Development of a two-step touch method for website navigation on smartphones

• A two-step touch method for website navigation on smartphones has been developed.
• The new touch method was superior to the current touch method in error rate and satisfaction score.
• Superior method in touch time was subjected to change depending on the occurrence of touch error.
• The new touch method is recommended when hyperlinks are smaller than the size of finger contact area.

The touch method for hyperlink selection in smartphones can often create usability problems because a hyperlink is universally smaller than a finger contact area as well as visually occluded by a finger while pressing. In this study, we developed a two-step touch method (called Press and Flick method) and comprehensively examined its effectiveness using the goals, operators, methods, and selection rules (GOMS) model and user testing. The two-step touch method consisted of finger press and flick motions; a target hyperlink was selected by a finger press motion, and a finger flick method was subsequently conducted for error correction if the initial interaction (press) failed. We compared the two-step touch method with the current touch method through the GOMS model and user testing. As a result, the two-step touch method was significantly superior to the current touch method in terms of error rate and subjective satisfaction score; however, its superiority in terms of number of interactions and touch time was vulnerably affected by error rate. The two-step touch method developed in this study can improve the usability and user experience of website navigation using smartphones.