Climbing is a popular sport around the world, with countless people looking for information about routes and safety advice online every day. However, while the availability of online resources for climbers has steadily increased, the number of annual accidents remains constant.
This thesis aims to identify the optimal design principles for climbing websites to ensure greater safety while climbing. For investigation reasons, the website ‘bergsteigen.com’ was analysed and evaluated using usability principles and user tests. The results of the analysis showed that users often overlook essential safety information due to poor user interface and user experience design. Furthermore, it was revealed that users receive inappropriate tour recommendations due to immature information structures and content management.
In the second part of this thesis, a high-fidelity prototype was created and tested. The primary feature of the prototype was the division of the website into two parts. The first part covers all user needs in preparation for a tour, while the second part enables effective orientation during the climb. Results show that by splitting the website into two parts, a consistent implementation of the usability principles, and good content management, users can scan the presented information more effectively. Through these implementations, climbing websites can make a preventative contribution to the safety of climbers.
