Development of a Numerical Index to Assess the Quality of Websites Design

A Website Design Quality Index, called WDQI, was developed to assess the websites design quality using a numerical approach. WDQI was formulated using a set of criteria such as availability literature on website design quality, previous reports, and the experts opinions. Ten elements of websites design were included in the index: capacity and diversity of information, information modification and update, interactivity, reliability, usability, use of valid links and hyperlinks, clarity/simplicity, use of multimedia, navigation and its tools and loading speed. WDQI was applied to assess the design quality of three selected websites. WDQI has provided reasonable results in comparison to the actual state of the selected websites. Moreover, this index can provide valuable information for designers and engineers to obtain the high-quality design for websites.