Prioritizing Web Usability


 

Prioritizing Web Usability

Jacob Nielsen and Hoa Loranger

 

 

This book reflects the data obtained in usability testing sessions on 716 websites with 2,163 users from around the world. Users were defined as high or low experience based on their familiarity with computers and the web.

 

 

Note: Usability guidelines and observations about user behavior fall into several categories. Listed in order of utility/difficulty to obtain:

 

 

The Neilsen group has seen an average 135% increase in conversion rate after a redesign for usability was performed.

 

 

How people use the web

 

 

You have less than two minutes to communicate the first time a prospective customer visits your web site. User spend an average of 27 seconds on each web page.

In the 2006 round of usability tests performed. People were able to successfully perform the tasks assigned to them 66% of the time. (Bear in mind the failure rate for people viewing new sites will be higher than for the sites they are familiar with)

When performing usability testing it is important that subjects start on both the homepage as well as interior pages.

 

 

Average time on page for first visit to website via:

 

 

Scrolling

 

 

23% of first time visitors scroll on the homepage, this percentage decreases with each subsequent visit.

Users who scroll on average viewed 2.3 screens in total, including the initial one above the fold. Of users who viewed pages that were longer than one page, 58% did not scroll the page. 42% viewed 2 page full, only 14% viewed beyond 2 pages full.

 

 

Users with more web experience scrolled more than those with less experience. Our low experience users only scrolled 38% or long pages, whereas the high experience users scrolled 46% of these pages.

 

 

Scrolling page by type (only includes pages that could be scrolled)

 

 

Click traffic

 

 

There is a fascinating pie chart that breaks down where on page clicks take place on pg 35. The footer is the smallest portion. Right hand column, left hand column and top of page received even click traffic (Together they share a little less than half). The content area or active window received a little less than half the click traffic as well.

 

 

Search Engine Usage

 

 

Users typically type in 2-3 words

 

 

93% of users only visited the first search engine results page. 7% moved onto a second results page, and the number who visited 3 search engine results page was less than 1%.

 

 

Only 47% of those who clicked on the first serp scrolled the results page.

 

 

Information foraging behavior dictates that people are now more looking for an acute answer from a site than to actually engage its contents or larger purpose. Thus the number of visitors becomes decreasingly relevant and conversion rate becomes increasingly relevant.

 

 

Where users click on the SERP’s (Organic only)

 

 

Four ways to grab value from search engine visitors:

 

 

PPC

 

 

You have to optimize based on profit, some times a lower ranked cheaper spot generate more profit than a higher result. CR for adwords can vary with lower results sometimes having a higher CR.

 

 

Never use conversion trackers or other web analytics from the search engines who are running your PPC campaigns. This allows the person charging you to know what you profit margins are, its just a bad idea.

 

 

Factors influencing keyword bidding prices.

 

 

Standards and Key Usability issues

 

 

Key Usability issues (Ranking/Order is a factor of how bad the practice is and how widely it is practiced):

·         Know what features to expect

·         Know how these features will look in the interface

·         Know where to find these features on the site and on the page

·         Know how to operate each feature to achieve their goal

·         Don’t need to ponder the meaning of unknown design elements

·         Don’t miss important features because they overlook a design element that is not standard

·         Don’t deal with things that don’t work as expected

 

 

Navigation and Information Architecture

 

 

The four most important things a homepage must communicate to new readers in the 30 seconds they spend on the page:

 

 

Note:

 

 

Typography: Readability and Legibility

 

 

Writing for the Web

 

 

 

 

Presenting Page Elements

 

 

Web users have learned through experience to expect certain items in certain areas and to ignore others. Understanding users behavior and expectations can help you create layouts that satisfy them and make it more likely that they’ll get your message.

 

 

Before adding a design element to your site, ask yourself: Does it simplify the users task? Does it add value to the user? If the answer is no, eliminate it.

 

 

Note:

 

 

Common page layout mistakes:

 

 

Rules for scrolling

 

 

Multi-media

 

 

The tendency here is to abuse for non-user friendly purposes, avoid this.

 

 

Note:

 

 

 

 

Items in book not copied: