Assessing the Usability of Hiru TV Website...

This Blogpost would be a detailed evaluation of a website from it’s usability if not user friendliness  perspective. Hiru TV website which operates under the URL www.hirutv.lk. Following is the analysis.

Accessibility

1. Site load‐time

Site loading time of the website is poor. Since it takes about 15 seconds to load after typing the URL.

2. Adequate text‐to‐background contrast

Text-to-background contrast is good as text colours have used according to the background colours except for the part in white letters on a yellow background.

3. Font size/spacing is easy to read

Used font sizes and spacing is OK. Font sizes differ depending on the importance.

4. Flash & add‐ons are used sparingly

Flash & add-ons are used. They are not disturbing but attracting attention progressively.

5. Images have appropriate ALT tags

Images do have ALT tags which gives an idea about the content.

6. Site has custom not‐found/404 page

Site does not have a customized 404 page. It automatically redirects to the home page.

Identity

7. Company logo is prominently placed                              

Yes. Hiru TV logo is prominently Placed.

8. Tagline makes company’s purpose clear

A tagline is not available for the website.

9. Home‐page is digestible in 5 seconds

Home page contains lot of information since is not digestible in 5 seconds.

10. Clear path to company information

Yes. There is clear path to company information and it’s really easy to find out. It’s located as the 2d tab of the main menu.

11. Clear path to contact information

Contact information can be obtained through company information page itself. But since there is no sign at the home page about contact information user might get bit confused.

Navigation

12. Main navigation is easily identifiable

Main Navigation is Easily identifiable with the availability of sub tabs under the main tabs.

13. Navigation labels are clear & concise

Navigation lables are clear and Concise. For example : Home, Asia Broadcasting Home, Uploads, Top 20, Teledramas, Movies, etc.)

14. Number of buttons/links is reasonable

There are too many buttons/links which would lead to confusion.

15. Company logo is linked to home‐page

Yes. Hiru TV logo is linked to home page.

16. Links are consistent & easy to identify

In the home page there are many links to TV programs, facebook, Gamezone, Music Videos, News, etc. This can be too much of information for the user at once.

17. Site search is easy to access

There is no Site search option. But a Site map is available.

Content

18. Major headings are clear & descriptive

Major headlines are clear because of the difference in font sizes and colous but not very descriptive.

19. Critical content is above the “fold”

Yes.  The main Navigation Bar is at the top of the page.

20. Styles & colors are consistent

The Site mainly uses Yellow and Black which are theme colours of Hiru TV and white for the body of the page consistently.

21. Emphasis (bold, etc.) is used sparingly

Emphasis is used sparingly where very important information has been highlighted in bold.

22. Ads & pop‐ups are unobtrusive

There are no Pop-ups or outsider Ads.

23. Main copy is concise & explanatory

Main copy uses many videos and pictures to convey the messages therefore it is concise in terms of distributing loads of information in a understandable way to the user.

24. URLs are meaningful & user‐friendly

www.hirutv.lk is easy to remember and meaningful too.

25. HTML page titles are explanatory

Yes. It contains the relevant page name. Eg: http://www.hirutv.lk/top20/

www.hirutv.lk is a reasonable website which contains lot of interesting facilities such as Listening to music, watching music videos, teledramas,etc. Not only that the moving news line of the website is eye catching. However it can be concluded that Hiru TV website is user friendly forgetting the poor loading time and bulkiness, given the content it carries for it’s users.