Design and Navigation: A Survey of Australian University Homepages

Karey Patterson, School of Social and Workplace Development, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia, 2480. Email: kpatte10@scu.edu.au

Allan Ellis,School of Social and Workplace Development, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia, 2480. Email:aellis@scu.edu.au

Abstract

Australian universities were among the first developers of networked technologies and have historically resourced and supported use of networked distributed information systems such as the Internet and World Wide Web (Patterson, Ellis and Brice, 2000). They were active in attempting to exploit the marketing and course delivery applications made possible since the mass uptake in usage that occurred in the mid 1990’s.

With a large amount of information to convey and an increasingly competitive educational marketplace, for on campus as well as distance education and online educational markets, the importance of good Web design and navigation of a universities Web site cannot and should not be underestimated. Much of the hype surrounding educational Web sites and the possibilities or promise of this new technology has to do with potential access to new markets.

Australian university Web sites (N=42) were rated on 16 characteristics that aimed to provide a comprehensive picture of their navigational structure and their use of various Web technologies and design approaches. An analysis of the survey results illustrates a diversity of design approaches and Web navigation structures are being used and these provide a measure of the quality of sites being built by educational developers. Individual sites provide useful ideas, and approaches for anyone studying Web-based communication.

The majority of Australian University homepages lack basic site characteristics such as a privacy statement particularly in relation to the use of cookies and help pages, and consistency of navigation. These deficiencies impede the ability of a user to find information, navigate throughout the site easily and gain a consistent impression of the implied status of the site. In addition to this 78% of the sites that used cookies did not have a privacy statement that they could offer to users as an assurance that any user data collected would be kept confidential. Use and display of international phone contacts and information in language(s) other than English has been to a large degree ignored in spite of the fact that, in recent years, due to funding cutbacks, foreign student enrollments have been seen as a priority for many universities.

Introduction

During its initial development, the Internet was nurtured within military, research and university environments [HREF 1]. It wasn’t until the public at large were given access to it, some twenty-five years after it was developed that mass public domain usage became widespread. In addition in the last decade the growth in sales, marketing and e-commerce usage of the Internet has added to the existing academic, military and research uses.

Institutions that are regarded as universities in Australia are of three types: Publicly funded Universities [HREF 2] (n=36), private Universities (n=2) [HREF 2] and (n=3) special purpose degree granting organisations including Maritime College [HREF 3], Australian Film, Television and Radio School [HREF 4] and the Australian Defence Force Academy [HREF 5], which have university status granted by special Acts of Parliament. These institutions (N=42) make up the complete population of Australian universities and as such were all studied for the research undertaken and described in this paper.

With a population of around 20 million these 42 universities give Australians significant levels of choice when it comes to picking the institution that best suits their learning needs. With Australia’s proximity to Asia and its increased push to be regarded as part of the Asia Pacific region, these universities are also a potentially attractive choice for Asian students [HREF 6]. The need for universities to provide useful, timely and accessible information on their services and programs via their Web sites cannot be underestimated. How well this is achieved is determined to a great deal by the layout, design and navigational technologies used to direct users to pages useful to the user available on the Web site (Nielson, 2000). Universities are advised to plan out the information structure and architecture of their Web sites so as to best maximise the likelihood that users will find what they are looking for quickly and with ease (Nielson, 2000).

Prior to the mass adoption of the Web, beginning in the mid 1990’s, the primary method of access to information on university offerings was to read paper brochures and handbooks or for students to travel to the physical location of the University, before making a decision regarding enrolment. Some Universities expanded their reach and audience by mounting traveling road shows, course information sessions and exhibitions. Indeed specifically targeted advertising materials and information are now an integral part of many Universities promotional activities. However since the growth in widespread Internet access and Web usage, potential students are now much more likely to gather the information quickly from the University’s Web site (Patterson, Ellis and Brice, 2000). Growth in worldwide usage of Web technologies has opened up new opportunities for local, national and international marketing. In addition to using the Web for promotion and information distribution, Universities have been implementing large-scale course development programs to take advantage of the opportunities that this technology provides for online learning as an alternative to traditional paper-based distance education. In deciding to undertake online study the corporate image of the University, as portrayed by its Web site, is likely to be one of the deciding factors influencing the potential student.

