Abstract:

This paper presents the comparative study of Flash and HTML Web sites focusing on usability. Usability testing was conducted by asking participants to visit Flash and HTML versions of the same set of Web sites. The usability of each version of the Web sites was measured by a post-test questionnaire created by utilising a contingent heuristic approach. The results from the analyses of survey responses suggested that the Flash version, in general, provided higher usability than the HTML version of Web sites. The results also indicated that, in regard to Flash and HTML implementations of Web sites, there was a difference in Web site usability perception patterns between male and female users, between users with long-term and short-term computer/Web experience, and between users with fast and slow Internet connections. In addition, it was found that the purpose of Web sites also influenced the usability of Flash and HTML versions of Web sites, as perceived by users.