Expert Analysis: Wix Website Creator
Introduction
Wix is a popular website for easy website creation, presumably for those who have little to no experience with formal website creation. It has evolved over its course to become the self-proclaimed “Leader in Website Creation,”(Wix) and with it a plethora of tools, new media, formats, and the headaches associated with them. Wix allows for a wide range of media, external tools and links to be integrated into its websites, as well as providing areas for the user to customize and design the site essentially solely from their own ideas. Wix offers free access to a majority of these tools, as well as access to its expansive Help Desk, which boasts several layers of question and answer solutions to a variety of problems. Overall it is a longstanding website that has changed greatly over time, and strives to make professional websites available to those who have limited website design skills. Although I will not be able to truly evaluate everything that I must to make this a thorough evaluation, I have proposed a plan of study and have the means to execute this, if this evaluation and analysis proves to be sustainable, this may be found in the appendix of this analysis.
Audience
The audience that we will be focusing on will be the main user group of the website which is people aged 20-35, mainly educators, students, entrepreneurs and small business owners. As a student myself I have had to utilize this website many times over many years in order to create portfolios, educational modules, and personal blogs, and many others I know have some experience with it, or minimal knowledge of the site as it is widely used. The scope we will be looking at specifically will be educators creating modules as that encompasses a majority of the media tools that Wix offers, as a small business may have little to no need to use them. This would better focus our scope to 20-35 year old educators and student-educators, who are attempting to create education modules or informative pages for instructional use.
It is important to note that I will also be drawing from my own experiences within that audience group, as I am a user myself and will be using my own opinions as a user mixed with the data I collect from other users. This recommendation report will function safely in this way, as all parties included in the creation of it and the collection of the data are all valid users of the site and therefore valid in their opinions and experiences In order to make a full recommendation as unbiased as possible both parties must be part of the audience and both parties both the writer and the participants must have data present in the report.
Usability Heuristics
What is being evaluated?
Introduction to Heuristics
In order to effectively analyze the usability of this website, we will use the six pillars of Usability(What is Usability?). As stated by Brady, “In this form it measures documents against pre existing standards to determine their relative success in terms of accuracy and thoroughness” that is to say I must measure this site against something tried and proven. These six areas are taken from the work of The Interaction Design Foundation, and their advancements in the study of Ux and Design. I chose these areas, not only because they came from one of the leaders in Ux study, but beascue they aligned really well with Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things, specifically the sections on eliminating error “Human Error? No, Bad Design” shows the importance of creating a product that works to not only eliminate human error itself, but allow for some error and tolerate it, to create a no fail system, even when some aspect of it human or design, fails. The purpose of the analysis itself is to evaluate a tool on it’s design, and the best way to do so is to find where design succeeds and fails.
Problem Identification
The main issues identified in the studies are going to be separated into scores reflecting the 5 Heuristics stated above. The reason for doing this was to simplify the areas of problem as well as identify the type of problem it was. In each of the 5 areas at least one problem is identified in detail, but to preface the analysis it is safe to say that the biggest problems center around usability, error tolerance and The Help Desk, inconsistency, learning, and clutter in the design. While this covers a broad range of issues, it can be consolidated further into Engagement, Efficiency, and Error Tolerance as the three biggest problem areas overall in the website design.
Time Component
These problems are more prominent and detrimental at this time to the website as it is seeing much heavier traffic than normal. Due to COVID-19, many more educators and small businesses have been forced to move a majority of their content online to make it more accessible to those at home and their own separate audiences. As these are unprecedented times and the site is under more strain I will not be analyzing any bugs or glitches in the website at this time as it would be unfair to the site, and would not be conducive to the study of the site itself. Glitches and bugs are bound to pop up when a site is being used more than it was created to be, and I don’t need to recommend bug fixes and glitches to a site when it knows as well as I do they are already bound to happen and are happening.
