[To Investigate The Impact Of Different Target Groups And The Effective Design Of Websites]

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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ABSTRACT

Previous studies have suggested that a good Web design that makes the behavior of a user surfing the Web in general, lead to better user performance. In this research, examine the behavior of users of the site as a way to understand web page layout using a "think aloud" protocol analysis. major theoretical contributions of this research are the illustration of the flow of cognitive processes during the Web navigation and the establishment of the dimensions of web design - the meaning and content embedded in Web site content, its external form, and structure and navigation - in relation to user performance.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Problem Statement

Poorly designed web sites frustrate users and make them leave because they cannot find what you need. For e-tailers that rely on Internet to carry out the sale, this is a serious consequence because it means a potential loss of online sales. The reasons cited for the negative user experience includes the information are not current, difficult to use and especially not find what you wanted. To encourage users to return, websites should be designed to help users find what they need and increase satisfaction in their work.

Background

Wayfinding1 has been widely studied in a variety of environments ranging from the planning of cities, airports, libraries, hospitals, virtual environments and web sites. In fact, signaling in the Web site is more important than in the real environment. Website features such as hyperlinks, navigation bars, site maps, etc. to give a user more flexibility, allowing him / her to see a nonlinear manner and the ability to "jump" to various parts of the reverse Websites without. This is a double edged sword because it also makes it more difficult for the user to a user to learn and remember their movements on the Website. On the other hand, websites change frequently, so that is a frequent need to re-learn their way onto the Web Site. Furthermore, as sites grow in size and complexity, which must be designed to reduce the efforts of user navigation in performing their task?

Aims and Objectives

The objective of this research is to find Web design factors that reduce the cognitive overload involved and facilitate signaling. The contribution of this research is to establish the size of Web page design, which influences the behavior of navigation as well as the formation of guidelines to help designers to better identify areas for improvement and creation of effective web ...