Making Your Web Site Content Effective: Part 2 Posted 1/30/2009 by Raina, Project Mgr

Most people are visiting your Web site for the content. When I say “content” I’m referring to the actual information on your site. People will try to find your content and the names of buttons, images, forms, and navigation all play an important role. Content, navigation and images all go hand-in-hand, playing a major role in Web usability.    

Your Web site will be well-received by users if the content:

    1. answers a question or helps them complete a task
    2. is easy to find and easy to understand
    3. is accurate, up-to-date, and credible
    4. images are obvious and related to the topic

Web users skim and scan pages for information pertinent to the topic they are looking for.  Eventually, Web users do read the content but it’s not until they find the topic they are interested in; pursuing the Web page’s links, headings, short descriptions, bulleted lists, and so on---all very quickly. 

A few colleagues in the Web industry volunteered to send me pages of their Web sites for content/navigation recommendations. I’ve highlighted both pros (green boxes) and cons (red boxes).  Keep in mind my recommendations are brief and solely based on the organization of the content, not the actual content itself.

Example 1 – A Technology Tamers Web Site  

Although the content on this page is quite thorough, if you visit the page, you’ll notice it’s quite long. (despite my screenshot) 

    -   Review content for fluff and remove it
    -   Use anchored lists of questions/topics at the top of the page (this will help
        users find the information they are looking for quickly) 
    -   Use bullets/numbers for appropriate content
    -   Organize content in a way that makes sense to the user




Example 2 – Ayurvedic Web Site

    -  Consider using limited font sizes and styles, too much can clutter the page and
       make your content difficult to readAlways gather feedback from other Web
       users. Ask them if you site is easy to navigation and if the content is easy to
       read?
   
    -  Use images that users can relate to and if a product image include captions  
      and link  to the product details
   
    - Breadcrumb navigation is helpful for users to know where they are at on the site




To create a Web site that communicates well, you must think about who you are communicating with. Understanding your audience is critical in while deciding how to

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	Get Your 2009 Bad Usability Calendar Posted 1/12/2009 by Raina, Project Mgr

Promoting bad usability? I think not...more like making users aware of bad usability and Web design.

Today I came across NetLife Research's 2009 Bad Usability Calendar.  NetLife Research is a team of usability specialists located in Oslo, Norway.

As the new year approaches, so does their new edition of the (in)famous Bad Usability Calendar featuring 48 classic design mistakes, all of which have been submitted by Web users.

Their team of experts filters through the nominations and create the bad user experience calendar, rewarding those users whose bad user experience design nominations are used.

NetLife Research uses these calendars to distribute annual examples of bad design around the world. I plan on using this calendar of bad usability as an example for my User Experience lecture for the 352 Media Group Internship program.

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	Writing Effective Copy for Your Web Site: Part 1 Posted 1/9/2009 by Raina, Project Mgr

Copywriting for the Web is very different than copywriting for print. First and foremost, depending on your scenario make sure you do your research. If you hiring a copywriter to write content for your Web site make sure they have experience with Web copywriting. Or if you are writing your own content for your Web site make sure that these best practices of Web copywriting  are followed:

Web site Users Don’t Read Your Web Pages

Your Web site visitors rarely read your Web pages word by word; instead, they scan the page, picking and choosing individual words and sentences. In research on how people read Websites it’s determined that 79 percent of our users scan and only 16 percent read word-by-word.

A new study has been released that users read email newsletters even more abruptly than Web site pages concluding that emailed newsletters are the best way to maintain customer relationships on the Internet.

Scannable Text is the Most Effective Way to Communicate
Depending on the content depends on how it is organized. Make it your Web content user friendly so your users can find the information they are looking for easily.

• Highlight keywords (hypertext links serve as one form of highlighting; typeface variations and color are others)
• Use clear and concise sub-headings (avoid "clever" ones)
• Apply bulleted lists where appropriate (for example, like this list)
• Emphasize one idea per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if your information is cluttered)
• Write using the inverted pyramid style, starting with the conclusion (opposite of what you were taught in grade school)
• Minimize your letters/words (too much information will overwhelm your user, say straight and to the point, as if you were breaking up with someone)

Credibility is Key

Your Web users may questions as to where the information on your site came from and whether it’s legit or a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. You can increase credibility by using high-quality graphics, excellent writing and outbound hypertext links. Including links to other sites showing other legitimate authors who have done their homework can help.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Effective Copywriting for the Web. Next up, I’ll provide examples of improved copy for the web. Feel free to post comments to any web pages you’d be interested in my feedback on or find me on Twitter.

