Influence of faculty- and web portal design-related factors on web portal usability: A hierarchical regression analysis

•Age alone did not influence web portal usability.•The age of the users could positively influence web portal usability only if the users were committed to the use of the portal.•Information content had the strongest influence on web portal usability.•It was found out that technical and non-technical aspects should be considered in designing a web portal to achieve usability.

This study determined the influence of faculty- and web portal design-related factors on web portal usability. Descriptive statistics revealed that most of the respondents were in their early 40's, had Master's degree, had Internet access at home, were committed to the use of the web portal, had been using the web portal for more than 4 semesters, and were intermediate users. They perceived that it was evident that the web portal was designed in terms of ease of use, information content, availability, speed, and aesthetics. Both e-learning services and library online resources were only used from time to time. The fourth step of hierarchical regression analysis showed age could only influence web portal usability provided the users were committed to the use of the web portal. The last step revealed that age, commitment to the use of the web portal, and information content found to influence web portal usability. Thus, the fourth and fifth null hypotheses were partially rejected. It was concluded that commitment was a strong positive “force” that could push older people to use Internet technologies, and technical and non-technical aspects influence web portal usability. Implications were also presented.