Use case: A consumer visits the website for the cable TV Weather Channel, to find a weather forecast for her/his town.
Aesthetic and minimalist design - Fail
Weather.com really falls down here. Its immense results page (at right) is choked with ads and irrelevant links and graphics. Outlined in red are the only relevant content: a current conditions section, and (well below the fold) a 36 hour forecast.
Consistency and standards - Pass
Weather.com uses consistent fonts and design elements. For the most part, its links are the tried-and-true blue underlined.
Error prevention - No rating
This site has very basic functionality, with no complicated interactions that would benefit from being able to prevent errors.
Flexibility and efficiency of use - Pass
It's quick and easy to register on the site, and the My Page you get offers a markedly better user experience than the uncustomized results page.
Help and documentation - Pass
The site navigation has no Help link, but there is adequate help in context on pages.
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors - Pass
Search error pages offer a list of commonly misspelled words. This is okay, although a better choice would be to suggest fixes smartly. For example, "You entered Los Angelos. Did you mean Los Angeles, CA?"
Match between system and the real world - Pass
Some logos and terms carry over from the TV channel. As an American TV channel, the site appropriately defaults to the English system of measurement.
Recognition rather than recall - Fail
to get content in different sections, I had to enter my zip code over and over again. It wouldn't be difficult to save the first entered zip and default to it everywhere.
User control and freedom - Pass
The Back button works fine throughout the site.
Visibility of system status - Fail
Pages lack titles, which can cause confusion. As users navigate from page to page, they look for confirmation that the page they're on has what they expect. Another cue that should get greater prominence is the user's zip code, since so much site content depends on it.
Final score: 67% (6/9). Weather.com could dramatically increase its usability by simplifying its results page and carrying the user's zip code from page to page.
Alternatives: You can get the same Weather.com data in a much more usable design at Yahoo Weather.
Comments