Approach and Methodology

The data from the 42 university Web sites was collected over the period early October 2001 to early November 2001. It is interesting to note that during the data collection phase, two of the Web sites studied changed their design quite significantly. The more recent designs being used in this study.

For the purposes of this research a University “Homepage” is the first page loaded when the complete URI has been inserted into a browser location bar.

Assessment of the characteristics of the Web sites in the population included a checklist of 16 basic features. The first 13 were scored as either being "present" or "not present" and the final 3 rated on specific characteristics.

Assessment of characteristics 14, and 16 involved following links from the homepage of the studied Web sites into the lower levels. This was primarily to determine whether or not the navigation and Web site design displayed on the homepage was consistent at lower levels. Up to one hour per University was spent gathering data from each Web site.

Results

Ratings on general Web site characteristics are summarised in Figure 1. Overall the results show less attention to detail than expected. Many of the expected key characteristics were not available on many of the sites studied. For example less than a third of the studied Web sites had a copyright statement, alumni information, disclaimer, contact for staff and privacy statements. Foreign language content rated on only one of the sites studied (or 2% of the population) which was surprising with increased University interest in gaining international students (O’Reilly and Patterson, 1998) there was very little evidence that the Web sites are being used to inform or recruit students from non English speaking backgrounds. Adding to this finding is the fact that only 29% of the sites had international phone numbers available for overseas enquiries. The fact that 46% of sites provided login and intranet capability shows that this is a priority and can be interpreted as indicating an increased attention to privacy and security issues.

* Almost every site had this data – though 7% of the sites studies did not display this element clearly from the homepage

** Only one site had a foreign language component on the homepage (http://www.curtin.edu.au)

Ratings on Web-based navigation technologies used, in particular those that indicate that a Web site is attempting to deliver multimedia content, are summarised in Figure 2. These indicate that apart from the use of JavaScript and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) very few Web sites are exploiting the latest tools and technologies. This overall response pattern can be seen to have a positive side, by accident or intent, in that the implementation of these technologies can often create usability issues and can prevent users who don’t have software capable of accessing data (Nielson, 2000; Spool et al, 1999). The low penetration and use of Flash media [HREF 7] was surprising when you consider that the ability to run Flash files has been a standard feature of most browsers for some years. Overall the results indicate that use of the homepage of the Website for multimedia content delivery is not occurring, most sites use only one or two of the more passive (JavaScript and CSS) technologies. Only a few sites make extensive and varied use of the available Web technologies but with mixed results.

Figure 3 shows the Web sites grouped by number of links on the homepage. None of the Web sites studied had 10 or less links, 24% had more than 41 and one University had 78 links, which could be regarded as information overload (Nielson, 2000). Figure 4 illustrates the level of Web site navigation consistency amongst the population studied. Most of the Web sites (81%) studied were either “Very Consistent” or “Somewhat Consistent” in navigation and design.

Figure 2. Summary of Web navigation technology features (Characteristic 14).

Links	Present
0-10 Links	0%
10-20 Links	31%
21-30 Links	29%
31-40 Links	16%
41+ Links	24%

Figure 3. Sites grouped by number of links (Characteristic 15).

Figure 4. Sites grouped by consistency of navigation and design (Characteristic 16).

The majority of Web sites in the study required version 4 browsers, Netscape/Mozilla 4+, Internet Explorer 4+, both of which have been available since 1998/99, to view the Web sites correctly. None of the studied Web sites had a minimum browser requirement statement on their homepages. Use of Flash and DHTML was confined to a mere 10%, or less, 2% in the case of Flash, of sites. JavaScript and CSS were the two technologies most used in the studied sites and were implemented extensively throughout lower levels of most sites as well as on the homepage.

