College-age students are comfortable with technology; it doesn‘t intimidate them the way it does some older adults. But, it‘s dangerous to assume that all students are technology experts. Young adults have specific needs, interests, and online behavior that differ from other age groups. 

This 259-page report offers 86 design guidelines based on our usability research. Discussions and 222 screenshot illustrations supplement our findings.

Benefits

• Get in the heads of college students: Understand how and why they use the internet based on observational research
• Checklist of 86 design recommendations that will make your website more suited for students and easier for them to use
• Detailed methodology section that shows how you can conduct your own usability studies with college students

Topics covered

• Myths about young adults on the web
• Comparing usability for teenagers and college students
• Usability trends
• Advice from college students
• Websites that students like
• International differences
• Gender differences
• Usability design guidelines
  • Visual design
  • Writing for the web
  • Navigation and interaction design
  • Multimedia
  • Search and filters
  • Credibility
  • Promotional content
  • Social media
  • E-commerce
  • Forms, registration, and sign-up
  • "Careers" sections of corporate sites
• Methodology

Download report excerpt (2MB PDF)

Research Method

This report is based on user research with university-level students (both undergraduates and graduate students) between 18–24 years old. We used two different research methods:

• One-on-one usability testing
• Diary-based longitudinal study, for which participants video recorded all their online activities for two days

In total, 43 college students tested the usability of 217 mainstream sites and sites designed specifically for students. The studies took place in 4 countries: Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Study participants originated from many additional countries.