USA: Designing Websites With Seniors In Mind

BOSTON (The Boston Globe), April 3, 2005: If a senior citizen has trouble looking up information on a website, Tom Tullis wants to know why. Are the links clear? Is the text guiding the user to the wrong place? Is the typeface too small? ''If they're not finding it, that's what we want to learn," said Tullis, who studies website design and usability for Fidelity Investments in Boston. Tullis works at the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology in Boston, which is known for its research on website usability. While the center has worked with computer users of all ages in its lab, a growing segment of its studies in recent years has focused on the unique experiences of seniors -- how websites can be better organized and more accessible to those with visual or cognitive difficulties, or those who are less familiar with online services. It's an area that a growing number of companies and organizations are paying attention to, and with good reason. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, roughly one quarter of all Americans age 65 and over use the Internet. Just over 40 percent of all wired seniors use the Internet to find financial information, and 15 percent use it to buy or sell stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Factor in the impending retirement of about 76 million US baby boomers -- many of whom will have used computers through much of their working lives -- and it makes sense that companies like Fidelity, whose products are geared toward people of retirement age, would want to ensure that their online services are accessible. Already, Fidelity, the world's largest mutual fund company, knows its customers like to move their money online. About 94 percent of the company's commissionable trades during the fourth quarter of 2004 were made over its websites, said Adam Banker, a company spokesman. ''They're the way a lot of customers want to work with us," he said of Fidelity's websites, which receive about 1 million hits a day. A useful website helps the company keep customers and attract new ones, and is considered a way to enhance traditional phone and in-person interactions with the company, Banker added. Web design tends to be the domain of younger generations, who likely have had little experience with the physical realities of aging. Beyond a lack of familiarity with computers, seniors can have difficulty reading small type, distinguishing certain colors, or remembering information in the short term. Arthritis and hand tremors can make using a mouse difficult as well. Bob Cox, a 77-year-old writer who lives in Waltham, enjoys the convenience of computers and cellphones, but said he sometimes has difficulty with tiny type. ''The eyes get a little less clear, and I have trouble with the small numbers," said Cox. He calls testing the usability of technology ''invaluable." ''The technocrats are in one world, and we human beings are in another," he said. ''They forget their audience." The National Institute on Aging has published a checklist of ways Web designers can address the visual and cognitive disabilities that many seniors live with. They include building sites with large, plain typefaces; avoiding the juxtaposition of yellow, blue and green, a color combination that can be difficult to discriminate; and keeping text simple. IBM has developed Web adaptation technology that allows users to personalize their Web interface by altering colors, size, and spacing, as well as turning off animation. The technology also can convert text to speech, and eliminate repeated keystrokes caused by hand tremors. Bank of America also conducts website research to help benefit the visually impaired, which spokeswoman Alexandra Liftman described as ''good for business." ''Making our sites more user-friendly is good for everyone," she said. Studies of senior Web usability are likely to grow and evolve with the retirement of the baby boom generation, which is more familiar with computers: according to Pew, roughly 60 percent of Americans ages 50 to 64 use the Internet. While they will face the same physical difficulties as they grow older, they are likely to be more dependent on Web-based services. ''For businesses that don't pay attention, they're losing out on a tremendous opportunity," said William Gribbons, who heads the program in human factors in information design at Bentley College in Waltham. The school runs a usability lab similar to Fidelity's. With its desk, lamps, computer, and hanging art, Fidelity's usability lab looks like a typical office. It takes a moment to pick out the small cameras, microphone, and one-way mirrors the staff use to monitor the computer habits of their test subjects from other rooms. One behavior Tullis and his staff have tracked is ''cautious clicking," the tendency of older users to hesitate over a link before following through with a mouse click. To address this, Tullis says websites can include more active phrases -- ''view accounts," for example, rather than just ''accounts." One change it has made is to reduce the use of the term ''log in," which they discovered some older adults didn't recognize. Those who have an account and have used the site before are asked specifically for a ''customer ID," Tullis said. The staff also is testing a feature that provides a short pop-up description of where each link will take the user. Users can opt to have those descriptions read aloud. Seniors also sometimes have trouble finding links. One solution the center considered was a mouse that vibrated when the cursor rolled over a link, but they discovered that people didn't like it. An important goal in improving usability, says Charles Brenner, senior vice president of the applied technology center, is to find solutions that aren't condescending to consumers. While the center studies the habits of seniors, he notes that improvements to the site can benefit others as well. ''Where we're coming from is to be accessible for everyone," he said. On a recent Friday morning, 70-year-old Morris Englander visited the lab to test-drive a prototype of a Fidelity website that offers optional audio and visual assistance. The company seeks out people like Englander who aren't customers to judge the site with fresh eyes. Englander, a retired movie executive who lives in Boston, chose to enlarge the text size on his screen. He also opted for the pop-up help function. He later said that the features were helpful, but added that he typically has no problems using the web at home. The only thing he can't figure out is why he gets so much junk e-mail. ''That's when I call my son," he said. By Emily Shartin, Globe Staff © Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company