Experience Planner

In a recent post, James Kalbach says that people notice more on your website when browsing than searching.  In fact, a study showed that people visited 10 times as many non-targeted content pages when browsing.  62% of users who used category links continued looking after they found targeted content as opposed to 20% who continued looking after using search. 

Another study found that test subjects who were asked to explore a site as they wished performed better on recognition and recall tests than subjects who were asked to search for specific information. 

James says:

“People prefer information that involves sequence. They like to browse. Navigation provides a narrative for the people to follow on the Web. It tells a story–the story of your site. In this respect, there is something both familiar and comforting about web navigation. The widespread, seemingly natural use of navigation to access content on the Web reflects its strength as a narrative device.”

Since joining Bridge, I’m feeling like a senior citizen.  So I’ve found quite a few interesting and relevant resources about accessibility and the senior population.

 Often when we talk about accessible websites, we think about screen readers, alt tags and resizable text.  Vision impairment is definitely an issue for seniors, but there are a lot of cognitive and behavioral differences to consider as well.

 Fidelity Investments did studies on designing websites for people over 50, and AARP.org gives a good summary of the Eight Lessons Learned.  Many of the findings do not pertain to vision or motor impairment.  Seniors read, process and interact differently than younger users, have lower levels of confidence and understanding, and higher levels of anxiety when it comes to using the web. The amount of content per page, clarity of content and terminology, and consistent placement of navigation are all important to consider. 

 Lots of links about designing for older users

http://www.aarp.org/olderwiserwired/

 Here’s a checklist:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/staffpubs/od/ocpl/agingchecklist.html

The Greater Good

In an interview with AARP, Ben Shneiderman talks about “Creating Participation”.  This is what he says:

 “…I think the highest goal of web design for older people should be not only to serve the elders, but to benefit from them. It’s the contributions that they can make to our society by their participation –that is the real pay off.

We’re going to benefit their lives by the social communication, by the challenges we give them, by the educational experiences, by the information for their own lives, by their capacity to do banking, or make travel arrangements, and send photos, and receive photos from grandchildren, and so we’ll benefit seniors.

But we’ll also benefit everyone else who will gain from their experience and their wisdom. Increasing the participation of older users in society is the opportunity that attracts me.”