Effectiveness
Author’s Analysis
Effectiveness tests whether “it supports users in completing actions accurately.”(What is Usability?). In regards to this I attempted to do several different tasks on the site in comparison to the website’s tutorial. This in no means is a perfect way to assess effectiveness, and real testing real participants and collecting data. The same goes for all of these analytical topics. Upon using the website it became apparent that although it has many useful tools, it was difficult to learn how to use them, and even harder to find the tools I was meaning to use. It took me at some points 10-15 minutes to add just one form of media, because I was unable to locate it in the creator, and when I did I could not format it in a way that on a public view made it accessible. Though I myself spent a great deal of time trying to get to know the website, I still feel as though the task of using some of it’s areas is daunting, and I do not feel as though applying parts of the website's tools were fast or easy to do. The easiest part of the website was the YouTube video integration tool. I suspect YouTube themselves may have had a hand in this area as it was designed completely different from other buttons and tools, where all you must do is copy and paste the link and then size your video on the page.
Participant Analysis
A majority of the participants experienced the same difficulties I did, some more severely. The worst problem they found to be detrimental to eht effectiveness of the site was it’s lack of useful tutorial or user interaction with the site before you attempted to create the actual site. Most of the participants had difficulty even watching the tutorial as it was easily exited out, and once you do so you cannot find it again. Had there been an interactive tutorial to the site, many of the participants believed they would have taken half of the time they actually did to complete the tasks. There were also smaller issues regarding how well the site itself designed the buttons and tools on the site, as well as how they were organized. Both of these issues led to misunderstandings and misclicks that compounded into greater issues.
Efficiency
Author’s Analysis
This pillar tests if “users can perform tasks quickly through the easiest process.”(What is Usability?) which appeals to not only the navigation of the site, but it’s system qualities as well. Wix upon first glance seems very well put together and easy to read, which adds to its ease of use. All of the buttons are linked and all of the text seems pertinent and explanatory. Unfortunately when you try to stray from the initial page, you realize that every small click has 10-15 secondary click options to what you selected. This is to say that once you select “Help Desk” a drop down of 10-15 different selections bombard you and demand your selection. There are unobvious ways to navigate around this, by right clicking and opening the drop down marker in a new page, but that defeats the point of the set user navigation. When a user clicks something they expect it will navigate them to what they desire, and although Wix offered many helpful drop downs, each led to another set, and eventually they all lead to the same page anyway, defeating the purpose of selective drop down options. Perhaps this is an under tested solution to a previous design issue where people were unable to reach their own specific question. Either way, it is of poor design, and seems somewhat a ruse anyway, and many buttons converge on the same final page.
Participant Analysis
The participants had a varying set of reactions to the overall effectiveness of the site. It worked in many ways and it was indeed easy to read and view, but it was insidiously nested, such that the content, whether it was good or bad, was unable to be reached or used effectively. Some felt that they were to blame for not using the website correctly, while others recognized that the design was what was making them feel that way. The hardest part of processing this section of the participant data was the fact that none of them felt that anything was effective on the website, save for adding new pages to a document. Deleting them although was difficult.
Ease of learning
Author’s Analysis
By seeing if “new users can accomplish goals easily and even more easily on future visits.”(What is Usability?) we are able to understand how well a site functions upon first glance. I am unable to effectively measure this in person, so I shall test users on the functionality and usability through socially distanced testing. This Proposed Testing Script is available in the appendix of the Analysis.Right now, by putting myself in my own shoes and drawing from past experiences, I can safely say that learning to use Wix seemed very easy from the start. There was a great lead up that allowed me to learn a few quick tricks, and all seemed well after the quick tutorial ended, however once it did I had no way of learning the other tools I had not gone over. Each tool was different and had its own kinks, so through a great deal of trial and error it is that I learned to use the website. It could have been much easier had there been a more expansive tutorial, or at the least some form of tips or reminders section that allowed me to reference material from the tutorial again if I had forgotten it.
Participant Analysis
The participants struggled with this section so much so that all but one of my users swore off ever trying to use the site ever again. It felt to them more like a warzone than a learning environment, it did not offer them any ways of remembering. There were also issues where the user could not go back and try to find the same instruction they had received previously, which added to the confusion and strain of the test. This compiled with the tools all having different expectations of use and different formatting that was hard for them to learn and even harder to implement in their tests.