Discussion

Interestingly 10% of the Web sites studied used no additional media or technology and relied upon standard use of HTML for display on the homepage pages of their sites. This would certainly increase the potential viewing audiences of those sites and as such is closer to an ideal of accessible design (Nielson, 2000).

Older and now less popular technologies such as Frames and Animated GIFs were rarely used with 10% and 4% of Web sites using these technologies respectively.

While the scope of this study did not include a comprehensive assessment of the compliance of the studied sites with accessibility standards and Meta data it was noted that only few of the sites used ALT tags in homepage HTML code. Additionally some sites used Meta information [HREF 8] consistently and conformed to Dublin Core [HREF 9] standards while others neglected Meta information altogether.

The number of links on the homepage of a site was related positively to the ease of use and consistency of the sites design.

Preliminary Statistical Analysis

Part of the attempted Web Site categorization process led the researchers to conduct preliminary correlation testing (factor analysis) in order to determine which factors affected the formation of the six (6) clusters. The preliminary results show that there is a strong relationship between the presence of “disclaimer information”, “copyright statements” and “help pages”. The policy related to the display of legal information such as copyright and disclaimer details is related to a possible concern for legally sound and valid information provision on the Web Site . Another interesting feature appearing in the factor analysis is the presence of a factor showing a very strong relationship between the provision of “alumni information”, “privacy statements” and the presence of “contact details for staff” on the Web Site. It is hoped that further analysis will help understand and explain these complex relationships.

Example Sites

An older looking (images and style don’t reflect professionally designed graphics). Web site with a homepage that uses CSS and JavaScript. Throughout the Web site the design differed (for example, the intranet has a much more modern and professional style that is significantly different in terms of colours, logo and navigation) from the homepage style. The Help pages were a feedback form to site administrators with no instructions on site use. This site used cookies but had no assurance of privacy to users. There were 21 links on homepage (Characteristic 15).

This Web site had rollover navigation where the graphic state changed when a user’s mouse moved above a navigational element. What was confusing to users was the fact that the link colours used are not used consistently. They actually change and reverse from blue to red. This could be confusing to users as some graphics have the visited link colour as their unvisited colour and vice versa. Deeper into the Web site (second level and lower) text links, in various font sizes, and image maps that were inconsistent with the homepage rollovers, were used for navigation. There were 21 links on homepage (Characteristic 15).

Student information for potential International students and Australian students were displayed in different ways the international students area is an obviously well targeted and resourced element of the Web site. The navigational options were quite varied from drop down menus, rollover graphics and straight text links. No copyright, disclaimer or privacy information was displayed on the Web site. 30 links on homepage (Characteristic 15).

A very bold and modern design is backed up with consistent layout and use of navigational mechanisms. There was a very comprehensive Web site help area with FAQs and useful information for new users. Intranet and Alumni areas are very prominent on the homepage. The design and navigational elements used on the homepage of the Web site were consistently used throughout the lower levels. 49 links on homepage (Characteristic 15).

This Web site has a very striking modern design that can randomly change if a user clicked the Deakin University logo in the center of the displayed homepage. This could be confusing to users as the logo was a link that reloaded the page. Often without any discernable change and seemed to serve little navigational purpose. Though screen space was sparsely used the bold design and background seemed to overshadow the navigational elements that were a best quite general. This Web site used cookies but had neither a privacy statement nor disclaimer. 11 links on homepage (Characteristic 15).

This Web site had a very consistent use of design and navigation that was used on lower level pages. The design was very supportive in reinforcing and promoting the corporate image of the University. It helped let a user know that they are most definitely at Flinders University. There was a text only version of the Web site and a very clear “Start here” navigational system. 18 links used on homepage (Characteristic 15).

