds)
(t18)
Success: 19%
Fail: 44%
Abandon: 38%
Ease of Locating Rating (q19)
Neither easy or
difficult: 17.6%
Difficult:
41.2%
Very difficult:
41.2%
(No one rated this task "Very Easy" or
"Easy")
Locate Heroes Story (Carousel)
Task/Scenario: "You have heard people talking about "Blood Memoirs: Individuality, Memory, and Culture" at UMD and are interested in learning what this is about. Please locate information regarding it."
Task Success, Failure, and Abandon Rates (Average page
views: 4, Average time 342.6 seconds)
(t27)
Success: 56%
Fail: 13%
Abandon: 31%
Ease of Locating Rating (q26)
Very easy:
41.2%
Easy: 17.6%
Neither easy or
difficult: 5.9%
Difficult: 5.9%
Very difficult:
29.4%
Locate Admissions Form
Task/Scenario: "You have decided that you would like to attend the University of Minnesota Duluth. Find where you would be able to create an account via the UMD 'Apply Yourself Application'."
Task Success, Failure, and Abandon Rates (Average page
views: 4.2, Average time 222.4 seconds)
(t12)
Success: 63%
Fail: 13%
Abandon: 25%
Ease of Locating Rating (q13)
Very easy:
17.6%
Easy: 11.8%
Neither easy or
difficult: 29.4%
Difficult:
23.5%
Very difficult:
17.6%
Locate Class Registration
Task/Scenario: "You are a UMD student and need to register for classes. Locate the 'Register for Classes link."
Task Success, Failure, and Abandon Rates (Average page
views: 3.3, Average time 128.7 seconds)
(t15)
Success: 63%
Fail: 31%
Abandon: 6%
Ease of Locating Rating (q16)
Very easy:
47.1
Easy: 17.6%
Neither easy or
difficult: 5.9%
Difficult: 17.6%
Very difficult:
11.8%
Locate Department Site
Task/Scenario: "You are interested in a career in social work. You have heard that the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) has a good program and wish to check it out. Locate UMD's Department of Social Work."
Task Success, Failure, and Abandon Rates (Average page
views: 5.4, Average time 386.3 seconds) (t6)
Success: 75%
Fail: 13%
Abandon: 13%
Ease of Locating Rating (q7)
Very easy: 5.9%
Easy: 29.4%
Neither easy or
difficult: 17.6%
Difficult: 23.5%
Very difficult:
23.5%
Locate Cost of Attendance
Task/Scenario: "What would it cost to attend the University of Minnesota Duluth? Find a listing of cost information for the 2013-2014 academic year for an undergraduate."
Task Success, Failure, and Abandon Rates (Average page
views: 4.6, Average time 360.2 seconds) (t9)
Success: 81%
Fail: 19%
Ease of Locating Rating (q10)
Very easy:
17.6%
Easy: 35.3%
Neither easy or
difficult: 5.9%
Difficult: 23.5%
Very difficult:
17.6%
Locate Email Login
Task/Scenario: "You need to check your email. Locate where you would login to UMD Gmail."
Task Success, Failure, and Abandon Rates (Average page
views: 3.4, Average time 130.3 seconds) (t24)
Success: 81%
Fail: 19%
Ease of Locating Rating (q25)
Very easy:
47.1%
Easy: 17.6%
Neither easy or
difficult: 11.8%
Difficult: 11.8%
Very difficult:
11.8%
Find Campus Events for November 22
Task/Scenario: "Friends will be visiting you on Friday, November 22. Find out what events are happening that day on the UMD Campus."
Task Success, Failure, and Abandon Rates (Average page
views: 4.3, Average time 219.3 seconds) (t21)
Success: 81%
Fail: 13%
Abandon: 6%
Ease of Locating Rating (q22)
Very easy:
29.4%
Easy: 23.5%
Neither easy or
difficult: 11.8%
Difficult: 11.8%
Very difficult:
23.5%
Satisfaction Ratings
Upon completing all of the tasks, participants answered likert scale questions to rate how well phrases described the UMD home page.
