EVALUATING WEB SITES ACTIVITY
Travel Websites
Natacha Poggio
Maria Hernandez-White
March 9, 2005
EDC 385G Designs and Strategies for New Media
Evaluating Web Sites
Design and Strategies for New Media • Spring 2005
INTRODUCTION
The Real Scenario
Sites Evaluated
Procedure
EVALUATION RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Expedia.com
Travelocity.com
Muchoviaje.com
Lonelyplanet.com
IMPROVED DESIGN EXAMPLE
APPENDIX CONTENT
Questionnaire
Spreadsheets of Survey Results
Charts of Survey Results
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INTRODUCTION
The Real Scenario
Pablo, one of Natacha‟s best friends is getting married in La Coruña, Spain on July 24th,
2005. Coincidentally, her husband is attending a conference in Santiago de Compostela the
week before the wedding (July 18th to 22nd). They decided to travel to Madrid a week earlier,
leaving on July 9th, to visit the city and the surrounding towns. They will need to return on
July 25th for another conference her husband has to attend in Austin. They are traveling on a
moderate budget; they do not want to spend more than $1,500 per ticket. Although their
friend has kindly offered his apartment in Madrid for the length of their trip, and so they do
not need to book a hotel, they would like to rent a car for the days they are staying in
Madrid. They need to find out which are the best places to visit in such a short time and what
events are occurring during their visit; so one of the considerations is to find tips for travel.
In addition, they would like to get information about traveling by train and bus since they
were told the public transportation is very good in Spain.
Sites Evaluated
http://www.expedia.com
http://www.travelocity.com
http://www.muchoviaje.com
http://www.lonelyplanet.com
Procedure
To begin with, we agreed that the search and analysis criteria would be based on a real travel
scenario; Natacha is indeed traveling to Spain and needs to find affordable tickets, in
addition to tips on getting around.
Given the vast number of websites related to online travel, we first explored the most
popular ones, together with some local Spanish online travel websites. Then, we narrowed
our selection to three websites for online ticketing and one website for country specific
information. Then we independently evaluated two websites from the traveler‟s perspective,
using customized questionnaires based on Jakob Nielsen‟s examples. We defined certain
parameters for the traveler‟s perspective, based on the following considerations:
- Ease of finding and acquiring/retrieving information.
o Specific dates and minimum connection flights
o Speediness of tickets‟ search and presentation.
o Price within budget (no more than $1,500).
o Rail transportation
o Car rental
o Travel tips, museums, and local calendar of events
- Easy to use interface (pleasant, likable)
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- Accessibility (is the font size resizable?).
Together we discussed our views on each website, we commented on the “bad” designs and
brainstorm about possible design improvements. Then each analyzed two sites: Maria
reviewed Expedia.com and Travelocity.com, while Natacha reviewed LonelyPlanet.com and
Muchoviaje.com. As a team we refined and revised each section into a cohesive whole.
Maria compiled the results into an Excel spreadsheet and found the average ratings for each
category and each website. She also created charts based upon the spreadsheets. Natacha
organized the report document and created the improved design. Finally, based on our
analysis, we identified which website best suited Natacha‟s needs.
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Visited websites for selection purposes
Tickets:
http://www.travel.yahoo.com
http://www.priceline.com
http://www.orbitz.com
http://www.rumbo.es
http://www.viajeszeppelin.com
http://www.hotwire.com
http://www.travel.com
http://www.cheaptickets.com
http://www.statravel.com
Information:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com
http://www.letsgo.com
http://www.beyondturism.com
Transportation:
http://www.railkey.com
Hotels:
http://www.bookings.es
http://www.redhoteles.com
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EXPEDIA.COM
Information
First, we looked for flight information. After defining the point of departure, the destination
and the specific dates, the results were displayed in a few seconds.
Figure 1: Main page
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Figure 2: Waiting confirmation screen for flight search
The search result was organized by price and by number of stops. The information included
the time and date for every flight, the name of the airline company and the flight numbers.
Promptly, we found relevant information to book a flight.
