Posts Tagged 'user experience'

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Accessibility 2.0 Conference, held at Microsoft’s extremely plush offices in Victoria. This was the first time I’d been to a conference on this topic, and the first thing that struck me was how human it was compared to the average conference. It may have been the wider-than-usual age range of the attendees, the obvious passion they felt for the subject, or simply the presence of several guide dogs lazily stretching during the talks. Whatever it was, it made for a conference with unusual warmth.

I admit I wasn’t sure what to expect, as my experience of AX (accessibility) to date has been a world of code, rules and grey areas. The fundamental problem as I always saw it was not in the application of rules but in a general mindset. Accessibility often means making a few code tweaks at the end of the design and build process, and many people’s experience of AX will be of getting a specialist agency to run an accessibility check on an existing site. The process of implementing AX from the start has always seemed very vague – who takes responsibility? Who should be involved?

Mark Boulton summed this up well in his excellent talk on Inclusive Design when he reminded us that a building that hadn’t been designed with accessibility in mind just wouldn’t make it past the blueprint. Can you imagine a multi-storey car park with no lifts? No ventilation? In the same way that it would be unfair (not to mention unrealistic) to expect the builders or engineers to deal with all this once the building was up, it’s unfair of us in the digital realm to expect the coders to “fix” the accessibility issues once a site has been designed. Christian Heilmann of Yahoo, who was part of a panel on “To comply or not to comply” made this point when he said that it shouldn’t be up to the developers to “tick the accessibility boxes”.

So how do we do this? Mark said the AX community needs to move beyond specs and acronyms, and become accessible itself by reducing barriers to understanding. But responsibility lies with the design community as well. “Design without constraints isn’t design, it’s art” – and AX must be treated as any other constraint, from the start of the project.

Another interesting point Mark made is that designers must expose themselves to the users they are designing for. This area is where I was hoping to find some answers to a problem that has bothered me for a long time. In usability testing, 5 or 6 participants per user-type are recruited to uncover most usability issues. Surely the same applies to accessibility testing? In which case, do we need 5 or 6 per disability-type? Across all the user-types? The cost and logistics of this type of exercise are plainly not feasible for most projects.

The panel accepted that this is an issue, and suggested that users should be recruited across all user types, and that a disabled user should be representative of that user type, rather than of that disability. I think this is a useful first step, and hopefully we will start to see more of this type of recruiting in the usability field. But usability/accessibility testing is again generally something that is done at the end of the project, or at least after the initial structure has been laid down.

The conclusion I’ve drawn from this conference is that the responsibility of ensuring our sites can be used by everybody needs to be taken away from the developers and laid down at the door of the information architects and designers. If we can build it into the very structure, navigation and design, then surely the developers’ task of building the accessible code will be made that much easier. And the first challenge is to educate our clients that AX is as important when designing a website as it is when designing anything else.

An interesting fact for you. Netbook PCs (very small laptops with 7-10 inch screens)  have accounted for 30% of all Laptops sales in the UK in 2009. Sales of these tiny laptops are currently outstripping sales of the iphone, and sales are expected to rise throughout the remainder of the year and in to 2010.

So with emergence of this new ‘mobile’ laptop device and continued increase in their popularity, are there challenges that lay ahead for website designers and usability experts?

The software on these devices is for the most part a simple copy of their bigger brothers, the Laptop, which has lead to issues viewing and navigating websites on these tiny bundles of joy. The screen is so small that scrolling up and down, and left and right is inevitable. A very interesting white paper I recently stumbled upon from Mobilein.com explores this in more detail.

There are already tools to help you Netbook users, Minifox and Google Chrome both help the Netbook user with resolution and re-sizing issues, as well as tools like Ubuntu Netbook Remix which helps move a lot of on screen ‘furniture’ to the side of the screen for you. But does the real work need to be done at the design and build stage? And what are the implications, will we start to see the fold moving up the web page?

So, just as most mobile phones work better with the ‘mobile’ version of the website, will we now need to start considering Netbook versions when designing new sites? Have the considerations for website builds changed forever? The Mobile version, The HTML version…. The Netbook version?

We all love the latest web wizardry but there’s nothing like quality time with your web users to understand what they’re really after.

If people can’t use your website properly, or find what they are looking for, your technology investments are futile and your customers will go elsewhere.

Getting the web experience right influences customers’ decisions to buy and people’s broader perception of your brand.

It’s amazing how even small changes to a site’s usability can have a sizable impact.

Tip 1: I’m a real person not a stereotype

Who are your key users and what are they after? When and where do they tend to access your site? Time spent understanding users’ everyday needs, motivations and the wider context of usage is invaluable. Making assumptions and stereotyping can overlook vital clues and ideas for optimising the navigation and shaping functionality.

Tip 2: Test, test, test

When you start scratching your head wondering what a user would do in this or that situation, it’s time to test. Testing with real-life users is a must. And you don’t need to get hung up on testing large numbers – observing even 3 people’s experiences can give you enough information to start making improvements.

Tip 3: Less is more

Most people will come to your site looking for something specific. Simple, unobtrusive interfaces are normally best for directing them to relevant content fast. It’s all about logical placements of links and consistent treatments for menus. Oh yes, and if your boss thinks the Flash intro to your company’s site is working just fine, show him users failing to find the ‘skip intro’ link and moving to a competitor’s site – that’ll change his mind.

Tip 4: Think accessibility

An accessible site is by definition a usable site. That’s to say, if a visually impaired user can easily navigate your site using a screen reader, it will be a joy for everyone else to use too. Accessibility also means considering alternative formats for your site, particularly as new technologies such as Android and iPhone are changing customers’ buying habits. How does your website look on a mobile?

Tip 5: Don’t be afraid to break conventions

Eyes naturally move from left to right, leading the majority of travel websites to include the all-important ‘Search for your trip’ form on the left-hand side of the screen.

Earlier this year lastminute.com broke this well-known travel site convention, by moving the search form to the right of the home page. This followed usability testing where customers said they would prefer to see more promotions and inspirational ideas. The result? Traffic to merchandising rose while the feared decrease in traffic to the ‘search for your trip’ form didn’t happen. This just goes to show, giving users what they want is your key to online success.

Q: What’s a brand without a personality?
A: Nothing

If you’re a new brand, or an old one for that matter. How do you let your customers and prospects know about your personality?

How you communicate with your audience says as much for your brand as the beautiful logo and pretty creative you wrap it up in.

Brand experience occurs every time a consumer comes into contact with your brand. This audience experience must communicate equally on all levels, if the brand fails to connect on any of these touch points – albeit offline or online -  it affects the way your brand personality is perceived.

A customers digital experience can make a huge difference to the quality of interactions individuals have with brands and their services, but the quality of these interactions are often mixed.

Understanding how digital communications and platforms are going to be received by your audience goes a long way beyond the most elaborate brand guidelines documentation. It’s more complex than pixel width, or where your logo sits on the page.

In the digital realm, usability, user experience, content, copy and tone of voice can have a huge influence on brand perception and all contribute to driving that all important consumer advocacy.