Blog #1: Chap.2

We find ourselves in a world where the average person’s attention span is fairly short. Everything is designed to give the greatest amount of information in the shortest amount of time (or give you the least amount of information and still excite the viewer, like an action film trailer). This is the point of Nielson and Loranger in the second chapter of Prioritizing Web Usability. It’s important, as a web designer, to understand that the average person spends very little time on a web page, especially when visiting it for the first time, and only scans the page for the information they need.

I was a little surprised to read that the average web user, at least determined through Nielson/Loranger’s study, spends roughly only thirty seconds on a web page. When I thought about it, considering how much time I spend on a web page, I realized how much the calculation makes sense. When visiting a site for the first time, I spend little time to scan the page for the information that I am looking for. If I can’t find the information easily and quickly, then I move on to another site. I’ve never timed myself, but I’m sure it would be under a minute. If I find the site through a search engine or what Nielson/Loranger have called a deep-link, I am likely to spend more time on the web page because I believe the information that I’m seeking truly is on that page.

When designing a web page, it’s important to keep in mind that a page has very little time to do its job. If it’s inundated with irrelevant junk and is complicated to navigate, then the page will likely fail. Like a book cover, the homepage serves to attract the web user’s attention and quickly answer the questions who, what, and how. The homepage needs to confirm the user that they are in the right place and entice them to look further into the site’s interior pages, where more goodies reside.

Another theme that I thought was important that Nielson and Loranger briefly touched upon was the importance of getting third party sites and search engines to link directly to specific issues (pg 29). This idea is important because the Internet is a vast and endless network. By having third party sites link directly to a specific web page, new visitors will constantly be generated. Also, a site can establish itself as a good source by linking to other useful sites, possibly increasing the number of repeat customers.

Websites need to cater to the thirty second attention span, so it is worthwhile to invest in ways to direct a user to the specific information they are looking for. A strong website can answer a user’s question and also keep their interest to explore further into the site or establish a relationship for a repeat visit. This can all be accomplished through accessibility and easy usability.