Tag Archives: usability Blog

Scrolling Redeemed

Page scrolling is a browser feature that was once shunned because the physical act of manipulating a web page with a mouse disturbed users’ “cognitive flow” (otherwise known as “patience”). But that was before mobile. Now, due to the predominance of small screens that can only show a tiny portion of a page’s content at a time, users have no choice but to scroll to read or find something. This would be bad except that mobile screens can be scrolled much faster by flicking a finger instead of dragging a computer mouse. The overall user experience is actually better since, with little effort, a whole page can be browsed in a few seconds.

Now that scrolling is being embraced, best practices have arisen to support scrolling in design. In fact, designing for scrolling opens up new possibilities for creating engaging websites:

… once you start approaching the long scroll as a canvas for illustrating a beginning, middle, and end (through graphics, animations, icons, etc.), then you start to see its film-like power in capturing user attention.

The following is an update that describes current thinking about scrolling and provides some tips on incorporating scrolling successfully in modern website design.

Read full article: http://bit.ly/2pO2m7N

Updating Web Forms for Mobile

Today, all things digital must be usable and provide value on mobile devices. Web forms, one of the most mundane but essential elements of user interaction, are no exception, especially considering that most online transactions are conducted and much important data is collected via forms. Here are some tips for updating your forms to make them more effective on mobile: http://bit.ly/2lN1oYO

Making Your Website Intuitive

People don’t want to think, they want to buy. Making a website intuitive makes it a delight to use, which gives users a great experience and increases the likelihood of conversion.

In an intuitively designed webpage, the constituent elements are built and organized in such a way that the user can access information, navigate, and transact naturally and effortlessly. Intuitive design is inconspicuous, but not necessarily unremarkable.

To make sites aesthetically pleasing, designers often sacrifice usability. This is a crime, considering that if the user does not find a clear value proposition within the first 10 seconds, they are very likely going to bail out. The site needs to make its purpose obvious through its design.

This article offers ideas to make your website more intuitive, create better calls to action, and delight visitors by making it easier for them to find what they’re looking for and complete a transaction.

Read full article: http://bit.ly/2k4tcYT

Understanding Users

In the end, we’re all users. No, not the manipulators who want to steal someone’s time, money, or ideas, but the everyday people who use technology. Those of us that create solutions from tech often take users for granted or consider them with disdain when we see the ‘mistakes’ they make while ‘using’ our latest product. But we all know what it’s like to be left adrift by technology that hasn’t been well thought out or whose developers have made assumptions about us that are ill-founded at best. This article sheds light on tech from the users’ end, which can serve as a guide when we’re designing something with the goal of someone doing business with us online. The quick take-aways? Make it easy, put yourself in their place, and never call your customers ‘dumb.’

Read full article: http://bit.ly/1ORqWOQ

Add to Cart, or Add to Basket? Why It Matters

Should the button read, “add to cart,” or “add to basket?” Designers often struggle trying to do something new, something more accurate, or something just for the sake of doing something. None of this matters to users though, who just want conventions, consistency, and simplicity to do what they need to do as quickly as possible. Once someone has to think, the interface is no longer intuitive, and we provide a good reason for the user to click elsewhere. But if you respect users’ desire to “scan, click, and go,” you’ll delight them with a good experience. And if you’re careful to not break conventions, you’ll avoid tripping up your visitors.

Changing your button label from ‘Cart’ to ‘Bag’ isn’t helpful if the former is what users are more familiar with. Designers think ‘Bag’ is more technically correct if their store doesn’t use carts. But being legalistic doesn’t get you the high conversion rate. Speaking the user’s language does.

Read full article: http://bit.ly/1W1nzaN