James Cook University Web site made extensive use of Meta tag information and relied upon a minimal use of technology (one animated GIF) on the homepage. This Web site was loaded in a browser very quickly and relied upon image maps rather than rollovers for navigation. Whilst some of the Web site features such as Intranets for staff and students were not present there were prominent links to Research Information and Alumni. Text links were also courteously provided. Generally this Web site was a good example of technology used to support users. 18 links used on homepage (Characteristic 15).

This Web site appears as if it evolved from an earlier prototype as elements (fonts, navigation, layout) were not consistently used. Several different font types and sizes were used on the homepage (Preformatted text, Times and Verdana) as well as other visual distractions such as four hyper-linked logos/icons set in the middle of the page without explanation. There were text links, image maps and drop down menus used for navigation all of which seemed to sit independently of the others rather than complimentary. Second and third levels of the Web site have different look and logo to homepage. The homepage states that the site was created in 1994 and it looks like it has evolved slowly to its present state without much planning. This site is definitely a case of opportunity lost several of the characteristics examined in the survey were hard to locate. 53 links on homepage (Characteristic 15).

The only site that had a homepage that worked as an index page that offered 3 alternative methods of navigating the greater site. The three display options were different to each other and the second level navigation used which may impede users ability to navigate the site. When a user initially arrives at the homepage they are presented with three options for viewing the site; A Flash version, a graphics based version (visually similar to the Flash version though functionally different) and a text only version. All of these options, when followed, differed visually from the homepage that presented the options in the first place. The site had been the only one in the survey that used Flash technology, and suffered poor usability by not using consistent layout and navigation that were used elsewhere on the site. Giving users three navigational options presented some difficulties in maintaining site consistency and identifiable corporate image as the display and navigation of each option was different to both the homepage and to lower levels of the Web site. The Flash navigation option was only one level deep and as such the aural and visual feedback ques presented to a user were not maintained if the user followed any link away from the Flash homepage. The Flash page was slow to load and had to reload again when a user followed a link and hit the back button. Lower levels of the site deviated from the higher-level designs in colour as well as link and logo usage. Apart from this fairly major impediment to navigation the site had good features and included international phone access and highly developed and functional Intranet areas. As there were 3 “homepages” the link breakdown for each page were as follows: 6 links on initial index homepage, 45 links on Flash option, 40 links on text page option, 40 links on HTML page option.

References

O'Reilly, M., & Patterson, K., 1998 Assessing learners through the WWW, Computer Networks and ISDN Systems, 30, pp 727-729, Washington.

Patterson, K., Ellis, A. & Brice,D. (2000) Client Versus Browser: A Case Study from Southern Cross University, in M. Wallace, A. Ellis & D.Newton (eds) Proceedings of the Moving Online Conference, pp190-202, Southern Cross University Press:Lismore ISBN 86384 466 X

Spool, J., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Snyder, C. & De Angelo, T., 1999, Web Site Usability: A Designers Guide., Morgan Kaufman Publishers., San Francisco CA.

Parameter Number	Characteristic	Present
1	Course information*	100%
2	Search Function	90%
3	Research information	90%
4	Copyright statements	63%
5	Contact for staff	59%
6	Alumni information	56%
7	Disclaimer	51%
8	Intranet or logon	46%
9	International phone number	29%
10	Cookies	22%
11	Privacy Statements	19%
12	Help pages	17%
13	Foreign language version**	2%

Category	Present
Very consistent	33%
Somewhat consistent	48%
Not consistent	19%

Technology	Present
JavaScript	86%
Cascading Style Sheets	57%
Frames	17%
Standard HTML (3, 3.2 or 4)	10%
Dynamic HTML	10%
Animated Gifs	5%
Flash	2%

Design and Navigation: A Survey of Australian University Homepages

Abstract

Introduction

Approach and Methodology

Results

Present

Present

0%

Present

Discussion

Preliminary Statistical Analysis

Example Sites

References

Hypertext References

Copyright