Improving Web Usability with eye-tracking

In today's digital era, the effectiveness of a website is crucial, especially for educational institutions aiming to enhance their online presence and provide efficient services to students and other stakeholders. SMA Negeri 1 Sokaraja - a high school in Indonesia - recognized the need to evaluate their website's usability to ensure it meets user expectations and operates efficiently. This blog post explores a study that used the RealEye webcam eye-tracking to analyze the usability of their website.

RealEye in Action

RealEye allows researchers to understand where and how long users focus on different parts of a webpage. In this study, RealEye was used to record the activities of 35 participants as they navigated the SMA Negeri 1 Sokaraja website. The participants were tasked with three specific objectives:

1. Finding the profile video of SMA Negeri 1 Sokaraja: the heatmap generated from RealEye data revealed that participants predominantly focused on the profile video located in the home menu section. This indicates that the placement and visibility of the profile video are effective in capturing user attention.
2. Locating the information about facilities and infrastructure: users spent relatively less time on the section detailing facilities and infrastructure. This suggests that while the information is accessible, it may not be as engaging or prominently displayed as needed to capture prolonged user attention.
3. Identifying the See us button: the heatmap highlighted significant user focus on the button, marked by red area on the main display image. This demonstrates that the button is effectively positioned and easily noticeable to users.

‍

‍

Evaluating Website Effectiveness

The study calculated an effectiveness score based on the time it took participants to complete each task. The overall effectiveness score was 60.95, which falls into the "quite effective" category. Additionally, the average time taken to complete each task was 0.510 seconds per goal. These metrics indicate that while the website performs adequately, there is room for improvement to enhance user experience further.

‍

The use of RealEye in this study provided valuable insights into user interaction with the SMA Negeri 1 Sokaraja website. By understanding where users focus their attention and how they navigate the site, the researchers could identify areas needing improvement to boost user satisfaction and website effectiveness. The findings underscore the importance of strategic content placement and the need for continuous usability testing to ensure a website meets its users' needs.

The integration of eye-tracking in usability studies offers a powerful tool for educational institutions and other organizations to refine their online platforms, ensuring they are user-friendly, efficient, and engaging.

You can run a similar study!

Follow the steps below to start your own experiment with RealEye:

Account Creation and License Activation

1. Go to RealEye Dashboard and create or log in to your account.
2. Purchase the License of your choice (https://www.realeye.io/pricing). If you need any custom adjustments, contact us at contact@realeye.io. We are happy to help!
3. Activate your license by following the instructions in the RealEye License Activation Guide

Ready to set up your own study? Visit RealEye Support page to learn more and keep us posted on your results! 🚀