Prioritizing Web Usability Nielsen and Loranger Chapter 2: The Web User Experience

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Prioritizing Web UsabilityNielsen and
LorangerChapter 2 The Web User Experience

• Paul Ammann
• http//cs.gmu.edu/pammann/
• SWE 432
• Design and Implementation of Software for the Web

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Overview

• How Well Do People Use the Web?
• User Satisfaction with Web Sites
• How People Use Sites
• Search Dominance
• Scrolling
• Complying with Design Conventions and Usability
  Guidelines
• Information Foraging

First Time User You have Less Than Two Minutes!
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How Well Do People Use the Web?

• The Measure of Success
• Progress Users Make in Completing a Task at a NEW
  Site
• Example Task Make a Reservation
• Web-Wide Success Rates
• 66 (Site Specific Tasks) vs. 40 in the 1990s!
• (60 Web-Wide Tasks)
• Success by Experience Level
• Low Experience 59 (Site-Specific) to 52
  (Web-Wide)
• High Experience 72 (Site-Specific) to 67
  (Web-Wide)

Users Fail a Lot!
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User Satisfaction With Web Sites

• Users Often Dont Realize What Theyve Missed
• Hence Satisfaction is Hard to Accurately Measure
• Key Distinction Home Page (40) vs. Deep Link
  (60)
• Three Guidelines for Supporting Deep Link Users
• Tell Users Where They Are and Where They Can Go
• Name/Logo on every page
• Direct, One-Click Link to Home Page
• Search, Preferably in Upper Right Corner
• Orient User to the Rest of the Site
• Dont Assume that Users Have Drilled Down

Make All of Your Site Accessible
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How People Use Sites

• Average 3.2 Sites Per Task
• Less Than Two Minutes Prior to Abandoning
• Rarely Revisit A Site
• The HomePage So Much to Say, So Little Time
• Average Times 35 Seconds (Novice) vs 25 Seconds
  (Expert)
• Experienced Users are Ruthless!
• Clarity is Crucial
• No Long Winded Text Users Wont Read It Anyway
• Users Arent Reading the Page They are Figuring
  Out Where to Go Next
• Examples QuadGraphics Dial Before You Dig

You Need to Support The Users Task
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How People Use Sites (2)

• Four Goals in Thirty Seconds For a Home Page
• What Site User Has Arrived At
• What Benefits the Organization Offers Them
• Something About the Company and its
  Products/Benefits
• Their Choices And How to Navigate To Desired
  Section
• Interior Page Behavior
• Users Read More Content on Interior Pages
• Eye Scans Show Users Spend More Time In Content
  Area
• Tip Optimizing Interior Page Links
• Put Important Links in Content Area of Interior
  Pages
• Homepage vs. Interior Apple vs. IPhones Settings

Home Pages and Interior Pages Are Used Differently
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Search Dominance

• Percentage a Task Starts at a Search Engine 88
• The Rise of Answer Engines
• Users Search for Answers, Not for Promising Sites
• Four Ways to Grab Value From Search Engine
  Visitors
• Offer Flytrap content
• Narrowly Focused Pages With Answers to Common
  Problems
• Embellish the Answer with Rich See Also links
• Go Beyond Pure Information
• Provide Analysis and Insight
• Publish a Newsletter with Additional Tips and
  Information

Users Dont Want You They Want Your Data!
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Search Dominance(2)

• Organic vs. Sponsored Links
• Organic Links Are Best Matches for Users Query
• Sponsored Links are Ads
• How People Use the Search Engine Results Page
  (SERP)
• 93 Visit First SERP Only
• Only 47 Scroll the First SERP
• With Google, 4 or 5 Organic Sites Above the
  Fold
• 51 Click on First Site Only 16 Click on Second
  Site
• Number One Guideline for Search Engine
  Optimization
• Aim for the Top Spot!

Users Dont Go For a Lot of Breadth
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Search Dominance(3)

• Keyword Pricing Estimates For Usability
  Improvements
• Bottom Line Google is Making a LOT of Money
• Determining the Optimal Bid for a Search Keyword
  Ad
• Maximize Profit, Not Total Business
• How Much is Improved Usability Worth?
• Typically Doubles Conversion Rate
• Three Reasons to Improve Your Site
• Keyword Bids Will Gradually Become Insufficient
• Beat Your Competitor
• Keep The Customers You Get Through Other Channels

Business Case for Commercial Sites
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Scrolling

• Tip Design for Short Scrolling
• 23 Scroll Home Page First Visit
• 14 Later Visits to Home Page
• 42 Scroll Interior Pages
• 47 Scroll SERP

Users are Lazy and Ignorant (page 45)
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Complying with Design Conventions and Usability
Guidelines

• Seven Reasons for Standard Design Elements.
• Users Know What Features to Expect
• Users Know How Features Look in Interface
• Users Know Where on Site/Page to Find Features
• Users Know How to Operate Features
• Users Dont Ponder Meaning of Unknown Design
  Elements
• Users Dont Miss Important Features
• Users Dont Get Surprised

Part of Good Design Is Community Standards
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Information Foraging

• Information Scent Predicting a Paths Success
• Users Persist If the Scent is Getting Stronger
• Diet Selection What Sites to Visit
• An Easy Catch
• A Tasty Meal
• Three Ways to Enhance Information Scent
• Ensure that Links Describe Precisely What User
  Will Find
• Use English Instead of Made-Up Words
• Remind Users They Are On The Right Path
• Provide Feedback About Their Location And Its
  Relevance

Web Sites In Darwinian Competition
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Information Foraging(2)

• Patch Abandonment When to Hunt Elsewhere
• Old Advice Try to Trap Users On Your Site
• New Advice Thanks To Improved Search Engines,
  Users Now Leave When the Foraging Grows Stale
• Design Strategies for Attracting Information
  Foragers
• Support Short Visits Be an Information Snack
• Encourage Users to Return
• Emphasize Search Engine Visibility
• Informavore Navigation Behavior
• Users Ruthlessly Apply Cost/Benefit Analysis For
  Information Nuggets

Understand the Informavore!