[Toolbox for user-experience evaluation of online health information]

The Internet is now a central source of health information. An ideal design of web services and e‑health programs requires valid evaluations of users' perceptions, the so-called user experience. As part of a research project with the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA), a toolbox for website evaluation (for screening and monitoring) was compiled for this purpose from freely available quantitative empirical questionnaires. With this toolbox, key aspects of the web user experience can be reliably and validly assessed. In this article, we describe the toolbox's components, underlying quality criteria, and practical experiences.The aim of the toolbox is to facilitate methodically high-quality, comprehensive, and time-efficient analyses. A total of nine standardized instruments and supplementary single items from three areas are documented. In the standard version of the toolbox, 35 items are used that can be answered in less than 10 min. For an extended examination of a website, the toolbox documents additional measures on website content, usability, and aesthetics. We discuss both the advantages and limitations of the toolbox and give an outlook on possible future developments.