Mastery Reflection Assignment: Web Design and Usability Class
My goal for the Web Design and Usability Class was to learn all aspects of Web designing, Web standards, Web interface, and Web usability.
With this class I learned how to analyze a business homepage and dissect the strengths and weaknesses and how to make improvements for a more effective website. I also learned how to create a usability test and observe how visitors navigate the website to validate if the website is used as intended. I learned how to devise strategies on correcting usability issues.
I also learned how critical is “findability” and the importance on search engine optimization. I learned how to analyze a business website to verify if crucial information on the website is easy to find by visitors. If a visitor is unable to locate important links, it can cause a loss of a potential customer.
The lessons learned from this class will help me take my business website to a higher level. I will generate usability tests as well as analyze any “findability” or SEO issues and create a strategy to correct any findings.
According to Steve Krug, in his book, Don’t Make Me Think, a website should be designed with the visitor in mind. Krug states that the majority of visitors usually scan through pages and not really read the pages.
Just as Krug states that we must test our web pages, in Ned Snell’s book, Teach Yourself to Create Web Pages, testing is a very crucial component. That said, I will put in practice testing our website for usability, “findability”, and how effective is our SEO. Credibility and trust is important to gain from our consumer. (P.B.Lowry, D.Wilson, W.Haig, 2014)
Robert Greene in his book, Mastery, states that one of the strategies to obtaining mastery is to widen your vision. With this class my vision is widened and I will continue in my pursuit towards achieving mastery.
Greene, Robert. Mastery. Penguin Books, 11/2012. VitalBook file.
Lowry, P. B., Wilson, D. W., & Haig, W. L. (2014). A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Source Credibility Theory Applied to Logo and Website Design for Heightened Credibility and Consumer Trust. International Journal Of Human-Computer Interaction, 30(1), 63-93.
N. Snell. (1999). Teach yourself to create web pages. [Sams Publishing]
S. Krug. (2014). Don’t make me think. [New Riders]