Evaluating the usability of nine Jordanian university websites

Abstract

This research evaluated the usability of educational websites. In particular, it focused on nine Jordanian university websites. Evaluation criteria for assessing the usability of educational websites were developed; these consisted of five categories: navigation, architecture / organisation, ease of use and communication, design and content. Then 237 students were asked to provide ratings for nine Jordanian university websites using the developed usability criteria and their categories. Students were also asked to report qualitatively what they liked and disliked regarding the design of the tested websites. The results provided detailed information for each tested website regarding their conformance with the developed usability criteria. The results showed that the majority of the students were satisfied with the usability of the Jordanian university websites. Specifically, the results showed that the students were satisfied with the content and navigation (ease of use) issues of the tested websites, but were dissatisfied with the design of the websites. Common and unique strengths and weaknesses related to design issues of the investigated websites were identified based on the quantitative results and the qualitative data obtained from the open-ended questions.