The following are percentages of how participants answered each
question:
"For the items listed below, please indicate how well it
describes the UMD home page".
Easy to find information quickly
Well: 64.7%
Poorly: 11.8%
Very Poorly:
23.5%
(No one rated this item "Very Well")
Logically labeled links
Very Well:
17.6%
Well 41.2%
Poorly: 29.4%
Very Poorly:
11.8%
Clear and easy to read (text, headings, titles)
Very Well:
18.8%
Well 52.9%
Poorly: 11.8%
Very Poorly:
17.6%
Easy to understand and use screen elements (e.g., images, scrolling images,
carousels)
Well 47.1%
Poorly: 23.5%
Very Poorly:
29.4%
(No one rated this item "Very Well")
Appealing
Very Well: 5.9%
Well 58.8%
Poorly: 17.6%
Very Poorly:
17.6%
Perceptions of What is Especially Good
The following are participant responses to the question (q32):
"What did you find especially good about the UMD home page?"
Search was ok Participant 1
nothing especially good. It was a tolerable experience for
occasional keyboard use. If I was using it every day I'd get
tired of tabbing so much. Participant 2
It has links to many areas that a student needs, which will
make it easy to navigate to those areas. Participant
3
Search function was front and center and easy to use, found
the key areas that students use easy to find and use.
Participant 5
There were direct links to get to many of the most commonly
used things such as email (which i did not notice the link at
the top until one of the last tasks). There is a lot of
information from news to events to info for specific groups and
multiple ways to access the information. The colors would good
contrast and warm and inviting. Participant 7
I was able to use my screen reading software.
Participant 8
It didn't go on forever as some academic web site home pages
do. Participant 9
Lots of information and relatively easy to find where I
needed to go Participant 10
I found the UMD page to be user friendly for the most part,
and an attractive home page as well. Participant
11
I liked the fact that there was lots of information,
displayed accessibly. Participant 12
Fairly easy to find important info (program and admissions
info, events calendar, etc.) Participant 13
nothing would not load or function Participant
14
Nothing Participant 15
large letters that are easy to read Participant
16
Good alt text was provided on "most" images on the home
page. I am legally blind and appreciate that.
However, (and it is a big however) the exception was
"Explore UMD Campus" images. Both terse and long textual
alternatives are lacking on those images making them completely
inaccessible. I would have liked to have known what those
images are of and had long descriptions available too. If you
want people with vision impairments to be able to access your
site provide text alternatives. Participant 17
Perceptions of What is Frustrating
The following are participant responses to the question (q33):
"What did you find frustrating about the UMD home page?"
Too much information on a page ... easy to get lost, with no
back links. Too much information missed because you need to
scroll down. Nothing on top, over full on bottom.
Participant 1
focus visibility issues, many links so pages are dense to
navigate. Participant 2
There aren't enough links that are specific to the areas a
student needs to get to. There needs to be more direct links.
Participant 3
It doesn't flow very well. There is a lot of extraneous
information. Participant 4
I found the site to be very cluttered and busy and not
organized in an easy setting. Too many graphics were hindering
my navigation. Participant 5
The admissions images section (under "find the crue you want
to join") felt clunky. Perhaps a separate frame for those or an
polite ARIA region? Participant 6
Having to scroll down to see everything on the home page was
frustrating. While there was a wealth of information available
on the home page, it was also a bit overwhelming. Information
organized going down as opposed to across was a bit frustrating
as it took a while to realize that there was so much on the
home page. Participant 7
Its redundancy. Participant 8
It wasn't always clear what general topic would give the
more specific information being sought, e.g. costs to
enroll/attend. Participant 9
I wish there were more headings separating out the different
sections of the webpage. Participant 10
I was unable to find some of the tasks information and the
home page seemed a little "busy" Participant
11
I've been out of college for too long. It wasn't obvious
where to look for some information. Participant
12
Events calendar could be simpler; unable to find info on
blood memoirs despite its prominence on the home page, search
box not very useful Participant 13
site would not work kept saying "loading please wait" but no
matter how long i waited it never loaded Participant
14
Busy background images interfere with the legibility of text
and make it nearly impossible to read. Parts of your home page
are inaccessible to a person with low vision like me.
