Optimising website design for people with learning disabilities using 'trade-off' analysis

Although the internet may greatly assist information provision for people with learning disabilities (LD), much material is out of reach of this cohort, partly because of difficulties in navigating an electronic environment. However, there little evidence regarding what design features aid website use, and advice on the subject is conflicting. The question this study seeks to determine how web-mediated information can be optimally presented and organised for this cohort.The study will involve website usability testing with people with LD, comparing various designs and focusing on different attributes (text size, layout and navigation). Tasks will be suitable for undertaking by people with low literacy skills, involving only one action. 'Trade-off' techniques will be employed to analyse the data a tool of market research never before exploited in this context. They will both determine which attributes of a site have the greatest impact on performance, and provide a relative weighting to the importance of each. The findings will provide a rich picture of how information for people with LD may be best presented electronically.