A Study of Automated Web Site Evaluation Tools

Web site usability and accessibility continues to be a pressing problem. Hence, there are over 30 automated evaluation tools to help designers to improve their sites. Unfortunately, there is little evidence about whether these tools actually improve sites from both the designer’s and the user’s perspectives. To gain insight, we conducted what we believe to be the first study of automated web site evaluation tools. We describe current practices for creating usable and accessible sites. We present findings from experienced designers’ usage of three automated evaluation tools to improve sites, and we present findings from users’ usage of the original and modified sites. We also discuss study implications.