User Testing Session: Designing for the elderly

The tourism industry is growing at a fast pace, and so is the digital market. More than 80% of holidaymakers start their research through the internet. This is why it is important for travel authorities and agencies to have a well built travel website.

It is also recorded that older people travel more and more over the years. According to the Irish Times, the number of Irish travelers from age 60 to 69 has tripled from 2000 to 2006. The same is true for those aged 50 years and over with 1.9 million trips in 2005, which increased to 3.5 million in 2008.

This implies that websites should be built in a way that the needs and wants of the older demographics will be met.

USER TESTING

When designing a product, it is important to understand the users in terms of their demographics, abilities, restrictions and limitation as these are factors that will affect the way they interact with the product. The way to do this is through user testing and research. As I am tasked to redesign the VisitDublin.com website for an older demographic, one way to understand my target client's wants and needs will be to allow them to interact with actual travel websites. Doing this will help me, as the designer, to establish a clear picture of my user and create design decisions based on these information.

For the purpose of testing, I have asked a friend of mine to test three travel websites. His name is Dan, a 43 year old college professor who is fond of traveling for work and leisure. I have created a set of guide questions based on the UX Principles prior to the testing to guide me through the research process. These were asked to the user through a one-on-one interview after he tested all three website.

Below, I have listed down the strong and weak points that Dan pointed out during the session. These information were collated and used as the basis for creating design decisions for the elements to include in the new website.

1. BERMUDA TRAVEL AUTHORITY (www.gotobermuda.com)

The GoToBermuda.com website is the official tourism information website of the Bermuda Travel Authority. It features a clean layout and useful information for tourists traveling to Bermuda.

Browsing through, the first thing Dan noticed was the typeface used in the entire web page. The title fonts are stylized but not overwhelming. The body font is a simple sans serif typeface which is easy to read, though there are elements where the font is too small to read. Text alignment is centred and is consistent on the entire page. This is important because older people tend to have their vision fixed on one direction due to changes in vision.

The colour palette is cohesive all throughout. It opted for a dark blue and turquoise shade which is very soothing to the eyes, but may cause issues for the older users as blue tones can be hard to perceive due to vision changes. The photos used also adhered to the colour palette. Dan said that looking at them all together is very refreshing to the eyes as all the elements are cohesive all throughout. Overall, Dan feels that the website looks aesthetically appealing.

Navigation and accessibility wise, Dan said that that the amount of buttons and interactive elements on the page might cause confusion. Although everything is properly labeled, he feels that it would be more user friendly if the options and buttons can be reduced in number. The hierarchy of the options is also well laid out, putting the most important at the top of the page, going down to the least relevant.

The hover effects are stunning and so is the use of looped videos on some of the pages. The special effects are also consistent on the entire website.

The website is also optimized for mobile, which makes it more marketable as most users, even the older generation, utilize them. Again, like the desktop version, the typeface needs to be bigger and bolder for improved accessibility.

In summary, Dan thinks that the website is aesthetically appealing and the lay-out makes it senior friendly, although slight improvements can be done with the text size and colour palette selection.

2. INSPIRED BY ICELAND (www.inspiredbyiceland.com)

InspiredByIceland.com is the official tourism information website of Iceland. It features a simple aesthetic and is filled with useful information for tourists.

What caught Dan's attention upon seeing the homepage is the use of blank space in between sections. He feel that this is important particularly for the older users as it allows for the information to be introduced one after the other with breaks in between. This prevents confusion with the contents, which is important as older users can have cognitive difficulties.

He also liked the way the navigation bar on top was made. The options are very straightforward and it summarizes the contents of the entire website. The use of the menu button on the upper right hand corner is also a helpful tool to navigate. When clicked, a drop down menu will appear with the list of all the pages in the website.

Photos are very minimally spread all throughout the pages which he believes is appropriate when designing for the people of his age and older. The font style and size are big and bold enough to be read. The colour palette used is very simple (black, grey, white) yet sophisticated. Overall, the website is beautiful aesthetically.

The mobile version is as user friendly as the desktop version. Again, the text size are big and bold enough to be read, although for some buttons, the text might be too small.

Overall, this website meets the needs of senior users in terms of content, functionality, and desirability. Although some elements in the mobile version can be improved, Dan fells that the overall look and feel of the website was well designed.

3. NEW ZEALAND (www.newzealand.com)

The Tourism New Zealand website www.newzealand.com is the official tourism website for New Zealand. It features information that is relevant to travelers who are thinking about and actively planning a visit to New Zealand.

Through this site, potential visitors will be able to learn about the diversity of what New Zealand has to offer and how to make their visit a fantastic experience.

Upon opening the website, you will be greeted with an option asking whether you are a visitor, a student, investor, or a potential migrant. Dan was delighted to see this as he thinks that this is important so that the website can provide users with the most appropriate information for your visit.

On the travel home page, you will be welcomed with images of famous sceneries across the country. The navigation offers straightforward menu of the destinations and things to do. Hovering over these options will show you further options and links to useful information. Dan thinks that this kind of information presentation is important particularly for the older population as it gives them a brief idea of how the website can be useful for them.

The lay out of the images is also clean and not visually confusing. The colours used are the same as the Inspired by Iceland website, which are almost neutral. The fonts are sans serif and are big enough to be read. The button labels are clearly labeled.

The navigation map is easy to follow. The steps to go from one task to the other is easy enough for old users to carry out. For instance, the Things to Do section takes about two steps for the user to arrive on an actual activity information page. Dan agreed to this and even verbalized that 'the easier he gets to his goal, the better'. It also offers recommendations for trips which can be a helpful guide for seniors on making their holiday trip on their own.

The mobile version is also as simple as the desktop version. They layout was tailor made for the buttons to be tapped easily and for the information to be read clearly.

Overall, Dan feels that this website addresses his needs as well as the older users specifically navigation wise. He feels that, among the three websites, this is stronger in terms of accessibility which makes it easy to be utilized by the older demographics.

SUMMARY

All three websites are designed to meet the needs of the older users. While each of them has strong and weak points, it is clear that all of them has taken into consideration the characteristics of the users of all age groups. Elements such as text size, font colour, image and informaton organization, and colour selection are important aspects to consider to ensure that the website will appeal to the older generation.

Take a look at the screen recording of Dan's User Testing Session here.