Etips is a publication of:
Your Guide to Professional Web
Site Design and Development
Hello,
Welcome to this week's edition of Etips.
Last week in Etips we began a two part article series entitled, How Improving
Your Site's Usability Can Increase Your Buyers by 40% and Boost Each Order
By 10%. This week we will conclude this series. If you missed part one,
you can find it in the
archive.
I hope you'll enjoy this week's edition of Etips.
To Your Success!
Visit the Ebook Starter site to download
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 How Improving Your Site's
"Usability" Can Increase Your Buyers by 40% and Boost Each Order By 10%!
Part Two
By
Corey
Rudl
This article is part two of a two
part series. If you missed part one, you can find it in the
archive.
4. What you'll need:
Set aside a clean, quiet place where there will be no distractions, and provide
a comfortable chair for the tester. Place a chair for yourself slightly behind
the tester so you can see where they're clicking as they complete each
task.
Have your tasks and questions -- your script -- written down, and be ready
to take notes. If you have a video camera, you can also tape the test (with
the camera looking over the tester's shoulder towards the screen). Before
you start the actual test, run through the script yourself to make sure all
the links are working, that the tasks make sense, and that the video equipment
captures the detail you'll need to see.
5. Running the test:
Before you start the test, explain to your testers that it's the site you're
testing, not them. Let them know that they can't do anything "wrong," and
tell them to surf the same way they normally would. The more relaxed and
natural they are during the test, the better your results.
Then, ask them a few questions about their level of experience, how often
they use the Web, and what they know about your company and products, so
you can better understand their reactions.
Start at your homepage, and ask them what they think your site is about.
This can be a good way of judging how successfully you're welcoming new
visitors.
Throughout the test, encourage your testers to think aloud while they work
through the tasks you've set out for them, so you can get a sense of their
expectations.
Next, work through your prepared script. Ask the tester to attempt various
tasks and answer the questions you've prepared, while checking their expectations
with questions such as: "What do you think you'll be able to do here?" and
"Before you press that button, tell me what you expect to see next." While
you should take notes and follow the script, be flexible enough that you
can pursue any responses that may take you by surprise.
During the test, be sure not to guide the subject. Watch that you don't provide
any hints, suggestions, or even answers that will influence their actions.
If they can't complete a task, simply ask them what they expected to have
happen and how they'd fix the problem, then move on to the next task.
If testers have a problem or become confused, don't assume you know why.
Ask what the problem is, and then paraphrase their answer back to them to
make sure you aren't bringing your own bias into the test.
Visit the Web Design Mastery site
to
download your free chapters (77 pages)!
6. What to watch for:
-
Hesitation: If their mouse cursor
hovers over a link, ask them what they're thinking. Hesitation often means
they're trying to figure something out, and usually indicates a problem.
In a perfect design, the user doesn't have to think -- everything makes sense
and the next step is always clear.
-
Backing up: When users back out of
a page (using either their browser's "back" button or the site's navigation)
it's often a hint that their expectations weren't met. Perhaps they thought
the link would take them somewhere else, or they've lost track of where they
are in the site.
-
Unexpected routes: Did your tester
take a different route through the site to accomplish a task than you expected?
People tend to have different ways of navigating web sites. Did they use
their browser's back button three times to retrace their steps rather than
clicking once on your navigation links? It may be a sign they've lost their
way or haven't noticed the links.
-
Extended reading: Unless your page
is a long salesletter or has a newsletter, users shouldn't have to read too
many instructions to make their way through the site. Usability isn't just
about buttons and navigation; it's also an important test of your copy. Can
your visitors find the information they're looking for, and do they understand
it?
Making Changes and Testing
Results
Once you've thanked your guinea pigs for their time and the tests are finished,
go over your notes. You're looking for general patterns and behaviors, not
details or specific statistics. Did most users get stuck at the same place?
Did more than one person hesitate over the same button?
