But is it useful? Website usability testing of the UH STEM Website

Online technology has advanced so far in such a short period of time. Now, more than ever, we are active participants in the online and mobile world; television shows ask us to vote with our smartphones, we can bank, pay bills, get turn by turn navigation, sign documents, participate in meetings and control our home security with the touch of a button. Having an online presence is the lifeline of an institution. It is therefore imperative that an institution’s website be easy to use, provide reliable information and be aesthetically pleasing to the user.

The purpose of this usability study was to analyze, develop and evaluate the content, navigation and user satisfaction of the Office of STEM Education (http://www.hawaii.edu/stem) to improve its efficiency for faculty and students at the University of Hawai‘i. Based on feedback from the rapid prototyping and the usability study, results showed that participants favored designs that were simple, incorporated easy to read graphics over heavy text, used one color scheme throughout all pages rather than multiple themes, and easily accessible menus. The changes made to the website represent the feedback from these usability tests and were implemented to improve the overall design and navigability of the website.