Applying Usability Principles: Amazon Website
Amazon.com is a website that allows consumers to search and pay for goods online and have them delivered to their doorstep. With a Amazon Prime membership, users can expect to receive free two-day shipping on many eligible items. This distinction skyrocketed Amazon as the preferred choice for many consumers due to its fast delivery and good reputation. In addition, Amazon’s website follows the Eight Golden Rules of Interface design very well. These rules include the following: strive for consistency, seek universal usability, offer informative feedback, design dialogs to yield closure, prevent errors, permit easy reversal of actions keep users in control, and reduce short-term memory load. This essay will focus on how Amazon implements five of those design principles regarding how customers can make proper and informed decisions on purchases.
1. Seek Universal Usability
Amazon is meant to be a service that can be used all around the world. In order to improve communications, Amazon has region specific sites to tailor its promotions and usage to specific audiences like amazon.in for India and amazon.it for Italy. For example, the front page of amazon.in is celebrating the current Great Indian Festival (see Fig. 1). Traditional Indian Clothing is promoted on the front page, which caters much closer to the needs of that audience. On amazon.it the website’s language is set to Italian which is the native language of Italy (See
Fig. 2). This allows customers to get started with browsing and purchasing goods quickly. In the United States, the language can be toggled from English to Spanish to cater to the large Spanish speaking population by selecting the language from the globe icon on the home page (See Fig. 3) . These language and cultural initiatives show that Amazon is improving universal usability to its audience so that people can read and use its website while feel comfortable doing so. In addition, those who are blind or do not have access to the website can order items through an Amazon Echo, which is voice controlled electronic device placed in the house. A simple voice command such as “Alexa, buy me some soap” can purchase the product and have it sent for shipping to your home within minutes, improving usability and extending the access of the website’s functionality thanks to these design choices and Amazon Echo integration.
Figure 1: amazon.in Homepage
Promotion for the Great Indian Festival is displayed to make
the consumer feel welcome.
