The search feature on websites is a component that often gets overlooked in terms of its value. Websites such as Amazon, YouTube, Steam, eBay, and essentially all ecommerce websites rely heavily on a user’s ability to search for what they are looking for as opposed to sifting through multiple layers of a navigation menu and the subsequent unrefined results that are returned. As users, we are often drawn to the search input by instinct and don’t even think about how... Read More
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iMedia Blog
A recent survey of admission directors revealed a growing concern about the image of higher education, the declining value perception of pursuing advanced education, and the shrinking pool of prospective college students. Close to nine in ten say higher education needs to do a better job explaining the value of earning a college degree, while two-thirds believe media reports of college graduates struggling to find adequate employment in their chosen field. They believe these factors along with the reality of... Read More
Audit is a terrible word. It bring images of dark suits descending down long corridors with warrants. But the dreaded audit is an essential step any User Experience Architect must take. Whether it’s redesigning a website or starting from scratch, you need start by assessing what’s available, need’s improvement or just plain missing. It sounds crazy but I enjoy the auditing part of my job. It’s a bit like looking all the pieces to a puzzle before you start solving... Read More
Imagine walking into a open air market and there are three carts selling leather boots. Two of them have signs that said “Fine Leather Boots $99.99” and “Premium Leather Boots $79.99”. The third cart says “Superior Leather Boots - See Me Around Back for a Price”. Which cart are you going to approach first? The same scenario is happening in e-commerce as manufacturers try to enforce "Minimum Advertised Price" or MAP across online retailers. Instead of listing a price, they... Read More
Gone are the days of part-time web teams and 5 year redesign cycles. A company’s website is as vital to its success as its financial operations. It must improve as fast as people’s growing expectations. Unfortunately, many businesses are still only concentrating on the surface. - the ’Look and Feel”. But the measure of a successful website goes much deeper. Today, a professionally designed website is table stakes. The "Big 3", Google, Amazon and Apple, have defined the new reality.... Read More
Do you have slew of customer intelligence software integrated into your site? If so, wouldn’t it be nice if you were able to combine them all into one work area, instead of having a bunch of extra tabs open on your browser. We’ve got the answer for you. Hotjar is an all-in-one analytics and feedback tool that helps you understand your web and mobile site visitors. Discover where your visitors are clicking, how much time they spend on each page... Read More
We often think that choice is a good thing for customers. Yet behavioral studies show that more choice leads to less action. A single, simplified call-to-action not only spurs more action but grabs more attention. Giving customers too many choices can start a psychological process known as "Overchoice". People become overwhelmed by calculating all the possible outcomes of their decision. Rather than making a decision, they will often end up leaving. To avoid Overchoice, we need to take a careful... Read More
Users don't read (at first) They scroll and scan for hints in headings, keywords and images. Only when they have found that right word or phrase are they more likely to begin reading. Pages that over communicate with long text prevent scanning but also decrease comprehension. Instead of reading, they are leaving. How to draw their attention So what can you do to draw a visitor's attention? Infuse structure into your page by using sub headers Breakup long text into shorter paragraphs and lists... Read More
Don't waste those valuable milliseconds by making visitors wait for your page to load. Yes, we are talking milliseconds. The 2-second rule is outdated. Users expect a page to load in the blink of an eye. Did you know Walmart has reported that "by reducing their page load time by one second they saw a 2 percent increase in traffic, and every 100-millisecond decrease of page load time saw an incremental conversion of 1 percent?" In this first edition of How to Capture... Read More
Did you know, the average human has a shorter attention span than a goldfish? Within the last 15 years the average person’s attention span has dropped from 12 to 8 seconds. Just 1 second below your average pet store goldfish. So what can you do in those precious seconds to grab your customer's attention? Do you go big and flashy with animated banner or video takeovers? Do you throw in the towel and hope for the best? Actually, the answers... Read More