Remove the busy backgrounds. I would make the text stand out
to be readable for someone who is already having trouble with
their vision by using good contrast on *plain* backgrounds.
Design for readability. If you want your content to be
accessible, it must be readable. It currently is not.
Participant 15
lack of visual feedback to show which region is in focus,
and link descriptions that do not reveal the underlying content
Participant 16
No search function. I think that would have been more
successful in fulfilling tasks in this study if I could have
searched.
Like I mentioned, no text alternatives for "Explore UMD
Campus" images is very frustrating. It is segregating. Both
terse and long textual alternatives are lacking on those images
making them completely inaccessible. I would have liked to have
known what those images are of and had long descriptions
available too.
If you want people with vision impairments to be able to
access your site provide text alternatives. If you provide an
accessible search function and text alternatives for all images
it would be a big improvement. Participant 17
Participant Suggestions for Change
The following are responses to the question (q34):
"If you could make one significant change to the UMD home page,
what change would it be?"
Have more information up top ... less of a sell.
Participant 1
focus visibility improvements Participant 2
I would create additional links to things like financial
information and class offerings. Participant 3
Keep it simple. Participant 4
Add a text button to convert it into a text format in order
to navigate it more easily. Participant 5
In the "resources" section, you don't need separate image
and text links for each item. Participant 6
Change it so that scrolling is not required to see all the
information. Participant 7
I would group the links better and not have so much on one
page. Participant 8
Make best use of webpage headings. Participant
9
Adding headings to other significant parts of the page
Participant 10
Make it a little less "busy" looking Participant
11
On the calendar, I'd list the days of the month in a
drop-down. That way, locating a specific date would require one
step, not two. Participant 12
Ensure organization by headings is consistent throughout the
site. Participant 13
make it usable with text based browsers and text to audio
output Participant 14
Simplify. The page is too long requiring excessive and
exhausting scrolling. It is very tedious.
Don't confuse users, but present us with what matters most.
Don't distract us with unnecessary clutter and marketing fluff.
Rather help people focus on getting real business done. What
people need to get to (core content) is buried.
Participant 15
add focus state to CSS to match hover!!!! Participant
16
Provide an accessible search function and text alternatives
for all images. Participant 17
Other Comments (q35)
This website is very inviting and I wish I were younger so I
could attend! Participant 3
Perhaps highlight the section you are in on the menu to the
left once you've entered a page and list the different options
from within that in the menu. Navigation on the side seems
easier than at the very bottom of the page, especially if
scrolling is needed to reach the bottom of the page.
Participant 7
Considering the info I did find, the school seems to be a
place I might like to take online classes; but, let's lose the
clutter. Participant 8
Instructions were not clear as to whether I should try to
follow links from the home page or just locate the most likely
home page link that would complete the task. Participant
9
Thank you for this opportunity! Participant
11
VERY VERY frustrating would most likely assure that I would
go to another university Participant 14
Have you ever heard of white space? It could really help
improve your design. White space is the perfect design element
to focus on what's most important. Participant
15
Some key content areas are not easy to find. Fees being one.
A separate link or at least clarity that it can be found under
admissions would be useful (e.g. a title on the Admissions link
could provide this additional information, and ps! If it was
there it didn't show up using the keyboard) Participant
16
The page has frivolous information in the most prominent
areas. Cut the needless embellishments: school philosophy,
marketing promotions, etc. or at least bury them at the bottom
of the page.
Turn the page upside down to make it useful. Provide
information that is currently at the bottom of the page on the
top instead.Participant 17
Findings and Recommendations
Summary and Consequences
Significant amount of tasks were: unsuccessfully completed (35%) and rated as being difficult to very difficult to find (42%). Upon completing all tasks, participants rated satisfaction as unfavorable to very unfavorable (39%).
