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<Setting goals>
<Conducting the test>
<Things to watch for...>
<Fixin' it>
<Final Words>
Is your website user-friendly?
How many times have you visited a beautifully
designed website just to get frustrated that you can't
find the information you are looking for? That frustration
is all you end up remembering about the site -- not
all the great graphics and purdy buttons...
Usability is simply a term that describes
how easy it is for your visitors to do the things your
site offers, such as
- Subscribe to your newsletter
- Fill out a survey you have posted on
your site
- Purchase your product
- Inquire about a service you offer
- or simply contact you!
Do-it-yourself
With reports from Gartner that up to 40%
of potential sales are abandoned due to bad usability,
why isn't everyone checking their sites? Well, often
we take the advice of our website designers and sometimes
what is clear to us, isn't necessarily clear to your
visitor - familiarity and all that...
While consultants (such as Advantage Positioning!)
can perform extended usability studies for you, there's
a lot you can do by yourself. So, shooting ourselves
in the foot, here are some ways you can test your site
yourself.
What are your goals?
Start by setting your testing goals. What
actions are most important to your business?
Subscribe to your newsletter?
Become a member?
Add a product to their shopping cart?
Submit information to you?
Find answers to common questions?
Write the "script" for the test.
A site selling office supplies online might use a script
that looks something like this:
Click the link for the page on which
you think ink cartridges are located.
Find Hewlett Packard ink cartridges..
Are there any less expensive thirdparty cartridges?
Add it to a list of items to buy.
How much will it cost to ship the cartridge to where
you live?
What is the return policy?
Complete the purchase.
The people you use should mirror your
website visitors as much as possible. Sit down and gather
any customer demographic information you have to create
a series of user profiles. There is no point using computer-savvy
teenagers when your target group is 50+ housewifes.
It's common practice to pay testers for
their time and effort. And while using Uncle Henry or
Bob from accounting may save you $40, they're likely
to skew the results if they don't reflect your target
audience and are already familiar with your site.
Sit with your testers. As your testers
work through each task, you'll be able to see how they
use your site. Do they browse categories or look for
a search function? Do they encounter any difficulties
along the way? This is an incredible opportunity to
get inside your customers' heads and watch what happens
when they use your site. 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.
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 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!
Final Thoughts
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.
Still not convinced you should test
your site?
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!
Need help?
If you would like to have Advantage Positioning
facilitate your Usability Test on your site website
for you, don't hesitate to contact us! Selecting testers
that match your targeted customer base, video to document
interaction, developing the testing script and providing
comprehensive reporting, we are able to work with your
web people directly, communicate the techincal and "human"
requirements and make your site worth your investment!
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