Comparative Analysis of Website Design Using HCI Principles

This report provides a comparative analysis of two online shopping websites, Rebel Sport and Nick Scali, focusing on their design, features, and adherence to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) principles. The report begins with an introduction and an overview of each website, detailing their main features, including navigation, accessibility, and user interface elements. The analysis then delves into a comparison of the websites against established HCI design principles, such as visual hierarchy, navigability, consistency, and security, as well as usability principles. The report evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of each website in terms of user experience and design effectiveness. Finally, the report concludes with specific recommendations for improving each website's design and usability based on the HCI principles discussed. The references include sources used for the research and analysis.

Running head: HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION
Human Computer Interaction
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................................2
Overview and description of the Websites:......................................................................................................2
Main features of the Website:..........................................................................................................................2
Comparison against HCI design principle and usability principle:.....................................................................3
Recommendation:............................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion:.......................................................................................................................................................4
References:.......................................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction:
In this article, the two websites will be critically analysed which are the https://www.rebelsport.com.au
and the https://www.nickscali.com.au/. Both are shopping websites but sells different items. This article
will discuss the features of the websites, HCI design principles will be evaluated, and some
recommendation will be given upon the discussion.
Overview and description of the Websites:
In this article, the two websites will be analysed and will be discussed thoroughly which are the
https://www.rebelsport.com.au and the https://www.nickscali.com.au/. The first website is an online
shopping website which sells the sports related products of famous sports brand [1]. The main focus of the
website is on the sports shoes. With sports shoes, this website also sells jerseys, fitness accessories, bag
packs and many more items related to sports for all men, women and kids.
The second website which is the https://www.nickscali.com.au/ is also an online shopping website.
Unlike the first website, this website sells premium furniture, dining tables and lounges [2]. The website is
very much attractive as it provides various pictures of the premium furniture. Also, this website has online
chat support to get support directly from the customer service.
Main features of the Website:
Both websites have various type of features in the sense of navigation and accessibility of the
website. For the first website which is the https://www.rebelsport.com.au/, this website features a proper
design for which is required by an online shopping website. The popular offering of the website or any
discounted products is directly shown on the homepage of the website which actually attracts the visitor of
the website at first glance. All the products available on this website are categorised perfectly so that it
becomes easy for the customer to browse the perfect product. The products are categorized under brands,
sale and upon on the gender. Also, that features a search bar also available on this website. This can be
used for directly search for a particular product by knowing the name of the product [3]. In the bottom
section of the website contact information of the organization is available so that the customer can directly
interact with the organization if any problem encounters. Also, this website features online order tracking
option.
The second website which is the https://www.nickscali.com.au/ can also be categorised as the
online shopping website. This website intends to sell the premium furniture, lounges and dining tables.
Compared to the first website this website also implies the same technique of showing discounted products
and premium furniture on the homepage which automatically gives an attractive look to the website. Users
can create an account for this website which will manage the preferences of the users based on the search
history of the user. There is also a small tab which can be used for online chatting with the customer

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executive instantly. This type of service can help customers to clarify their questions regarding a product
before purchasing. This website can notify the customers about new developments in the organization
through the newsletter subscription. Also, like the first website, there is also a search bar to directly search
for a product. This website also provides a categorised section to differentiate between various types of
furniture such as table, chairs, lounges etc.
Comparison against HCI design principle and usability
principle:
The main design policies which are followed by the HCI principle are the visual hierarchy,
navigability, consistency and the security [4]. For the usability principle, the main policies are the availability
and clarity of the website.
The first website which is https://www.rebelsport.com.au/ follows the basic principle of the web
designing properly. The visibility of the website is clear as this website used the colour combination which
pleases the eyes. All the fonts used in this case are visible enough to understand. No external hyperlink is
used which makes the website clear. Also, this website is easy to navigate as all the section of the website is
categorized properly. During the browsing time, the website was consistent to provide the data which is
another positive aspect of the HCI design principle, and the website also follows the HTTPS protocol system
which satisfies HCI design principle [5]. The website was available all of the time whenever accessed, and
the website gives enough clarity to the visitors to understand the purpose of the website.
The next website also follows the HCI design principle but lacks the usability principle for some
cases. This website has used the clear images and fonts to provide clear visibility to the visitors. In this
visibility criteria of the HCI design principle, this website has done a good job. This website does not provide
any unnecessary external links. All the furniture available in this website is categorized properly which
makes this website easy to navigate and the connection of this website secure. This all criteria fulfil the HCI
design principle. The website was not available all the time whenever accessed due to the server issue
which fails to satisfy the usability principle, but the clarity of website was good enough to understand that
this is an online shopping website.
Recommendation:
The Rebel sports website provide all the basic features of a website, and with that, it also provides
a modern look. Though it has all the basic and modern features of a website as it is an online shopping
website an online can be included to clarify the items available on the website to the customers. Also, only
one unit for shoe measurement is given in the website, more measuring units can be added to the footwear
section.

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The Nick Scali Furniture has also followed the basic and modern features in their websites. During
browsing the unavailability issue raised so it can be recommended to use a better server for hosting the
website and the 3D image technology can be implemented in this website which can help to view the
furniture from different angles so that the customer can ensure about the whole furniture [6].
Conclusion:
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that proper web design is required for the business
purposes. With that, the website must be secured and hosted properly. In this case, two websites are
analysed and based on the analysis, the main features of the website are elaborated in this article. Also, the
comparison of these websites with HCI principle has been done, and a recommendation is given upon
comparison with the HCI principle.

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References:
1. "rebel | Sports Shoes | Footwear, Clothing and Fitness Accessories", Rebelsport.com.au, 2018.
[Online]. Available: https://www.rebelsport.com.au/. [Accessed: 13- Sep- 2018].
2. "Nick Scali | Lounge, Dining & Occasional Furniture | Nick Scali Furniture", Nickscali.com.au, 2018.
[Online]. Available: https://www.nickscali.com.au/. [Accessed: 13- Sep- 2018].
3. Pallud, Jessie, and Detmar W. Straub. "Effective website design for experience-influenced
environments: The case of high culture museums." Information & Management 51, no. 3 (2014):
359-373.
4. Kim, Gerard Jounghyun. Human–Computer Interaction: Fundamentals and Practice. Auerbach
Publications, 2015.
5. Clark, Jeremy, and Paul C. van Oorschot. "SoK: SSL and HTTPS: Revisiting past challenges and
evaluating certificate trust model enhancements." In Security and Privacy (SP), 2013 IEEE
Symposium on, pp. 511-525. IEEE, 2013.
6. Konrad, Janusz, Meng Wang, Prakash Ishwar, Chen Wu, and Debargha Mukherjee. "Learning-based,
automatic 2D-to-3D image and video conversion." IEEE Transactions on Image Processing 22, no. 9
(2013): 3485-3496.