Engagement
Author’s Analysis
In testing if “users find it pleasant to use and appropriate for its industry or topic.”(What is Usability?) we can see how well a site stands up to testing aesthetically, as well as it’s visual function in general. It opened users to the same page and allowed them to see all of my old work upon opening it. The page is colorful and not too loud, however sports a large amount of options, as my users found, perhaps too many. The real issue came about when trying to build an actual website. Using the tools were haphazard and sloppy, and users had to learn to use each tool, as each was different from the others, and although they could find one commonly used tool, it was not enough to find all of the tasks needed completing for this user study. This weighed heavily on the users, as it made them feel like the tool tags were misleading and forced them to “rename” some tools or sections themselves rather than use the visual tool name. The colors all aesthetically made sense and there was a decent amount of letter blocking that allowed easy reading, the descriptions and specifically tool descriptions seemed inadequate and excessive.
Participant Analysis
The participants varied from having strong reactions to the site’s set up, to being less focused on it entirely. One user was so frustrated with his inability to change the text size so that he could read it easier that he almost quit. This showed a range of issues revolving around accessibility for those who may need it to even interact with the site effectively. The other users found the set up of the site almost unpresent as it had welcoming colors and images, one noted that it had very beautiful templates, however they were difficult to search through and even harder to engage with on the screen once you got into the website builder.
Error Tolerance
Author’s Analysis
In analyzing whether “it supports a range of user actions and only shows an error in genuine erroneous situations. You achieve this by finding out the number, type and severity of common errors users make, as well as how easily users can recover from those errors.”(What is Usability?) I was able to see the main flaws in Wix. Though the errors were numerous and typically trial and error based movements, it is clear that there is low to none error tolerance built into the website. This is seen in the mind numbing expansiveness of the Help Desk. Though I was able to struggle my way through the site to accomplish my tasks, I did attempt to use the Help Desk to gain a new perspective or insight into the issue I was having, and was even praying for a tutorial again. However upon opening it, I became even more confused than before, following drop down after drop down, into a maze of questions that I thought were similar to mine, but led to less similar question pages after them. As Norman says “the only way to reduce the incidence of errors is to admit their existence…”(192) and Wix has admitted a vast number of errors, but in doing so created a new even more viscous monster in The Help Desk.
Participant Analysis
The users found this section the most frustrating as it seemed that both the Help Desk and the site itself were working against them. Between being unable to go back and fix mistakes or even go back a page safely, to having millions of things pop up to their searches in the Help Desk that were unrelated to their original search. The users did not find any way in which the site tried to prevent errors or help those who had made an error in the first place. The main issues of the site also seemed to be missing from the Help Desk searches entirely, which made it seem as though they were either unaware of their own issues, or trying to ignore them. Either way it was extremely unhelpful to the participants.
General Rating of Wix
What does the raw data look like?
Each of the major criteria are rated below, on a scale of 1-5, each category lost points from the initial 5 full points each time a participant ran into something especially or consistently wrong in that pillar of Usability. Though this is not the most effective way of testing usability, this method tried to ensure that the users avoided Double Jeopardy point removal, and attempted to stay as unbiased and focused on the task as I could when they gave me their estimated scores. Each individual data chart can be found in the Appendix of this Recommendation, but for analysis sake, the average of all the user tests scores are seen here.
Evaluation Parameters & Biases
Where does this lead? What are the shortcomings of these tests?
I understand that this study is better done in a real experiment with unbiased audience members in person. This analysis gives me a good starting off point by finding all of the more obvious and Usability centered issues with the site, which will allow me to further test into them to see what type of design error it is, and what methods may be prescribed to change or fix it entirely. The users in this test were those accessible to me, not a varied demographic or an unbiased group of users.