The biggest sticking points should reveal themselves pretty quickly. Once
you've identified the main roadblocks, use your testers' suggestions about
how they'd fix them or what they'd expect to find as a basis for a solution,
and then test the solution -- before you implement it!
As with any testing, make sure you change only one thing at a time so you
always know exactly what's responsible for any improvement. And throughout
the testing process -- from coming up with the script to implementing the
changes -- try to keep an open mind and trust your users. Their feedback
is not a criticism of you or a reflection of how much time you've spent on
your site. In fact, the more time you've spent working on it, the less objective
you may be about how it works.
Note: If you rely on third-party solutions like shopping carts or payment
systems, you can't always change the way they work to improve usability.
If testing reveals serious problems, it may be worth investigating -- and
testing -- other solutions, even if they're more expensive. After all, a
poorly designed shopping cart system that's causing half of your customers
to abandon their purchases is no bargain!
Usability Tips
A big part of usability testing involves looking at your site from the customer's
point of view. Sure, your programmer or Web designer may have a bunch of
perfectly valid technical reasons for setting up things the way they are,
but your goal shouldn't be to make things easier for your programmer or designer
at the expense of your customers' experience.
As you surf the Web over the next couple of weeks, keep an eye out for usability
issues you come across on other sites -- basically anything that makes you
back up, curse, stop to figure out the next step, or stare blankly at your
screen! Make a note and bookmark these sites for future reference.
And make sure your site isn't guilty of common usability blunders like
these:
-
If a potential customer forgets to
fill in their zip code when they submit an order form, will they lose all
the information they already entered and have to start over again? If so,
you'll likely lose a number of potential customers at this point.
-
Your site's navigation scheme must
be clear and intuitive. If your users have to guess at the meaning of vague
icons or have to squint to read an obscure typeface, you're making them work
too hard.
-
Usability also takes into account
other issues, such as load time. Research shows that if the time between
a viewer's click and the appearance of a new page is more than six seconds,
they get distracted and are likely to move on -- probably to your
competition!
Final Thoughts:
These days, there are certain expectations regarding how a web site should
look and how it should work. For instance, research shows that most people
expect to see a "home" link in the top left corner of a page, and that they
look for internal links down the left as well.
Now, you could argue that internal links look better or make more sense along
the right side, but in the end, usability isn't about what "makes sense"
or looks good to you, it's about what works for your average visitor. And
if 90% of your users expect to find your navigation along the left side of
the page, then the left side is what works!
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Links that look like buttons
get clicked on more often -- simply because they look like something that
can be clicked on. The first thing anyone who surfs the Web learns is that
blue, underlined text is a link. If you start making your links look different
for the sake of prettying up your site, you risk losing functionality.
Finally, don't reinvent the wheel just for the sake of being trendy. Your
web site is a business tool first and foremost. Study sites that have a similar
function to yours and look for common approaches. Amazon.com, for instance,
has helped set standards and expectations for how an e-commerce site should
be organized.
While you don't want to simply copy successful sites, it makes sense to adopt
some of the same navigation techniques. After all, with millions and millions
of customers using a site like Amazon.com, chances are your visitors will
be familiar with their approach. Take advantage of this familiarity and apply
the usability strategies other successful sites have found to be effective
to your site -- then focus on testing to fine-tune the way your own site
works.
Still not convinced you should test your site's usability?
Make no mistake: If you don't test your site, your visitors and customers
will "test" it every day! The problem is, if they're having trouble using
your site, they won't take the time to send you a note offering helpful
suggestions -- they'll just check out your competition!
About the Author:
| Internet marketing
expert Corey Rudl has gained popularity because what he teaches is not
theoretical approaches to online marketing but real examples of what works
when it comes to having a successful business on the Internet. He's also
the author of the bestselling how-to guide, Insider Secrets to Marketing
Your Business on the Internet. For free tips and resources, please visit
www.marketingtips.com |
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Today's tip is an excerpt from the highly acclaimed
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