Abstract
Poor usability and lack of attractiveness may be barriers to user satisfaction. Enhancing usability and increasing user interest are critical for web pages that carry a high information load, such as those on energy policy and knowledge-promotion websites. The objectives of this study are to enhance the attractiveness and usability of web pages with a multimedia interface design and to explore the influence of multimedia in such environments. A survey and heuristic evaluation of the usability of existing energy information websites in Taiwan was conducted in this study. Interface problems of energy information websites were identified through evaluation against five evaluation items we generalized from two recognized rules. We developed a multimedia interface prototype to explore the effects of multimedia. A between-groups experiment included two independent variables (on-click effects and mouse-over effects) with two levels (with or without).The results of the experiment verified that satisfaction increased significantly when users employed the multimedia interface with auditory icons and click sound. Design suggestions for energy information websites are proposed so that common weaknesses can be avoided in the future. By improving the overall usability, users’ satisfaction with the websites will increase and knowledge of energy issues can be promoted.