In order to combat this, I have collected two types of data, both Opinion Data and Action Data of my test participants. Opinion Data was collected through survey 48 hours after the testing was completed. This was to ensure that the height of the frustrations from the test would be recorded as those would be the most memorable. It was also unfair to the participants to demand two forms of testing back to back as it was more likely to be clicked through in an aim to finish it quicker. Active Data was collected in a private recorded Zoom call between myself and the participants. This data was collected by using Speak Aloud Protocols, which were explained to the participants beforehand, as well as tracking which parts the user felt more frustrated or confused.
Important Data Points
The data gathered from the participants shows how important a tutorial is to the overall score of a website, and it’s usability. Some of the smaller issues presented in the analysis are listed below, although these are not the main issues that the recommendation will be focusing on, it is important to note their impact on the participants. These smaller issues could in many ways be connected to the main issues, and without keystroke mapping and further testing their impact cannot be fully known at this time.
Website Aesthetics and Accessibility
The website itself has many issues regarding it’s aesthetic choices as well as it’s inability to adapt to its users needs. As one participant pointed out, the website has no feature to change the theme or the text size on the site so that it would be easier for users to read in different settings and with different needs. This simple change would likely avoid a great deal of frustration as being able to interact with the text of the website is the main goal of any directional text on the screen. Without this ability the site is lacking the fluidity that websites require to be successful.
Misclicks
Many participants found no real way to undo a misclick, especially when using the tutorial. Any click would close the tutorial and other than visiting youtube to find it, there was no way to find it again, even with re-doing the entire set up process to try to trigger it again. Other participants even noted how in the actual website editor and creator there is no way to “undo” actions, and if there is one they were unable to find it. This caused many frustrations as it made users re-do many parts of the tasks and even have to start over in hopes they could do it over again the “correct way” and this was in vain.
Common Control Keys
Common controls such as “copy,” “paste,” and “cut” do not function on the site. Many users attempted to use Ctrl+C and Crtl+V to sidestep the bad usability of the site, yet the site would not allow them to use these staple functions. It somehow blocks the use of these on the site and with the images and tools, keeping the user frustrated and taking away one of the only constant key functions in all of usability. This made the users feel as though they were in uncharted territory, if not even the most basic of commands would work.
Recommendations for WIX
Overall Recommendation
In essence WIX appears to be a site that has many useful and interesting aspects, but are hidden by bad design and poor useability. A majority of these issues could be fixed with a change to 3 simple areas: Tutorial, Help Desk, and Text. Nearly all of the user issues revolved around these three problems and all cited them at least once in their reviews and surveys. Although these are mostly fabricated from opinion data and action data observations, if further testing were to be done, it would likely reveal similar issues. This testing will be explained further in the report, however it is important to note the limitations of the following recommendations as they are without more testing.
Tutorial Creation
The tutorial that the users interacted with was ephemeral and inaccessible in many ways. The first step to correcting this would be to invest in an interactive tutorial that walks the user through the basic functions of building the site. This would of course be optional to each user, and would be able to be turned on and off, as well as accessed again if the user chooses to look back through it. I would also suggest some type of walkthrough text site connected to the tutorial, that uses screen grabs of actual functions on the site to explain the methodology and more complex actions and tools on the site. This would take time to develop, but would be a quick fix once completed, as the current tutorial probably took longer to choreograph and create and is unusable as a tutorial for this style of site. This would take use of actual website design to show the users how to operate the site by operating the site with them for a short time. This is a very common style of tutorial and would be very effective in the site as it is now.
Help Desk Design
The Help Desk needs to be gutted entirely. It has 4 separate facets that all come into the same page, and it has an insidious amount of information that is not gathered or organized in any particular way. The Help Desk needs only one main page, and all of it’s information needs to be organized into basic and clear groups of issues. The Help Desk needs to be searchable and needs to be able to be used in conjunction with the website builder such that both can be open at the same time. The current set up opens multiple tabs when accessed, and refuses to be searched in these separate tabs. The Help Desk should be straightforward and allow frot he re-search of topics in whatever page you are currently in. Extra tabs are unnecessary and confusing to a user trying to answer one simple question and get back to their work quickly.
