User-centred websites: The (ir)relevance of age

Abstract

Do elderly people really navigate websites in a different way than younger people do? Or are the differences within this group (such as those due to gender, education, computer experience and cultural background) bigger then differences between younger and older people? This paper first discusses usability studies (mainly, in this case, eye-tracking studies) on the user-friendliness of websites, focusing on older people. A social semiotic framework is then presented for future empirical research into specific enablers and constraints related to the user-friendliness of websites as an information source for the very diverse group that constitutes the elderly population.