The Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA), a nonprofit organization working to improve the ways people interact with technology, conducted a study using three complementary surveys to determine how people find information online and how the experience of web site visitors can be improved. In order to understand the differences between the actual and perceived needs of end users, the three surveys focused on three different groups of subjects – nonprofit organizations, web designers, and general public (visitors).
The survey questions were designed to answer the following questions:- What makes a web site effective?
- What factors contribute to visitors’ enjoyment of a web site? Does this vary by segments within each population?
- From a visitor’s perspective, what factors determine a quality web site?
- Are there differences between visitors’ needs as perceived by organizations and designers, and those reported by visitors themselves?
This is the first survey that IDEA has conducted to gather information about online design and visitors’ experiences. The goal was to gain a broad understanding of visitor experience, and hence was not designed to explore any subject in detail. Future surveys may expand questions to refine this survey’s findings and to explore new concepts. The survey instruments are provided in the appendix. We welcome your feedback on this study via email to study2008@idea.org.
