Key Words in the Evaluation of Web Sites: Visual Criteria and Usability.

Web site design is one arena that provides an ideal environment for the examination of form and function. Visual communication principles strive for the coexistence and collaboration of form and function within a work. The focus of this paper is to examine the perceived usability of Web sites, a key issue related to form and function. Participants viewed nine Web sites representing three vacation locales. Each locale had three versions of a Web site associated with it, each varying in degree of usability. Findings indicated that users didn't always distinguish between visual and content criteria. In terms of visual representations, users most often mentioned colors and graphics (including photos) as elements that draw them to a Web site and encourage use. Furthermore, there was inconsistency with regard to usability. Participants rated the Web sites considered lowest in usability (based on expert ranking utilizing usability literature) as the most usable sites. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]