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Figure 3: Flight results
This is not the case when booking a rental car. For example, if we define the car class as
“luxury”, the search results may not match this specification. Hence, the results listed may
correspond to the “economy” class, while no justification is given to the user. We believe a
clarification is pertinent, since we needed a few trials before we understood the logic
yielding the results.
On the other hand, when the search for renting a car meets the user criteria, the information
provided included the rental company, weekly rate, total price and the car class. The result‟s
page included the link for seeing the pictures of every car model available.
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Figure 4: Car search
Figure 5: Waiting confirmation screen for car search
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Figure 6: Results for car search
Figure 7: Results for car search
Private Policy information is at the bottom of the page as a text link. There we found what
information should be provided to Expedia to complete the purchase, which is mostly
personal information (credit card number, address, etc.). In addition, this policy explains the
security measurements taken to ensure the security of our information.
Interface
The site is defined based on two styles. The first style (see Figure 1) defines the home page
and three columns characterize it. The second style (see Figure 3) defines the rest of the
pages: search results, site map, privacy policy, etc.
Expedia‟s logo is located at the top of every page. This logo is a graphic link to the home
page, even on the home page itself (which is redundant but it is not a relevant design issue).
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The main navigation of the site is designed using the tab concept. Just below the Expedia‟s
logo, we can see ten tabs with the main services that this site provides. Once again the home
link is included as the first tab. We consider these tabs nice and easy to use. The same
options are provided at each instance, therefore reducing our learning process to a minimum.
In addition, the same search options are given to us when looking for flights, cars, hotels, or
cruises. This consistent looking is provided even when different services are combined. We
think that this consistency is a very important feature.
The third row includes the links to sign in as a member, the site map, my trips, my accounts
and customer support. This row has a yellow background, and it is always the same. This
color is the same one used in the main navigation highlights. This color selection is
confusing because it suggests that the third row is related to the main navigation (second
row), although it is not. We suggest it would be better to change the color in the third row.
The center column corresponds to the search zone, where the search details may be defined
(flights search is the default). This section is very easy to find. The search results for a flight
are easy to understand. The interface offers two sections allowing the user to select the view.
In the first section, the page has the summary of the results. The results are ordered in a table
where the columns are clickable icons by airlines, and the rows are links ordered by price.
In general, the site has a good appearance, it is not amazing aesthetically, nevertheless it
looks clean, has a pleasant color scheme and the information is easy to find and understand.
Interaction
This site provides an easy and comfortable way for finding prices for ticket flights. In
addition, it offers a very helpful calendar that facilitates the input of departure and return
dates, and it works for renting a car as well (see Figure 4). Once the minimum required
information was provided (departure and destination cities and specific dates), we found the
flights prices that met our budget, as well as all relevant information regarding the flight to
set the trip schedule.
When the search is in process, the site provides a screen message showing the dates we
defined in the previous screen and a progress indicator (see Figure 2). This feature is
implemented by five small squares at the end of the message, and it looks like a clock. The
most important thing about this message is that we felt in control and connected with the
site, and at every moment we knew what was going on.
The search for cars was not as good as the flights. To begin with, we could not define a
different pick up and drop off places for the car. This feature should be included to give the
customer more flexibility.
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TRAVELOCITY.COM
Information
For this site, we were looking for information about flights in the same way as Expedia.
Once defined the point of departure, the destination and the dates, the result was displayed
after a few seconds.
Figure 1: home page
The results of our search were organized by Airline Company, price and number of the stops.
The information included the times and dates for every flight but just for departures.
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Figure 2: Flights results.
For consulting the information about returns, we had to click the “Continue” blue button
(last column) and then we could see all the return flights. We think that this strategy for
reporting results is not efficient, first, because the information is not displayed right away,
and secondly, the user has to guess what the button “Continue” means, in this case it means
“see the rest of the information” but in other cases means “proceed to checkout”.
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Figure 3: Return flights results.
In this website, the airlines seem to get the most attention since in the second part of the
results in the first column information is the airline. We believe that price or schedule (time
availability) should have as much priority in the results, no only the airlines.
Travelocity also provides information about rail and car rental. In the main navigation bar,
the user can find a tab for “Cars/Rail” that when rollover it shows a drop down menu with
options for searching a car or rail. If the tab is clicked instead of the drop menu; a page to
search for a car is displayed by default.