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	Great Accessibility article on the BBC "New guidelines boost web access" Posted 12/22/2008 by Declan, Acct Mgr

New guidelines boost web access http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7789622.stm.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has announced a new standard to make sites more accessible to older and disabled people.

Version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) will apply to text, images, audio and video. It also covers web applications and is said to give developers more flexibility than the old guidelines. According to the consortium, WCAG 2.0 should also be easier to understand and use. The guidance is designed to address barriers encountered by people with visual, hearing, physical, cognitive and neurological disabilities and older people with access needs.

WCAG 2.0 explains how to make content:

• Perceivable - including descriptive text for images, audio captions, flexibility of layout and color contrast
• Operable - making sites usable with keyboards and improving navigation
• Understandable - making content easier to read and input more logical
• Robust - ensuring that content and applications are compatible with assistive technology such as screen readers and magnifiers

The videos are very interesting as they show how people with different types of disabilites navigate the sites we build, along with the issues they have trying to access information.

Video 1 (Shopping online for blind people)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7792662.stm

Visually impaired tester Hazel Dudley uses the Jaws voice system to find out how easy it is to surf price comparison sites. Her ratings are personal and do not represent a scientific appraisal of the site.

Video 2 (How dyslexia affects e-shopping)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7792667.stm

Tester Chris Markley shows how his dyslexia inhibits his ability to use price comparison sites. His ratings are personal and do not represent a scientific appraisal of the sites.

Video 3 (How limb pain limits web surfing)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7792671.stm

Tester Nicola Keary's non-specific arm pain (formerly known as repetitive strain injury), reduces her ability to use some price comparison sites. Her ratings are personal and do not represent a scientific appraisal of the sites. Since this trial was filmed, confused.com has redesigned its website to cater more for people with disabilities.

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	Common Web Site Usability Issues to Avoid Posted 12/3/2008 by Raina, Project Mgr

A user friendly Web site is one of the most important factors to keep users coming back. Whether it’s making a purchase or information gathering, people are visiting your site for a reason. If visitors can’t find the information they need or can’t easily accomplish their task, then you can expect them to go someplace else…like your competitors Web site perhaps? 


Here are some common Web site usability issues to avoid:

Inconsistent Confusing Site Navigation
Your site navigation should be consistent throughout the entire Web site. Make your navigation titles clear and meaningful so users know what information is under each section.

Misleading Registration Forms
I had a client once who wanted to make their two part form have a “Submit” button on the first part rather than “Next” or “Continue.” Misleading users into thinking they are done with a form when really there are more steps to follow is not the route to take. If a form is long, then split it up into multiple steps and show the user where they are with each step. This is a good rule-of-thumb for registration and checkout on e-commerce sites.

Long Paragraphs and Difficult to Scan Content
Content is king. Users scan and search for information on the Web. Users rarely read the content line by line. Your visitors know what they want and they are determined to find it. Use appropriate headings, action words, bullets and tables to convey information that is easy for the user to see.

Misidentified and Unidentifed Links
Make links underlined and/or a different font color than the other text. Avoid underlining words/phrases that aren’t links. It’s frustrating for users when clicking on an underlined word results in no action. Although, some Web sites make links a different color on mouse rollover…this is ok but some users are not intuitive enough to know it’s a link without that minor differentiation.

Hiding Content from Unregistered Users
This is an annoying experience I often encounter; after searching for something on Google, and I find the information I need, but I have to be a member or fill out some long ridiculous form in order to view it? No bueno. Frequently, I will ditch that Web site and find information elsewhere that doesn’t require registration. Ask yourself if there is a better way to entice users to register on my site---perhaps a newsletter signup?

Searching for Contact Information
Usually visitors to your site are looking for some way to contact you. Make it easy for the users to find your contact information to submit both positive and constructive feedback.


You can avoid a cluttered and confusing Web site by developing a Web site that allows your visitors to intuitively perform the actions they need to perform.  Presenting information clearly and concisely to visitors will help them to find exactly what information they are seeking and complete their task with no problems. You can accomplish a user friendly Web site by giving visitors the correct choices in an obvious way.                           
                                                                                                                                                                 

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	Intuitive Navigation is Critical on the Web Posted 11/25/2008 by PeterV, VP, Marketing

Inspiration for a new blog post can strike when you least expect it...

