可用性是一个很宽泛的话题，当谈到为旅游网站选择正确的测试方法，或者选择合适的公司来实施这个分析时，可用性往往具有压倒性的作用。可用性对于成功的旅游网站很重要，它直接影响到转换率（如收入） ，和用户体验（如对品牌感知和尊重）。
在可用性测试的基础上改进网站会带来额外的好处，包括用户求助减少、开发高品质的友好的界面带来的赞誉和因为品牌形象的提升对线下预订的促进。
可用性评估可以通过许多不同的形式实施，如访谈和观察、内心认知排练（译者注：Cognitive Walk-through，简称CW，是通过分析用户的心理加工过程来评价用户界面的一种方法，最适用于界面设计的初期。）、启发式审查和专家可用性检 查、视线跟踪测试等等。每个方法有其优点和缺点，可根据具体的预算和需要采用。在这篇文章中，我将不会讨论每个方法的细节，而是试图提出一些普遍观点，这 对以正确的目标达到结果为依归非常重要。
不是所有网站都是平等的
我的第一个观点是，可用性最佳的做法应该是针对特定行业的，采用纯理论的方法，采用适用于其他电子商务或分销网站同样的方法和目标测试旅游网站是无效的。
下面我来举个例子。
让我们假设一个可用性测试，用来发现当用户在您的网站提交预订请求，在显示页面点击其中一个结果后离开订票过程的特定的用户数量，不管是彻底离开你的网站 或者点击其他作为外部预订漏斗的导航返回。一个纯粹理论的方法可能会找出一些基于页面设计、图形或功能性元素作为影响转换率的核心问题。
特定行业（旅游行业）的做法反而会带来一些额外的关键问题：价格有竞争力吗？平均需要打开的订票窗口是怎样的？用户可能会在稍后时间回来预订吗？网站其它部分提供了多少高质量的内容来说服用户进行预订？
引发用户行为的原因可能是具体设计问题以外的：采用全面的针对旅游行业的方法，从而避免过度简单和过于以设计为中心的解决转换率问题的方法。
你需要在任何可用性分析中加入这种方法，无论是通过在介入的旅游专家来实施，还是根据您特定的行业知识和你自己的公司情况来解释这些数据。
设计就是关于怎样工作和感觉如何
另一个因素在可用性测试中常常被忽略，网站是一个电子商务平台，也是一个品牌推广和市场营销的工具。在情感层面吸引用户的能力和纯粹功能方面一样重要，如 酒店美图照片的图库、精美的贵宾指南页面或极具说服力的用户评论列表，都和实施一次完整的以用户为核心的网站重构一样能提高转换率。
你的网站不仅仅是预订平台，更是一个品牌环境，要能表达自己的身份和独特卖点：可用性必须致力于实现这些目标，达到用户友好、界面简洁，可用性建议要考虑商业和市场目标，就和遵守一般可用性最佳做法一样。启示
用非常有效的（成本/效益）的方式来衡量你的网站可能不会被首先考虑，这意味着一个正确实施的基准分析可能是改善你的网站的最好的方法。
不要盯着自己网站的缺陷，在身边发现点子、创意和和最佳做法，借鉴其他人的经验和智慧，学习一流的网站，学习已经为用户行为分析花了钱的网站。用户体验的 评测应该包括你的直接竞争对手，但是最重要的是，应该看看那些正在开始在线业务的旅游企业。在线旅游分销商和大型酒店连锁需要不断优化其网站，以实现其庞 大的分销目标，并能提供一些有用的功能在客户访问旅游网站的时候了解他们的需求。
用户是最好的专家
在花钱请人使用你的网站并告诉你怎样改进才能符合用户的需求之前，为什么不先问问你的客户呢？其实，在这非常时刻你的客户已经通过在你的网站分析软件中留下大量关于网站导航模式、用户偏好和退出点的信息，回答了你大部分关于可用性的问题。
振作起来面对困难
当然，可用性测试最适合在一个设计阶段进行，即经过收集和分析相关客户和用户需求，在设计用户界面的时候。不幸的是，很少有这样的情况。重新设计现有的网 站某些部分是一个非常痛苦的过程，无论出于技术、预算或“政治”原因。因此，如果你愿意花钱做可用性测试，那么你应该做好充分的准备在分析被证实后实施补 救措施。准备好了吗？
原文来源：http://blog.relactions.com/2008/01/usability-whats-in-name.html
原文内容
Usability: what's in a name?