Perceivability, operability, and usability problems exist, which if not resolved:
Is counter to supporting an Inclusive Campus Climate [UMD SP 2.1]. It is tantamount to intentionally depriving someone an experience to acquire knowledge, to complete a task, to do something online to improve their life. Picture yourself standing in front of that person in real life, looking them square in the eyes, then firmly and definitively saying, "you don't matter".
Leaves money on the table as return on investment for the home page is not maximized. i.e., 38% of participants could not find the admissions form to apply to UMD.
Perceivability
"Information and user interface components
must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This means that users must be able to perceive the
information being presented (it can't be invisible to
all of their senses)" [WCAG2]
1. Finding: No text alternatives are provided for "Explore UMD
Campus" images
Providing text alternatives is an accessibility requirement, as clearly stated in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.1.1: Non-text Content: All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose...(Level A).
As stated in HTML 5.1 use of the title attribute in place of an alt attribute is prohibited as user agents do not expose the attribute in an accessible manner.
The current values of the title attribute for "Explore UMD
Campus" images are not text equivalents.
One participant clearly described the situation, "Both terse and long textual alternatives are lacking on those images making them completely inaccessible. I would have liked to have known what those images are of and had long descriptions available too. If you want people with vision impairments to be able to access your site provide text alternatives...no text alternatives for "Explore UMD Campus" images is very frustrating. It is segregating. "
Recommendation: Add short and long text alternatives
2. Finding: Background images interfere with the legibility of
text
Usability.gov guideline 14:1 Use Simple Backgrounds states, "Use background images sparingly and make sure they are simple, especially if they are used behind text."
Research done by both Dr. Aries Arditi of the New York Lighthouse and Dr. Gordon Legge of the Minnesota Laboratory for Low Vision Research shows that text is much harder to read for everyone, but especially people with low vision, when placed over a background which has an image.
One participant explained the situation quite well, "Busy background images interfere with the legibility of text and makes it nearly impossible to read. Parts of your home page are inaccessible to a person with low vision like me.
Remove the busy backgrounds. I would make the text stand out to be readable for someone who is already having trouble with their vision by using good contrast on *plain* backgrounds.
Design for readability. If you want your content to be accessible, it must be readable. It currently is not."
If the background images are removed or redesigned to be more subtle, almost invisible, and lightly colored legibility would be improved.
Current background images are sunk costs. It's a mistake to consider past expenses in deciding what to do in the future. Sometimes it can be too easy to become preoccupied by the prior effort put into a project and lose sight of its relevance in the
greater scheme of things. The point is to be aware of the current situation and refocus to accomplish the goal.
If images absolutely must
be used for a background, consider lightening the
image, and reducing its contrast. Less variation in brightness means
that the text will be able to stand out over all parts of the image, not just selected
parts.
Recommendation: Mute or remove background
images
Operability
User interface components and navigation must
be operable. This means that users must be able to operate the
interface (the interface cannot require interaction
that a user cannot perform)" [WCAG2]
3. Finding: Keyboard focus
is not always visible
Visually indicating focus is a crucial step in ensuring access for sighted users who rely on their keyboard when interacting with the web. Users with mobility/dexterity disabilities often rely on keyboard accessibility, perhaps using assistive technologies (such as mouth sticks) that rely on the keyboard.
Unlike mouse users who point directly to UI elements, these users need a clear on-screen indication so they know where they are on a web page as they navigate with the keyboard from UI element to UI element. Otherwise, they have limited ability to follow links.
Defining focus to navigation elements is an accessibility requirement, as clearly stated in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines:
2.4.7 "Focus Visible: Any keyboard operable user interface has a mode of operation where the keyboard focus indicator is visible. (Level AA)."
Any {outline:none;} or {outline:0;} CSS rules need to be removed. Then style the outline so they are visible. Webkit browsers have a more prominent glow so it can be styled it to make it less obtrusive. Consider something such as a:active, a:focus {outline:thin dotted;} to normalize the look of the outline across browsers.
