Author: Phoebe Simon
How can you find out whether your website is easy or difficult to navigate? Usability testing is one tool you can use to explore this question. The Digital Services team tested the navigational intuitiveness and content on the Department of Revenue's (DOR) public website. We share this experience here so that you can understand how this tool can help you improve your website.
Challenge
The Department of Revenue wanted to understand where site visitors were having difficulty on their site. There are many tasks they want tax-payers to perform online. However, they find site visitors get frustrated and either abandon the site or call the department for assistance.
The Plan
First, we explored what kind of information site visitors most often need to find on the DOR website. We used this information to identify their top tasks. We looked at the questions site visitors ask when calling, pages with high bounce rates, and tasks DOR most want visitors to accomplish on their own One example of which is to file an online tax return.
Next, we invited the public to assist us in an online exercise. We asked participants to visit the DOR website and complete several specific tasks. All the while observing their interactions with the website. We paid close attention to how they navigated the website and which links they clicked on. We also listened to their comments as they tried to complete the tasks.
Finally, we compiled the usability results into a PowerPoint presentation for the DOR. The results outline areas where participants had trouble, and offered suggestions on how to remediate those issues.
Key Takeaways
The DOR now has concrete data to guide them in improving their website's usability via content and architecture modifications. Here are some highlights of what we learned and ideas that you can apply to your website:
- When it comes to your site content, less is more.
- To ensure that pages are short and concise with less links, only the most common tasks should be highlighted while others should send users through a clear series of actions.
- Remeber each page of your site should have a specific purpose, not multiple.
- How To page types are designed to guide site visitors step-by-step through complicated processes. Use templates to help you better approach your redesigns.
- Look for what is redundant and outdated to consolidate further or eliminate, then get your users to their next step quickly.
“The feedback we received from North Carolina residents as a result of this usability testing confirmed the problems we knew existed on our website and provided meaningful data that will drive real change and lead to improvements that will benefit the millions of taxpayers who visit our website each year.” - Brandon Bell, NCDOR Director Digital Services.