Seniors (ages 65 and older) are one of the fastest growing demographics on the Web. However, our usability studies show that websites are twice as hard to use for seniors as they are for younger users.

This 122-page report offers 46 design guidelines based on our usability research. Discussions and 75 screenshot illustrations supplement our findings.

Benefits

• Get in the heads of seniors: Understand how and why they use the internet based on observational research
• Checklist of 46 design recommendations that will make your website more suited for seniors and easier for them to use
• Detailed methodology section that shows how you can conduct your own usability studies with seniors

Topics covered

• Seniors and Internet usage
• Usability design guidelines
  • Homepage
  • Search
  • Navigation
  • Information and text
  • Selling items
  • Forms
  • Web address (URL)
• Usability issues related to the browser/operating system
• Methodology
  • Tasks
  • Participants
  • Websites studied
  • Tips for conducting usability sessions with senior citizens

Download report excerpt (2MB PDF)

Research Method

The information in this report is based on usability research. We used two different research methods:

• A measurement study, using three websites and a Web-wide task, with 20 seniors and a control group of 20 users between the ages of 21 and 55.
• One-on-one usability testing with 24 participants in the United States and Japan