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Figure 4: “Cars/Rail”tab drop down menu detail.
Conveniently, there is a radial button option to switch to search for rail. Unfortunately, if the
user intended to search for a car and accidentally hit the rail option instead, the default page
does not provide a radial button or some other embedded option. Going back can only be
attained by clicking in the Car/rail tab again or by using the browser back button.
Figure 5: “Cars/Rail”tab box detail.
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Figure 6: rent a car
In general, the information reported for renting a car is good; it includes dates for pickup and
drop off, pictures, Company‟s name, weekly price and total cost.
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Figure 7: results of the search for renting a car
The information about rail is good too. This option can be found in context navigation just in
the row below the main navigation, where the option “Search Rail” could be selected. The
site offers two main regions to check, one option is for Canada and the other for Europe
rails.
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Figure 8: welcome to Travelocity Rail
We consulted the information about Fares and Schedules from Madrid to Santiago de
Compostela, and we think that despite the page is so long, it contains all the information and
details required for Natacha and her husband.
Figure 9: fares & schedules
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Figure 10: Fares & Schedules
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Private Policy information is at the bottom of the page as a text link. This style for presenting
this information using a page that just have the logo‟s Company (see in the Interface section
below), seems to decrease the importance that this section has because is separated from the
site. This information should be displayed as any other information, like search result for
flights, so the user could identify it as part of this site.
Figure11: Privacy policy detail.
Interface
The site is defined mainly based on one style, which uses two columns for the main content.
This applies for the home page and for the result pages. Some pages like the Private Policy
opens in a new window, the text is in a big font, the user can see the Travelocity logo at the
top of the page, but just two buttons are provided: one for printing and other for closing the
window. Other pages like “Search Rails” are based on three-column layout, where the main
content is at the center of the page.
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Figure 12: Rail travel main page
At the top of the page we can find the company‟s logo, which is a graphical link for going to
the home page, just as Expedia.
The main navigation‟s site is designed using the tab concept. Just below the Travelocity‟s
logo, we can see ten tabs with the main services that this page provides; once again the home
page link is included as the first tab. We consider these tabs nice and easy to use, and we
have the same options wherever we are, so we never felt lost during our surfing experience.
The third row includes the local navigation, so it changes depending the tab selected. This
local navigation looks cheaper because the contrast that produce the white and the blue
selected, and also because it has a rectangular shape. This section of the site could be
improved using a better design and color selection.
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The search results page for flights is easy to understand because the interface offers two
sections were the user could select what to see. In the first section, the page has the summary
of the results. The results are ordered in a table where the columns are clickable icons by
airlines, and the rows are links ordered by price.
In general, the site has a good-looking appearance, it looks clean, nice colors (except the
white in the tab and local navigation), and the information looks is well presented and useful.
However, the pages cannot be resized using Internet Explorer 5 for PC. That represents a
problem for user with visual disabilities.
Interaction
An important issue in this website is that the user could face a problem with timing trying to
modify the search criteria. We use the link at the bottom of the list, as the red arrow shows in
the next figure.
Figure 13: results detail with red arrow
When we tried to modify our search, the site offered the fields for define new criteria in the
next page.
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Figure 14: Modify your search
After modifying something, the site sent us a false report about the availability of the flight,
just as the next figure shows. This situation was very annoying because as users we do not
expect this kind of results. Just after going to main page and define the new search once
again, then the site reports the correct results. It seems to be a time out problem, we are not
sure about the actual reason but the users certainly should not experience it. We consider this
an interaction problem.
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Figure 15: clarify your search (with red message)
The site offers a pop up calendar that displays two months (see figure 1: homepage), and it
helps us enter a date for departure and return (and also for renting a car). Once again, this
option is useful for some users, but it is not for others. The main reason is because
sometimes people have to go forward over 4 or 5 months before finding the month that they
really need. We consider that the calendar should be complemented with a feature to select
the departing month so everything changes accordingly.
