Abstract

The importance of online communication has pushed researchers from several communication-related fields to contribute to its design and evaluation; when it comes to websites, usability studies have highly contributed to improve the quality of online applications. Even though usability has taken the point of view of users, its main focus is on the application itself, and on how it should be better designed, and implemented accordingly. This article argues that actual usages by a website's users, as well as the business goals of its publisher should be included in the analysis, to offer a better understanding of website communication. To provide a wider, and more adequate approach to the issue, it is suggested that Austin's model of communicative acts can offer a clear map of all involved elements and needed viewpoints, helping in designing a comprehensive model for researchers in website communication.