Usability is a very broad issue, so broad it can often be overwhelming when it comes to choose the right kind of testing methodology for your travel website and the right kind of company to conduct the analysis. Yet usability is a vital aspect for the success of a travel website, as it directly affects the conversion rates (i.e. your revenue) and the user experience (i.e. the perception and reputation of your brand).
Additional benefits of revising your website based on a usability test include: fewer requests for assistance, accolades for development of an high quality and friendly interface, an increase in off-line bookings as result of a positive image for your brand.
Usability evaluations come in many different forms such interviews and observations, cognitive walk-through, heuristic reviews and expert usability inspections, eye- tracking tests...each methodology having its pros and cons and applying to specific budgets and needs. In this article I will not discuss each option in details, but rather try to highlight some general points that are important to approach the issue with the right objectives in mind.
Not all websites are created equal
My first point is that usability best-practices should be industry-specific and that is not effective to adopt a purely theoretical approach, and to test a travel website with the same methodology and expectations you would adopt for any other e-commerce or distribution website.
Let me make an example on this.
Let's suppose that a usability test on your website finds that a certain numbers of users launches a booking query, clicks on one of the result listed in the following page and then leaves the booking process, either by leaving your website altogether or clicking back on other navigation elements that are external to the booking funnel. A purely theoretical approach would probably identify some on-the-page design, graphic or functional elements as the core problems affecting your conversion rates.
An industry-specific approach would instead bring some additional key-questions to the table: is the pricing competitive? what is my average booking window and are those users likely to come back to book at a later stage? how much quality content am I providing in the rest of my website in order to persuade a user to proceed with the booking?
The reasons for that users' behaviour could be outside the specific design issues: an holistic and travel-specific approach is advisable in order to avoid over-simplifications and a too design-centric approaches to conversion problems.
You need to add this kind of wisdom to any usability analysis, either by involving a travel expert in the process or by interpreting the data based on your specific knowledge of the industry and of your own company.
Design is how it works and how it feels
Another element that usability tests often overlook is that websites are as much as a branding/marketing tool as a e-commerce platform. The capacity to engage the user at an emotional level is as important as the purely functional aspect: a gallery of beautiful pictures of an hotel, a page of fantastic VIP's references or a list of persuasive users' reviews could improve your conversion rates just as much as a complete user-centric website re-styling.
Your website is not just a booking engine, but rather a branded environment that must convey your identity and unique selling points: usability must work towards those objectives as much as towards a user-friendly, clean and clear interface; usability recommendations should consider business and marketing goals as much as the compliance to general usability best-practices.
Inspiration is fine
A very effective (cost/benefit) way to evaluate your website might be not too look at it in first place...meaning that a well-conducted benchmark analysis is possibly the best thing you can do to improve your website.
Instead of focusing on your own website limitations, scout for ideas, innovations and best-practices around you. leverage other people's experiences and talent, learn from the best-in-class and from the money they spend in analysing users' behaviours. A web-usability bechmark should include your direct competitors but, most importantly, should look at those travel companies that are setting the pace online: OTAs and big hotel chains need to constantly optimise their websites to achieve their huge distribution targets and can provide some usefull elements to understand what your customer expects when visiting a travel website.
Users are your best experts
Before paying someone for using your website and telling what enhancements would best meet your clients'expectations, why don't you ask you clients first? Actually, your customers are already answering most of your usability questions in this very moment, leaving lot of information about their navigation patterns, preferences and exit-points into your web-analytics software.
Brace yourself for trouble
Of course usability tests are best conducted while at a design stage, the user interface is being designed, following the collection and analysis of relevant client and user requirements. Unfortunately this is very seldom the case. Re-designing part of an existing website can be a pretty painfull process, either for technical, budget or "political" reasons. So if you are ready to pay for a usability testing, then you should be very well ready to actionate the remedies that the analysis will indentify. Right?
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