How Usability can Improve your Website

Juliet Richardson - Head of Usability

Measuring online success

Conversion / Revenue

Engagement / Loyalty

Education / Information

Online self-service

How can usability help?

In order to measure improvement, we need to first define the measures of success. This will vary depending on the type of website, but there will always be some clear key online performance indicators for your organisation.

Trustworthy

Appropriate

Quick

Easy to Use

Killer Content

Success Online

There are five key aspects to get right to achieve success online and improve KPIs. These are valid whatever the type of website, whether e-commerce, informational, charity or other.

People often multi-task while online

It needs to be quick or they will give up!

2.5 minutes

6.5 minutes(actually 15 steps)

Quick

Ensuring that things can be done quickly doesn’t just apply to online transactions, but to any goal that a visitor to your site may have.

Don’t make your customers think!

Make it into an exam and they’ll go elsewhere

Easy to Use

There are lots of books, websites and patterns to follow to make sure your site is usable and to help you avoid the worst mistakes. Easy to use does not just refer to form design, but to all aspects of your site, such as using labels in the navigation that are easy to understand and content that is easy to read.

You need to keep your customers coming back

Great products, services or information that they can’t get elsewhere

Killer Content

This one speaks for itself - if you don’t have great, unique content, why would people visit your site or bother to come back? Content can be information, products, reviews, recommendations, etc, etc.

Trustworthy

This is the page for entering credit card details during B&Q’s checkout. They have not really thought about what will make people feel confident about filling in this form. For example, it is very hard to find the total amount and there is no breakdown to show how much of this is the delivery charge. Other essential information such as how to return an item is missing.

Trustworthy

New Look have provided lots of reassuring details throughout checkout, such as a helpline, the items in the basket, the amount being paid, information about returns and so on.

Even the big names are getting this wrong

People will abandon shopping because of trust issues

- Not being able to find customer support

- Being forced to register

- Credit card security concerns

Trustworthy

Trust is a really essential aspect of site design. It’s all about knowing your audience and what will help to make them feel safe and confident. Again, although the example shown is e-commerce, trust is an important aspect of any site - for example, if you’re providing information, people need to know that it’s up-to-date and from a trusted source.

Appropriate

Lots of people love Apple’s design, but it’s all about being appropriate for the audience.

Appropriate

Wiltshire Farm Foods has lots of design features that will appeal to their audience (older people), such as the large basket, the “how to” guide and the “scroll for more” button.

Appropriate

This design for National Autistic Society is based on research into one of their key audience groups - people on the autistic spectrum. Providing lots of information in a straightforward and predictable layout will support this audience.

A matter of opinion (your audience’s opinion!)

Helps build engagement

Appropriate

Design is about providing an appropriate design for your audience, not just something that you think looks “cool”.

Trustworthy

Quick

Easy to Use

Killer Content

Success Online

Appropriate

It’s not easy

Following the “rules” only gets you so far

Analytics isn’t the whole picture

Design isn’t everything

It’s obviously not easy to achieve success online - lots of people are failing... Analytics only tells you what people are doing, not why. If you don’t know the reasons why people are coming and what they want to achieve, it’s hard to interpret the data.

How usability helps

User research: Get to know your audience

83% increase in KPIs on average** Jakob Nielsen, 2008 (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/roi.html)

Appropriate Killer Content Trustworthy

Usability testing: See what is and isn’t working

Quick Easy to Use Appropriate

Who they are - not who you think they are

- Their goals

- Their expectations

- Their likes and dislikes

- Their behaviour

- Their environment

Understanding your audience

Developing a good understanding of your audience segments will help you prioritise their different needs and ensure that each type of visitor can easily achieve their own personal goals.

Usability testing

See how people use your site in a controlled setting

- Identify issues

- Explore solutions

- Observe real behaviour

- Benchmark User Experience

View an example clip...

Thank you - questions?

Juliet Richardson - Head of Usability

jrichardson@nomensa.com

0117 929 7333