I was waiting for a flight the other day in the lovely Gainesville Regional Airport when I saw a sign that left be befuddled.  I'd never been befuddled before, so I decided to whip out the camera and take a picture.



My first thought, after taking a few minutes to figure out where I needed to go to relieve myself (would've taken twice as long if I was a woman!) was how this type of poor navigation is so common online.  Navigation within a site is no different than navigation in a store, mall, airport, or where ever!  Careful attention needs to be paid not to just where things are placed, but how people will get to them.

Here are some points to keep in mind:

Consistency - This is rule number one.  Keep a consistent menu on all pages of the site to the main sections.  There's nothing worse than a site where a link is there on one page and gone on the next.  It's even worse when they're reordered from page to page.  Make sure the key calls to action are linked in the same place on every page!

Follow Best Practices - Like them or not, there are some standards people have come to expect in site navigation.  Following them will make the experience better for your customers.  First off, make the logo or header in the upper left of the site link to the homepage.  Second, include a footer with the most important links (contact, about, sitemap, terms, etc).  People know to look for these things in these places.  Give them what they want.

On that note, don't be afraid to duplicate certain key links.  If you want to have some unique menu, that's fine.  But you should also put a text link to these pages in the footer or header. 

Prioritize and Organize - Menu overload is the number one killer of potential sales.  OK, I made that up, but it really does annoy and confuse users.  You don't have to link to every single page from every other page.  Two clicks to get somewhere is acceptable.  Anymore is too much.  So organize the menu in to categories and subcategories as needed to make navigation intuitive.

At the end of the day, more is better than less.  While I was a bit confused, I did make it to the airport restroom.  These simple steps will leave your customers focused on your products instead of the journey they had to make to find them!

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	Ten Commandments of User Experience Posted 11/10/2008 by Raina, Project Mgr

User experiences are your everyday experiences---anything from operating a car, to making a pot of coffee, to ordering a pair of shoes online. User experience is the result of your interactions with a product or service, specifically how it's delivered and its related artifacts according to the design.   

User experience umbrellas the following:

After attending a user experience presentation by Blue Flavor’s Director of User Experience, Nick Finck, I’m constantly focused on my own user experience; not only with my own internal web development projects but the everyday design of products, web sites and other services. I found Nick’s presentation very interesting so I‘ve taken what I learned from him, completed some more research and compiled my own ten commandments of usability (in no particular order)  

1.     Know Your Users: The User is Always Right  

With the exception of  i-d-i-o-t errors, the user is always right. Know your user. Who is your audience? What are their characteristics? What are their goals? What tasks are they trying to accomplish to reach their end goals? Many companies seeking a Web site overhaul don’t focus on the sweet spot, that even balance of their business goals, customer/user goals and technical goals.  

2.     Usability Testing and Evaluation  

Evaluate the client’s existing product and evaluate opportunities for improvement. An effective Web site, allows customers (users) to achieve their goals, has a high conversion rate, meets business objectives, delivers a positive brand image. An efficient Web site provides answers quickly, follows a logical sequence, doesn't waste resources and requires less time management. A satisfied user achieves their goal, enjoys their experience, tells others, comes back again and embraces the community.  

3.     Avoid Solutioneering  

Promote questions before answers.  What is the problem at hand and what solutions can resolve that problem? Blue Flavor’s design guru, Jeff Croft wrote a great blog post about solutioneering so check it out.

4.     Form Follows Function  

When a function needs to be performed, the design must support that function. It’s plain and simple; think about what is right for your user. 

5.     Content is King  

Write to your audience. Make your content conversational with appropriate user vocabulary. Use headings to highlight important content sections, bullet points to convey information, tables/lists when appropriate, underline links, avoid using italics and use a friendly reasonably sized font, san serif for ease of reading. 79% of users scan the page instead of reading word-for-word.  

6.     Focus on Innovation, Avoiding Imitation.  

Create Web applications that are useful for users, specifically a community for them to interact in. Nick shared a great example regarding innovation, the Nike + Human Race 10K.  Nike took their product, Nike+, which tracks and communicates your pace while you run. Nike launched the world’s largest running event, taking place in 25 cities with over 1 million runners participating.  The Human Race was more than a branded community event; it was a global sales pitch highlighting the Nike+ product line and driving traffic to Nikeplus.com

7.     Accessibility  

Clients will have their business goals in mind but often put their own needs over their users. Practice ADA compliance and think about the context, for example large screen vs. small screen (mobile).    

