Usability and the Human Mind
Usability and the Human Mind was the name of the seminar I attended in Atlanta on Monday the 22nd. It was an entire day spent talking about the psychological factors that should influence usability.
It was a day well spent. It reinforced many of the recommendations we give clients regarding site usability and also provided us with the studies that explain the recommendations.
Surprisingly, studies show that user behavior hasn’t changed much over the years. So even with faster internet connections, fancier computers and lots of neat new technology, we still:
- Have a strong reliance on the back button
- Get confused with multiple browser windows (which is different from tabbing)
- Close pop-ups before we look at them (and in some cases before they even fully load)
- Ignore many ads
- Scan a page and look for elements that appear click-able
- Spend little time on each individual website (less than 2 minutes!)
So how can these points help in building a site? Below are a few quick tips to help:
Tip #1
- Don’t create a site that forces users to open multiple windows to compare items. We don’t like it and it confuses us.
- Do Help us compare items with proper usability (let us check off a few items and compare them on one page).
Tip #2
- Don’t put really important information in a pop-up windows. We probably won’t see it/read it. So when all the calls come into customer service asking about the very thing you used the pop-up window to explain, you’ll know why.
- Do put important information right on the page. Making it a pop-up doesn’t help it stand out, it actually keeps us from reading it.
Tip #3
- Don’t make everything on the site click-able. That won’t help us as we scan the page.
- Do differentiate the few places that are click-able through proper usability. For example, we tend to think of things in blue text as click-able. So if you use blue text, do so sparingly and to illustrate click-ability.
Tip #4
- Don’t take too long to get to the point. Remember we’ll only be on the entire site (not the page) for less than 2 minutes because we are highly task oriented when online.
- Do, make it easy to see and read the most important information. If we want more information, we’ll take the time to read the rest.
Usability is a critical component to online success. If you find yourselves guessing at elements, where they should be placed and what may “look right” you may want to find an expert to help.
