What Metrics Would You Recommend When Assessing the Success of a Website?

Chris Jasek of Elsevier’s User-Centered Design Group answers your usability questions.

Analyzing your site's Web server logs can give you valuable information about how often certain pages are being used and the common paths that users are taking through your site. These statistics, although valuable, can't tell you why a certain page is getting a lot or little use. Perhaps a particular Web page is getting a lot of hits because users really find its content useful, or maybe users are reaching it in error due to poor navigation. Usability testing can provide you with the "whys" behind the statistics.

Usability tests typically measure:

1. Effectiveness — Are users successful in accomplishing the key tasks the site was designed for or do they often make errors?
2. Efficiency — How quickly can users accomplish tasks?
3. Satisfaction — Do users enjoy using the site? Would they do so again?
4. Learnability — How easy is it for users to learn to use the site?

Observing users directly use your site during a usability test is the best way to understand how they are using it and how much of a success it really is. For more information about usability testing I recommend the Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests by Jeffrey Rubin.