Text Clusters
The text on the iste, particularly the website builder, is especially confusing and clustered. Many of the tools are not explained well, and seem to be mislabeled. This became evident when users tried to integrate a Youtube Video, and the tool itself was nested into the section of tools for WIX Video, which made it seem as though it was only for WIX videos. To fix this issue, the text must be changed to be more explanatory, and the addition of hover text must be added such that when a tool is hovered over, a short description will be shown to prevent misunderstanding what tool is what. This is necessary above almost all of the other fixes the website needs, as users became more frustrated with this than anything else. It forced users to rename things themselves and in order to prevent that the site must change the way they word and describe their tools entirely. This would be a quick fix, adn would prevent many issues in the website tools especially.
Cost Analysis
As of now more testing would be needed to not only find more precisely what the main issues are and how the whole of the problems of WIX fit into the grand scheme, but also to see how effective the recommendations that I have made would eventually be. Two types of testing would be necessary to begin with, and each has a short cost analysis attached to it, to ensure it’s verification as an option for this site.
Keystroke Mapping
Keystroke Mapping is relatively cheap, even some applications offering usable levels of user mapping for free. This would be a low cost test, Premium Mapping costing anywhere from $15-$30 applications that would more than fulfill the needs of this site. Keystroke Mapping would show all of the misclicks and actual active data that a user shows during a test which would be much more reliable than Speak Aloud Protocol in this user test stage. This would show much more data than my own tests, as well as show better how each small issue affected the larger issues and how that impacted how the user interacted with the website. This would also show how the user changed their actions throughout the test to accommodate the site, as it would map how their tactics and actions changed and how they “learned” the site over their time interacting with it.
Larger Study Group
According to the Nielson Norman Group, “It takes 39 hours to test a website the first time you try..” which would put the costs much higher than the test that I ran, which took up less than 10 in total. This would take a much longer time, and “With experience, Web user tests can be completed in two work days “ so the cost would vary depending on the experience of the protectors as well as the average workday pay and length of the proctor site. This would depend on whether it would be chosen to be done third party, or internally, but each would depend on those criteria. This larger group test of the site would be necessary as with more users being tested a fuller scope of issues would arise and a greater understanding of how the website runs and is interacted with would become accessible to us.
References
Norman, Donald A. The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books, 2013
“What Is Usability?” The Interaction Design Foundation,
www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/usability.
World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience. (n.d.). Cost of User Testing a
Website. Retrieved from
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/cost-of-user-testing-a-website/
.
Appendix
Raw Data Sheets Users 1-3
Zoom Test 1: User 1
Date of Test: October 29th, 2020
Elapsed Time Total: 1:16:52
Date of Survey: Nov. 1st 2020
Other Comments of User:
Effectiveness: It was trying a little but there was only a little guidance, but to help myself I had to search for information
Efficiency: It was not efficient at getting the tasks done that I wanted to get done, was not easy, the start video would not let me work while I watched it or demonstrated it.
Ease of Learning: Was not easy at all
Engagement: It had colorful pictures
Error Tolerance: The mistakes at least could be mostly unmade, but there are no easy solutions, The Help Desk was extremely confusing and unhelpful and I could not find the right screen .
Zoom Test 2: User 2
October 29th, 2020
Elapsed Time Total: 1:07:09
Date For Survey: Nov. 1st 2020
Other Comments of User:
Effectiveness:I refuse to comment on this website because it was too jarring on my mental health.
Efficiency:I refuse to comment on this website because it was too jarring on my mental health.
Ease of Learning: I refuse to comment on this website because it was too jarring on my mental health.
Engagement: I refuse to comment on this website because it was too jarring on my mental health.
Error Tolerance: I refuse to comment on this website because it was too jarring on my mental health.
Zoom Test 3: User 3
October 29th, 2020
Elapsed Time Total: 52:09
Date For Survey: Nov. 1st 2020
Other Comments of User:
Effectiveness: It could definitely make a website, however I lack both the skills and NASA training to make that happen. This is ironic as it is the leader for website creation for people who don’t know how to make websites.
