Probing the effects of culture on the communication of websites design

Cultural diversity makes it impossible for designers to depend on instinctive knowledge or personal experiences. Therefore, it is vital to understand the requirements, communication patterns, and mental models of users from diverse cultures. The aim of this research is to probe whether incorporating cultural factors into web design can improve the web communication (usability). In this research, two cultures are selected based on Hofstede's cultural dimension model, and the local website audit is further constructed to check if there are significantly different preferences for a web interface design between two cultures (Taiwanese and Australian cultures). The web usability experiment is then established to test if those culturally preferred characteristics can improve the web communication (usability). The results of the usability test reveal that cultural preferences can facilitate the web communication. Furthermore, the suggestions for cross-cultural interaction design are concluded based on the results of the web communication evaluation.

Relevance to human factors/ergonomics theory

This research is relevant to human factors/ergonomics theory.