8.     Dig Into Information Architecture  

IA is 80% of usability. Build an efficient navigational structure with clear navigation, in a logical structure, with easy-to-follow site hierarchy. Make the controls understandable for users and avoide confusion between emblems, banners and buttons. It irks me when I go to click on a button or link and it doesn’t take me anywhere.    

9.     Improve Interface Designs  

Ask yourself, how easy is it for users to accomplish their tasks on first visit? Once users are familiar with your Web site, how quickly can they perform these tasks? When users return after a period of not using the interface, how easily can they reestablish proficiency? How many errors do users make, how severe are the errors, and how easily can they recover?  

10.  Learn From Failure and Fail Better  

In our rush to succeed, rarely do we see the merit in failure. Remind yourself that unaccepted failure is a step toward success. “We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.” – Samuel Smiles

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	The User is Always Right...Always... Posted 10/20/2008 by Raina, Project Mgr

I experienced the worst e-commerce site recently when purchasing a gift card for my sister-in-law.  The Web site is http://bypia.com/ 

First off, not only is the worst Web site but worst customer service…so making my user experience annoying not once, but twice. I called Pia’s and left a message requesting someone call me back so I could purchase a gift card.  This was during their normal business hours and no one ever got back to me…so I figured maybe I can purchase the gift card on their Web site…or can I?
 
Despite the hideous color scheme, annoying cross-cursor and extremely small font…I noted some major user issues during my Web site experience.  Remember...the user is always right...always.  Use the information below as a good example of what not to do...

1.  The navigation is unorganized and hard to see…my eyes are wandering all over the place to try and find a gift card to purchase.



2.  I finally locate where I can buy a gift card and add it to my cart.  And of course, floating in (which is more annoying my opinion than “popping up”) comes this window trying to sell me on a not needed box to put the gift card in that I’m planning on having e-mailed to my sister-in-law anyway.   



3.  Next issue, how do I get this gift card e-mailed to my sister-in-law? There are these confusing instructions that reads:  



4.  I followed the link to “PLEASE READ HERE BEFORE PROCEEDING” to make sure I didn’t need to scan my eyeball or submit a blood test before checking out because they sure were making things more complicated than they needed to be.  Also, notice the multiple navigation links for “Go Back;" the repetition is completely unnecessary.  



5.  I was stoked to know that I finally knew what I was doing…I proceed to checkout following the instructions, but I’m thwarted by another floating pop up saying "If you selected EMAIL DELIVERY, please DO NOT user your name in the "SHIP-TO" - suer only the RECIPIENT'S name. Each certificate is linked to the Recipient's FULL NAME."

6.  Even more annoyed by my user experience, I now receive a floating pop-up about the recipients e-mail address saying “If you have an AOL or Earthlink email, you may not receive emails from us.  Please try to use a different email address.”     

Eventually, I was able to successfully check out after being sent to PayPal to complete my transaction. Yet, I have still received no confirmation from my sister-in-law as to whether or not the gift card was successfully sent to her e-mail inbox…   
           

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	The guys at Clearleft know how to do it. Posted 7/25/2008 by Declan, Acct Mgr

I have been a big fan of Clearleft, and generally read anything that Andy Budd and Jeremy Keith have to say about our industry. Furthermore, if I lived in Brighton (UK) I would be knocking on their door asking for a job.

For me personally website usability is one of the most important factors of building a website, -- just because your website is very visually pleasing, wont mean anything if nobody can use it, what is the point, it’s a waste of time and money and users won’t come back, because they bad a experience.

Clearleft have just launched Silverback, the new ‘guerilla’ usability testing software, you can download it here http://silverbackapp.com/. (It only works on a Mac). The item that impressed me was in the email I received, they noted that “Registration after the 30 day trial period is just US$49.95,”  (take note Apple, this is how it's done).

They managed my expectations, and for that Clearleft I thank you, I will be purchasing your software and helping to save a Gorilla somewhere.

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	Great Inspiration for the Layout of UI Elements Posted 3/19/2008 by Geoff, Pres/CEO

A client of ours forwarded this Web site to me.  It is truly an excellent resource for Information Architects and Web Designers.  The Web site shows how various popular Web sites (large e-commerce sites and other high traffic sites) have laid out various UI elements, such as search boxes, event calendars, feature product displays, etc.  The snapshot view of these various UI elements will be helpful to anyone who needs to layout something similar on a Web site they are working on.

Check it out here:

http://www.smileycat.com/design_elements/

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