Recommendation: Adjust CSS rules to make focus visible
4. Finding: Focus state does not always match hover state
When focus does not match hover states, sighted keyboard users have inconsistent and unreliable visual cues, which results in difficulty navigating the page. If the the site changes visual focus with mouse hover, it also needs to change it similarly with keyboard focus.
Recommendation: Adjust CSS to consistently match focus and hover states
5. Finding: Search is hidden from some screen reader users
Currently the search form controls are "hidden"
using CSS display:none.
Technically display:none means do not
make the content available to the user. Some screen
readers like JAWS though often ignore this CSS property,
but other ATs use the OS accessibility API
that may not provide the labeling information.
Using CSS positioning off screen for the label element
for the search form controls. e.g. .offscreen
{position:absolute;
left:-10000px;
top:auto;
width:1px;
height:1px;
overflow:hidden;} will allow all screen readers access to search.
Recommendation: Adjust CSS rules to allow all screen reader users to search
6. Finding: The "resources" section has redundant image and text links
The "resources" section, has redundant image and text links for each item, which adds noise to the page for screen reader users.
Recommendation: Remove the redundant links
Usability
Usability is the extent to which the page can be used by specified
users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency
and satisfaction in a specified context of use. [ISO 9241]
7. Finding: Core content is difficult to very difficult to locate
Core content is difficult to very difficult for 42% of participants to locate. Typical participant comments:
Help people focus on getting real business done. What
people need to get to (core content) is buried.
Turn the page upside down to make it useful. Provide
information that is currently at the bottom of the page on the
top instead.
The page has frivolous information in the most prominent areas.
I would group the links better.
I looked for over five minutes but couldn't find it (link to the library)
As a keyboard only user (I am not able to use the mouse, but do not require AT), I scrolled through the page (page up/down), but could not see the Dept.
Some key content areas are not easy to find. Fees being one.
It wasn't obvious from the information or links
provided where one may find information about costs.
Typical participant suggestions for core content improvements:
Admissions
Have the admissions link more prominent on the page instead of buried in the footer.
A separate link or at least clarity of what can be found under admissions would be useful.
Class Registration
and Current Students
Why is (class registration) so low on the list? This should be given more importance.
A link on the home page for current students
would make it (Class Registration) easier (to find).
Have a link for 'Current students'
in order to try to register for classes. They do not have an
easily accessible link.
Financial Aid
Create additional links to things like financial information and class offerings
Events
I did not notice whether there was a link on the
home page to the events calendar but that might be useful.
Library
Put an easily perceivable direct link on the home page (for the library)
Make the (library) link more obvious.
A dedicated link would make this (library task) much easier.
Departments
I would put a link for Departments on the first page.
Add a "Departments" link to the home page.
Provide a direct link to departments.
One participant did not consider carousel content as being main content when the "skip to main content" landed him there.
A comic from xkcd illustrates how university home pages usually meet user needs. It displays a Venn diagram with two overlapping circles: The first circle shows "the things on the front page of a university website". The other circle shows "Things people go to the site looking for." The university "front page"circle has items such as: virtual tour, campus photo slide show, alumni in the news and a letter from the president. The what "people go the site looking for" circle has: application forms, academic calendar, department/course lists, etc.
Recommendation: Re-prioritize page content. Provide core information in the main division <div id="main"> (instead of the footer), while still providing access to marketing information in a way that makes sense. Add obvious links for key content i.e., departments, financial aid, fees, library, and class offerings.
8. Finding: Page is "cluttered", "crowded", "confusing", and "overwhelming"
Usability.gov guideline 6.1 Avoid Cluttered Displays states, "Create pages that are not considered cluttered by users...Clutter is when excess items on a page lead to a degradation of performance when trying to find certain information. Studies have shown that users can find what they are looking for more quickly in a sparse and uncluttered display than in a dense display. On an uncluttered display, all important search targets are highly salient, i.e., clearly available."
Participants considered the page "cluttered", "crowded", "confusing", and "overwhelming" as documented in the words most frequently used to used to describe the page. This negatively effected people completing tasks. Typical participants comments:
Too much information on a page ... easy to get lost.