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When a search for a flight is in process, the web page provides a message, so we could
confirm that the server was looking for our information. The interface of this feature has a
progress bar represented by three dots that are moving at the end of the first sentence. This
message provides information that the search is in progress and it prevents the user to close
the window because the results will be displayed right there.
Figure 16: search for a flight screen is in process
The search about cars was not as good as the flights. For starters, in the search options we
did not have the possibility to define a different place to drop off the car, so it is supposed
that the car must be returned in to the location it was acquired (e.g.: Madrid) but that doesn‟t
make sense since we ant to rent the car to move from city to city. We felt that we didn‟t have
control, at least not enough. We know that customers have the option to rent a car in one city
and return it in another, so we think that the site should provide the option to define a
different city to return a car. Like the flight search, the car search provides a waiting screen
window to confirm the action of searching for cars.
Figure 17: Find Car Waiting screen window
The search page for rail information can be reached just after seeing one page with all the
options related to Europe rails. On the negative side, this webpage does not provide a
waiting screen while the search is in progress. [creo que esto deberia estar antes, cuando
hablas de los resultados de la busqueda y no al final)
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LONELYPLANET.COM
We reviewed the Lonely Planet website because the company is well known for the quality
of its tour guides, and the useful information they present. We found regional information,
tips and suggestions for tourist activities under several sections that dive deeper into the
complex site (Worldwide, destinations).
For some reason, we had the impression that Lonely Planet also offered online ticketing
booking. To our surprised, the “search for flights” is a feature that has been incorporated
recently and that is managed by third party companies. Since we wanted to follow the same
criteria used in the other ticketing websites, we began by looking for available flights. This
task turned out to be more complex than expected.
Information:
The homepage is organized into categories that visually work well; nevertheless it was not
easy to find the “flights” link because it goes under-noticed within the travel services
category, which is located at the bottom right corner of the screen (see figure 1). It seems
that all those links were intended to act as quick-links, but the information is not highly
visible therefore the user needs to scan the whole page before seeing them. It would be
helpful if the word “New!” was highlighted or in a different color at least.
Figure 1: home page with travel services remarked
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Once we are taken into the next screen, the search fields presented are very unusual. Instead
of typing the departure information directly, as with most websites, we first need to select
from a pull down menu the departure region of the world (Americas, Europe -English,
German and French-, and Australia/Asia/Pacific). In the Europe selection, this is intended to
provide the information in the language that the user is most familiar with, but it does not
help to have this instruction screen only in English in the first place. It could provide flag
icons that when clicked will translate the page into predetermined languages. Furthermore, it
is based on a wrong assumption because we may be traveling from a destination where the
language is not familiar to us (e.g.: they provide 3 languages for Europe but not Spanish for
Americas).
Figure 2: Pre selection screen for flight search (Americas) highlighted.
We obviously selected Americas as departure since it is where the flight will be initiated.
Nevertheless, and to complicate things even more, we also include here a few screenshots
from the Europe (English) selection just to compare the visual differences when using that
selection. It‟s worth notice that a different provider manages each search. Kayak handles the
transactions for the Americas and Opodo for Europe (English, Great Britain). Therefore
Lonely Planet is just a mere banner on top of the pages that accredits these sites but nothing
else.
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Figure 3a: Americas selection form for flight search.
Figure 3b: Europe (English) selection form for flight search.
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Figure 4a: Waiting confirmation screen from Americas selection .
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Figure 4b: Waiting confirmation screen from Europe selection.
Figure 5b: Search results from Europe selection.
.
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Figure 5a: Search results from Americas selection.
Figure 6a: Detail of one of the flight options from Americas selection.
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Figure 6b: Detail of one of the flight options from Europe selection.
The information presented in Kayak is easier to use than the one in Opodo. Kayak just
presents the relevant requirements needed for retrieving flight information in the search
webpage (see figure 3a). The two "columns" layout offer a clear map of departure/return
fields, whereas Opodo has a long list with fields to complete that forces the user to scroll the
page.