Efficiency: I could not make anything similar to a website on WIX if I had a year to learn the site.
Ease of Learning: The tutorial did not match up with the real site, and was not useful. It was really just a woman talking about an abstract site that had little to no insight into how to make a website on WIX.
Engagement: It engaged my sense of fight or flight. I really want to fight it.
Error Tolerance: Why would you make a tutorial that doesn’t tell you how to use the website?
II. Proposed Plan of Study and Training Script
Identifying Users
The users of this site aligns most with age groups 20-35, and is used primarily for educational purposes, or small business website platforms.
Users in this case will work through website creation, as that is the main function of the site.
Target Identification of Problems
Engagement
The screen and workplace is too crowded and layered to be maximizing its engagement. The site is nested too deeply with helpful tools to be
Error Tolerance
Help Desk analysis shows too many answers and not enough specified problem searching to combat errors.
Efficiency
How easy are users able to create the desired website and publish it? As many have experienced it is difficult to make something quickly on the site and could be holding users up from their goal, a functioning site.
Ease of Learning
Without a step by step tutorial, how do users learn the functions of making a website, how do they work through the uncertainty without immediate explanation by the site.
Effectiveness
Overall can the site be used to quickly and successfully create a website, with little to no help from the site or the Help Desk? Are users able to create without these normal additions to a website?
Data and Methodology
Action
Walkthrough Zoom Call
Users will Zoom call the proctor and share their screen.
Then will start from the opening site stage and narrate their thoughts and actions as they go.
The user will attempt to create a website that contains 4 key tools that the website offers in their website design.
Integrated Youtube Video
Link will be provided.
Separate website pages with titles
3 total to ensure effectiveness and use.
All text will be provided.
Image
Adding at least 1 type of media to the site or pages, media will be provided.
Button
A box/text based button that links a user of the site to another website.
Link will be provided to the user.
Users will also have access to the Help Desk open in a separate tab, so that they may attempt to use it along with the design process.
Users will be allowed as long as they need to complete this task, and an example website will be provided to them at the end of the task, so that they can compare their work.
Opinion
A survey will be created and sent to each of the participants after the call.
Surrey questions will pertain to where the participant felt the most frustration, what parts were unclear, which areas were easy to use etc…
They will have 2-3 days to complete this survey after the call.
Post-Data Work and Proposed Changes
With the data gathered, the main problems will be reassessed and using both data groups.
The main snags in design will be highlighted and by using the feedback of the participants, will propose changes to the 5 main areas of design, reordering the topics if necessary.
Training Script Given to Participants
Walkthrough Zoom Call
Wait for proctor to begin recording the session.
You will begin narrating your experience once the recording begins. Be sure to note how you feel emotionally at certain frustrations and confusions, as well as walk the proctor through your thought process as you would if you were the one showing them how to do it.
Ensure you are on the correct starting screen, allow the proctor to see your screen and begin screen sharing.
Create an account and follow the walk-through tutorial that the website offers to new users.
Locate the Help Desk on the page after this short tutorial.
You, the user, will attempt to create a website that contains 4 key tools that the website offers in their website design advertisements.
Below is the task list for your website. You must navigate yourself from the screen the tutorial left you on, and you must create a webpage that contains the below basic components.
Integrated Youtube Video
You will integrate or add a youtube video into the webpage screen.
Link will be provided.
Separate website pages with titles
Create 3 different page tabs that can be accessed from the main page of your website. Title them and ensure they are working.
3 total to ensure effectiveness and use.
All text will be provided.
Image
Adding at least 1 type of media to the site or pages, media will be provided.
May be added to any page, and in any style.
Button
A box/text based button that links a user of the site to another website.
Link will be provided to the user.
Users will also have access to the Help Desk open in a separate tab, so that they may attempt to use it along with the design process.
This may be referenced whenever the user feels necessary.
Users will be allowed as long as they need to complete this task, and an example website will be provided to them at the end of the task, so that they can compare their work.
Link will be provided in a proctor email with script.
Do not access test page reference until after the tests are complete.
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