Showing posts tagged usability
“
Then there’s the problem with buying a 3-series. Go on, try it. Engage your internet, go to BMW’s website and try to make sense of what’s there. You can’t. Not till you’ve found your reading glasses, and then gone to Boots to buy a pair that is even more powerful. And even when you are able to read the microdot typeface, your computer won’t have the plugin necessary to enjoy any of the site’s features. Not that you will understand what’s on offer anyway, because it’s either flowery rubbish or techno gobbledygook.
Jeremy Clarkson’s thoughts on the BMW website, from his review of the new 3-series in The Sunday Times (full article requires subscription).
Now, I’ll just save this document as version 2…  Agghhh, where’s “Save as” gone?It seems like they got rid of it!!http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=21614 View high resolution

Now, I’ll just save this document as version 2…  Agghhh, where’s “Save as” gone?

It seems like they got rid of it!!

http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=21614

Ofcom’s website provides us with a simple lesson in getting heading and link styles right, in terms of design, and copy. In the screenshot shown, the main heading is blue, so we automatically assume that the text in blue underneath are sub-headings. In fact, they are links. There is nothing to suggest this to the user at all, but these are your next steps. The randomly bolded words don’t help matters, as some users might assume these are the links. Better spacing would aid the problem - if the blue links felt like they belonged to the paragraph above, rather than neither one or the other as present, they would feel like a ‘next step’ to give the user a clue as to their purpose. But let’s be honest, the single most beneficial thing they could do would be to underline the links. On other pages of their website, they have gone as far as to write instructions into the text - “Please click on the titles in blue to see further details”, which suggests they have had feedback about the problem already. As for the copy, once you work out where the links are, they give little clue as to where they will actually take the user. The tone is inconsistent, with some pure calls-to-action (“Read the Broadcasting Code”) and some written as statements (“I saw/head the programme”). For an organisation that should be an advocate for us, the public, this really is unfortunate usability - I wonder how many people have come here to make a point about a programme and simply drawn a blank. View high resolution

Ofcom’s website provides us with a simple lesson in getting heading and link styles right, in terms of design, and copy.

In the screenshot shown, the main heading is blue, so we automatically assume that the text in blue underneath are sub-headings. In fact, they are links. There is nothing to suggest this to the user at all, but these are your next steps. The randomly bolded words don’t help matters, as some users might assume these are the links.

Better spacing would aid the problem - if the blue links felt like they belonged to the paragraph above, rather than neither one or the other as present, they would feel like a ‘next step’ to give the user a clue as to their purpose. But let’s be honest, the single most beneficial thing they could do would be to underline the links.

On other pages of their website, they have gone as far as to write instructions into the text - “Please click on the titles in blue to see further details”, which suggests they have had feedback about the problem already. As for the copy, once you work out where the links are, they give little clue as to where they will actually take the user. The tone is inconsistent, with some pure calls-to-action (“Read the Broadcasting Code”) and some written as statements (“I saw/head the programme”).

For an organisation that should be an advocate for us, the public, this really is unfortunate usability - I wonder how many people have come here to make a point about a programme and simply drawn a blank.

Spot the call-to-action at the end of this form. Microsoft Office at its best! View high resolution

Spot the call-to-action at the end of this form. Microsoft Office at its best!

Improve your product descriptions to win more business

In these days of mail-order everything online, it’s increasingly important for ecommerce websites to provide clear and relevant information about a given product. This is especially true when the product is not exclusive, and can be found for the same price on any number of websites. You need to fight for my business – make me want to use your website over a competitor. You can’t change the product, but you can add a better description, advice, photos and reviews. And you need to make these points of differentiation obvious from the moment I search for that product.

Here’s an example. I want to buy a set of mudguards (fenders to you Americans!) for my bike. I like the look of the SKS Velo 42s, but I’m not sure if they’re right for my bike. The SKS website (in itself hard enough to find on Google) has this for them:

No matter where you are, in the city, the woods or the field, the SKS Velo 42 Urban is the ideal companion to keep you dirt-free and dry. The 28” snap-on mudguard set can be mounted to frame tubes of 25 to 35 mm diameter. For an extra secure mounting of the rear mudguard we also offer a Ø 3,4 mm stainless steel U-stay as optional accessory.

All very well and good, but what does that really tell me, and how does that help me select them over anything else? How easy are they to fit, what mount to they use, what’s the coverage like, what are they made out of, and maybe even what they actually look like when on a bicycle!

I should at least be able to get a professional view from an online bike store. Ah, I see a pattern emerging:

This is a small selection, but paging through the results it gets no better. So, as a user why should I click one over the next?

I click some in the hope there is more content.

You see what I’m getting at? It’s like groundhog day.

All too often an online shop simply copies and pastes the text from the manufacturer’s website, as it stands. There is no thought to how useful the text might be – how does it inform the customer’s decision? It also makes for a constantly changing tone of voice across the site, since the descriptions have all been written by different people.

Store owners, take five minutes to think about the product description before adding it to your sales system. Better still, take a photo or two, and make your product listing stand out from the crowd.

Usability Hell: Why Dyson Airblade is Shit

I don’t like Dyson Airblades. They don’t dry my hands well, and I can’t believe they are hygienic. It seems I’m not the only one…

(Reblogged from usabilityhell)
How many users realise there’s text underneath the image in this overlay box from the new WB Harry Potter studio tour site, I wonder? View high resolution

How many users realise there’s text underneath the image in this overlay box from the new WB Harry Potter studio tour site, I wonder?

Pretty cool shape captcha by Luke Blackamore

Pretty cool shape captcha by Luke Blackamore

Microsoft PowerPoint provides us with a seriously confusing message while a file is saving. I’ve got no progress bar and no alert box title. So, the cancel button = cancel saving? Dismiss this message? Cancel cancelling saving this document!?…

Microsoft PowerPoint provides us with a seriously confusing message while a file is saving. I’ve got no progress bar and no alert box title. So, the cancel button = cancel saving? Dismiss this message? Cancel cancelling saving this document!?…

You can quite justifiably say what you like about Mail Chimp’s new website, but their 404 page is a fine example of best practice. View high resolution

You can quite justifiably say what you like about Mail Chimp’s new website, but their 404 page is a fine example of best practice.

Shopping cart usability from The Oatmeal - piss your pants funny.

via Tony G @ Glue.

I think they’re selling a house? Or maybe a lifestyle? I’ve heard of aspirational branding but would it be too much to ask for some basic details, like how big it is, how much it is, and a photo of the actual house. Better still, try a meaningful title like, er… “House for sale in Chelsea”? I wouldn’t normally take a pop at homemade sites like this, but since the house no doubt costs £1m+ and it is being marketed by estate agents, I think it’s fair game. View high resolution

I think they’re selling a house? Or maybe a lifestyle? I’ve heard of aspirational branding but would it be too much to ask for some basic details, like how big it is, how much it is, and a photo of the actual house. Better still, try a meaningful title like, er… “House for sale in Chelsea”?

I wouldn’t normally take a pop at homemade sites like this, but since the house no doubt costs £1m+ and it is being marketed by estate agents, I think it’s fair game.

The BBC Good Food website has a user-friendly message for those users who have arrived from a search engine. It makes sense to point them towards other resources as they may not be familiar with the site. Looking into it, it seems you can do it fairly easily. Here’s a PHP method. View high resolution

The BBC Good Food website has a user-friendly message for those users who have arrived from a search engine. It makes sense to point them towards other resources as they may not be familiar with the site.

Looking into it, it seems you can do it fairly easily. Here’s a PHP method.