Interface:
Using twice the space and a confusing layout, Opodo fails to compete successfully with
Kayak. Almost all the fonts on the flight result page are in bold (see Figure 5b) which
distracts the eyes from reading the relevant information. Even it requires going one step
further, after selecting one of the result, another web page is presented with just a few more
details (terminal and flight information). Although the color scheme is pleasant to the eyes
(pale beige/light green) Opodo‟s interface is not cohesive enough to make the user believe it
is part of Lonely Planet‟s site. . Furthermore, Kayak's color scheme mimics Lonely Planet's
one, giving a sense of pertinence that provides more confidence to the buyer experience.
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Interaction:
Kayak offers a nice feedback for the user who is waiting to get the flight information on the
screen. Figure 4a shows a progress bar and after a few milliseconds, the centered part of the
page shows up (in real time) the available flights based on the search criteria. We found this
interaction appealing since it was not just a mere a placeholder with an animation on it.
Under the progress bar, there is a button that lets the user stop the search when enough
results are displayed. Moreover, the way the flight results are arranged minimize confusion.
It is clearly ordered by price, and the airline companies are easy to identify (print name and
icon) as well as the times of departure/arrival. We found extremely valuable that Kayak
provides the duration/length of the flight/and connections without overburdening the screen.
When the list of results is presented, again Kayak provides a better experience since it allows
modifying the search without starting all over again. Helpful sliders are placed on the left
side of the page that lets the user experiment with the search parameters individually. Tog et
in depth information regarding a flight result, Kayak shows a "more info" link that opens a
pop up window with the specific details of the trip.
Lonely Planet Rail Travel
The information about rail transportation is „almost‟ exactly the same as the one analyzed
previously in Travelocity. Both Travelocity and Lonely Planet are retrieving the content
from the same source (http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/). Lonely Planet
provides a disclaimer where they released themselves from any responsibility related to
using third party companies. For the purposes of this evaluation, we focused only on the few
differences we found in the interface design from Lonely Planet, that are relevant to how the
site appropriates the content to establish a full service experience, even when they are not in
charge of the information.
Figure 7: LonelyPlanet summary table from Raileurope content.
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The major difference is that Lonely Planet provides a table summary with all the options
available (see figure 7). This is very helpful and clear to understand, comparing each option
with the tourist needs of transportation (visiting a lot of Europe, just a few countries or only
one region). By positioning their banner consistently with the styles of the home page, and
by adjusting the color scheme to match their characteristic identity, Lonely Planet creates a
stronger web presence. Figure 8 shows how they specifically facilitate the access to
information, by creating a detail page for each pass option.
Figure 8: LonelyPlanet offers information for each specific option.
Figure 9: LonelyPlanet offers same Fares & schedules information as Travelocity.
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Figure 10: LonelyPlanet slight adaptation of the Raileurope interface to match their website.
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Figure 11: LonelyPlanet added some color highlights to ease the reading
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MUCHOVIAJE.COM
Information
This site is a local Spanish website that provides travel services online. The Spanish friend
who is getting married suggested it. We were looking for information about flights in the
same way as we did with Expedia. Nevertheless, the task was not easy to achieve since the
site organization is chaotic, and annoying banners are distracting the user form finding the
right links.
First we had to identify that we were by default in the hotel search page. The graphical links
on the top menu do not give hints as of which one is selected. The icons are very cute but
don‟t help at all.
Figure 1: homepage with hotel information by default
Once we found the plane icon we were taken to the search for flights page (see figure 2).
At this page, the animations are even more distracting since the frame rate is not the same,
and the objects move sideways.
We filled the fields with point of departure, destination and the dates (the calendar icons
were not working in the Apple‟s Safari browser). The fields are separated too much from
each other, which causes the white background space to be distracting.
After all the information was filled in, the flight results were displayed in a few seconds (see
figure 3).
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Figure 2: Search for flights window. Notice the clutter interface.
Figure 3: Result of flights search window.
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Interface:
In the flights result page, the relevant information is well organized, but a little
oversimplified. Price information sets the relevance in descending order, then availability of
times and airline companies. Unfortunately, this minimalist view requires the user to open
the flight information link in order to find more detailed information about airports and
length of trip. The number of the stops is not stated so one has to count the connection flights
manually.
Even worse, there is no “select” or “Continue” button to click to purchase the flight. We
need to close the window, and click on “reserve” in order to proceed to purchase the ticket.