Don't distract us with unnecessary clutter and marketing fluff.
I found the site to be very cluttered and busy and not organized in an easy setting.
Keep it simple.
Let's lose the clutter.
Make it a little less "busy" looking
It doesn't flow very well. There is a lot of extraneous information.
Reducing some of the information that is on the
home page that is on all the pages would be helpful.
I would...not have so much on one page.
Too many graphics were hindering my navigation.
Have..less of a sell
Cut the needless embellishments: school philosophy, marketing promotions, etc. or at least bury them at the bottom of the page.
Have more information up top.
Have you ever heard of white space? It could really help improve your design. White space is the perfect design element to focus on what's most important.
Recommendation: Simplify the page, remove excessive items, and add white space
9. Finding: Excessive amount of scrolling is problematic
As Jakob Nielsen pointed out in Scrolling and Attention: "Long pages continue to be problematic because of users' limited attention span. People prefer sites that get to the point and let them get things done quickly. Besides the basic reluctance to read more words, scrolling is extra work. "
Typical participant comments include:
The page is too long requiring excessive and
exhausting scrolling. It is very tedious.
Having to scroll down to see everything on the home page was frustrating.
Scrolling down is necessary to see all the
info on the home page. Having everything fit so scrolling is not
necessary would be helpful.
Change it so that scrolling is not required to see all the information.
The extra work in scrolling that Nielsen writes about is compounded for people with disabilities. They face some unique
challenges and barriers and an extremely long page negatively effects time on task, successful outcomes, and satisfaction levels.
Users usually have a specific task in mind and will focus their attention on anything that appears relevant. If a user sees a promising menu or link they will follow it without digesting the contents of the entire page they are about to leave. For this reason users may not scroll to see the information that we might want them to see.
Recommendation: Shorten the page to reduce the amount of
scrolling
10. Finding: The page loads slowly
The wait for the page to load Is frustrating for
participants to the extent that one said he or she would "most likely
attend another university" due to this factor.
In Site Speed and Usability, Toby Biddle wrote, "usability tests have shown that the maximum number of seconds a user is willing to wait, on average, before abandoning a web page, is 8.6".
In Website Response Times Jakob Nielsen wrote, A 10-second delay will often make users leave a site immediately. And even if they stay, it's harder for them to understand what's going on, making it less likely that they'll succeed in any difficult tasks. Even a few seconds' delay is enough to create an unpleasant user experience. Users are no longer in control, and they're consciously annoyed by having to wait for the computer. Thus, with repeated short delays, users will give up unless they're extremely committed to completing the task. The result? You can easily lose half your sales (to those less-committed customers) simply because your site is a few seconds too slow for each page."
In Most Important Web Usability Issues Jennifer Kyrnin wrote, "If a search engine has a choice of ranking two pages for the same topic, the faster page will get the higher ranking, even if that speed difference is only a matter of milliseconds."
Implementing previous recommendations ( #8 simplifying and #9 shortening) may very well solve this issue.
Recommendation: Reduce load time
Appendices
Definitions
Accessible
A person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally and independently as a person without a disability. Although this might not result in identical ease of use compared to that of persons without disabilities, it still must ensure equal opportunity to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by the technology and equal treatment in the use of such technology. - [The Department of Justice
and the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, Source - Resolution Agreement South Carolina Technical College System OCR Compliance Review No. 11-11-600.]
Effectiveness
The accuracy and completeness with which users achieve
specified goals. - [ISO 9241]
Efficiency
The resources expended in relation to the accuracy and
completeness with which users achieve goals. - [ISO 9241]
Perceivable
Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented (it can't be invisible to all of their senses). - [WCAG2]
Operable
User interface components and navigation must be operable. This means that users must be able to operate the interface (the interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform). - [WCAG2]
Satisfaction
Freedom from discomfort, and positive attitudes towards the
use of the product. - [ISO 9241]
Usability
The extent to which a product can be used by specified
users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency
and satisfaction in a specified context of use. - [ISO 9241]
