Introduction
The technical society we live in is in a constant state of advancement and we are continually introduced to new innovative ways of mediating information through. Today, plenty of media channels exist, for organizations to use when they strive to reach larger groups of people, but to achieve web site success; researchers have stated that considerations of user preferences implemented in web design are crucial. This makes understanding and addressing which characteristics will be valued from the moment a user enters a site something that is considered helpful to the web designer in order to maintain user traffic and create an interest. In other words, something to catch the user’s attention to create a good first impression is necessary.
The constant state of advancement of technology prevailing today has resulted in even more complex websites and a countless number of design principles to apply when designing for the web. In spite of this, usability and visual appeal have remained central in prior research. To test these theories, a study was conducted by using a qualitative method in form of an experiment consisting of eye tracking and an open-ended questionnaire. To perform the eye tracking the researchers created two mock-ups representing the main page of two different websites. Each mock-up was developed with considerations towards two different design approaches, one striving to achieve visual appeal and the other towards usability, to determine which one the participants preferred.
Eye Tracking Method
To perform the eye tracking the researchers created two mock-ups representing the main page of two different websites. Each mock-up was developed with considerations towards two different design approaches, one striving to achieve visual appeal and the other towards usability, to determine which one the participants preferred.
The study contained 50 participants who performed the eye tracking experiment and answered the questionnaire. Results from the eye tracking were presented in gaze plots and heat maps and the result from the questionnaire was presented and analyzed through coding by the researchers.
Result/Conclusion
Final findings showed that the website preferred by most participants were the one developed with the usable design approach. Additionally, the discussion presented the findings and
reaches a conclusion of the study which finds connections between the chosen design approach of the webpage and the participant’s choice of preferred webpage.