Figure 4: Detail of a specific flights selection as pop up window.
Interaction:
Once we selected a ticket, we are then confronted with an authentication window that
requests our email information in order to continue with the purchase. This is very
discouraging, because it involves many steps instead of making the process run smoothly.
Even worse, we only have two minutes to decide if we will submit our contact information
or the reserve will be cancelled.
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Figure 5: When one itinerary is selected, it prompts for email address.
Figure 6: Car rental page. All the images are animated!
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Figure 7: Car rental help page. It appears prior to search form.
Figure 8: Car rental enquire form
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Figure 9: Car rental quote.
In general, the information reported for renting a car is poor; it does include dates for pickup
and drop off, car‟s model, total cost but it does not show pictures or price per rental day.
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APPENDIX
Questionnaire
For each adjective below, please indicate how well it describes the Web site.
Describes the Describes the
site very site very well
poorly
Helpful * * * * *
Interesting * * * * *
Accurate * * * * *
Informative * * * * *
Likable * * * * *
Entertaining * * * * *
Annoying * * * * *
Easy to use * * * * *
Easy to read * * * * *
Information Design
How easy was to find information about flight ticket cost?
Not at all Very easy
* * * * *
How easy was to define maximum / minimum connection flights?
Not at all Very easy
* * * * *
How easy was to find information about flight ticket cost?
Not at all Very easy
* * * * *
How easy was to find information for renting a car?
Not at all Very easy
* * * * *
How easy was to find information about rail transportation?
Not at all Very easy
* * * * *
How easy was to find information about events, holidays and local calendar in general?
Not at all Very easy
* * * * *
Natacha Poggio, Maria Hernandez-White 43/46
Evaluating Web Sites
Design and Strategies for New Media • Spring 2005
Were the information about events and local calendar helpful?
Not at all Very
helpful helpful
* * * * *
How easy was to find information about museums and activities?
Not at all Very easy
* * * * *
Were the information about museums and activities helpful?
Not at all Very
helpful helpful
* * * * *
How easy was to find tips for traveling?
Not at all Very
helpful helpful
* * * * *
Were the tips for traveling helpful?
Not at all Very
helpful helpful
* * * * *
How confident are you that you found all the relevant information you were looking for?
Not at all Very confident
confident
* * * * *
How easy was to find a ticket flight that does not cost more than U$D 1,500?
Not at all Very easy
* * * * *
Interface Design
How easy was to define what you need to find in this site?
Not at all, I can‟t Very easy, I can
define what I want define what I want
* * * * *
How tired do you feel working with this site?
Not at all tired Very tired
* * * * *
How hard was to concentrate on searching for information (because the distractions)?
Not at all hard Very hard
Natacha Poggio, Maria Hernandez-White 44/46
Evaluating Web Sites
Design and Strategies for New Media • Spring 2005
* * * * *
How nice are the colors in this web site?
Not at all nice Very nice
* * * * *
How nice are the fonts in this web site?
Not at all nice Very nice
* * * * *
Interaction Design
How fast the search results were shown?
Not at all, It‟s slow Very fast
* * * * *
How easy was to understand the results?
Not at all, I can‟t Very easy, I can
understand the results understand the results
* * * * *
How confused did you feel while working with this site?
Not at all confused Very confused
* * * * *
How easy was to read the information in this site?
Not at all, I can‟t Very easy, I can resize
resize anything the whole page
* * * * *
How easy was to read and understand the results?
Not at all, I can‟t Very easy, I can
understand the results understand the results
* * * * *
Considerations:
- Ease of finding and acquiring/retrieving information.
o Specific dates and minimum connection flights
o Speediness of tickets‟ search and presentation.
o Price within budget (no more than $1,500).
o Rail transportation
o Car rental
o Travel tips, museums, and local calendar of events
- Easy to use interface (pleasant, likable)
- Accessibility (is the font size resizable?).
Natacha Poggio, Maria Hernandez-White 45/46
Evaluating Web Sites
Design and Strategies for New Media • Spring 2005
Spreadsheets of Survey Results
Charts of Survey Results
Natacha Poggio, Maria Hernandez-White 46/46