Visual usability of web pages

vVISUAL USABILITY OF WEB PAGES(M.Sc. Thesis)Seçil YILMAZGAZİ UNIVERSITYINSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYMarch 2006ABSTRACTInternet, progressing in a very short period of time, has evolved from a theoreticconcept into an indispensable part of our today?s world. Latest data show thatin a world of approximately 6,5 billion human beings, the number of internetusers has reached the level of 1 billion. Internet changes the way humans live,work and even entertain, and all indicators point to continued unbelievableprogress of the internet in the future. This medium where millions of people andorganizations meet is a medium of communication. This communication islargely established visually. For effective web communications, it is necessary todesign usable websites where technical, structural and visual characteristics arebrought together. A website should be designed by determining the targetaudience expected to visit the site and the needs and expectations of this targetgroup. Personal web sites of academic personnel are important communicationtools among students, instructors and other people. Therefore they have to bedesigned by taking these users into consideration. In this study, views ofacademicians of various fields in Gazi University about their personal websitesare collected, their preferences are determined and their knowledge level ofvisual usability principles of web design is measured.viIn the light of information obtained from this survey, a web site creation wizardby which academicians can self build and update their websites easily will bedeveloped.Science Code : 702.1.012Key Words : Web page, visual usability, web design.Page Number : 96Adviser : Assist. Prof. Dr. Halil İbrahim BÜLBÜL