English 211
Exercise 1
Usability and Persuasiveness in Websites
This exercise asks students to review the usability and persuasiveness objectives and strategies for a comparable pair of websites for two airlines. Students will need to identify the guidelines that the Websites satisfy and guidelines which they don’t.
When completing this handout, an interesting website to visit is UX Matters. http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/01/beyond-usability-designing-web-sites-for-persuasion-emotion-and-trust.php
The link provided directs you to an article by Eric Shaffer published in 2009 titled “Beyond Usability: Designing Web Sites for Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust.”
Instructions:
1. Visit 2 of the websites below and study them carefully.
2. Then, complete the attached handouts for this exercise identifying the persuasiveness objectives for each of the sites. Make your selections on the checklist by darkening or coloring your choice.
3. Complete the checklist by offering 3 observations in which you compare and contrast the 2 sites. For example, what are your overall considerations having completed this comparison? Is one a ‘better’ choice than the other? Is one better suited to certain tasks than the other?
Choose two sites to compare:
American Airlines Homepage: http://www.aa.com/homePage.do
United Airlines Homepage: http://www.united.com/web/en-US/default.aspx?root=1
Southwest Airlines Homepage: http://www.southwest.com/
Delta Airlines Homepage: http://www.delta.com/
When completing this handout, an interesting website to visit is UX Matters. http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/01/beyond-usability-designing-web-sites-for-persuasion-emotion-and-trust.php
The link provided directs you to an article by Eric Shaffer published in 2009 titled “Beyond Usability: Designing Web Sites for Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust.”
This website provides some interesting insight into the world of technical writing; specifically the...