Many web teams I talk to long for the day they get to redesign their websites. I remember the days when I was the same. I now believe that the word ‘redesign’ should be avoided. I think it’s quicker and easier to improve a website in phases. That includes the look and feel. Avoiding the [...]
Tags: redesign, Usability testing
I noticed an advert the other day for Channel 4 Watch online internet catch-up service. It reminded me of a common problem on the web – branding things with names that nobody understands. Channel 4 have done the right thing. Their offering is the Ronseal Quick Drying Wood Stain of the catch-up TV world. So [...]
Tags: catch-up TV, iPlayer, navigation, trigger words
I was discussing Gerry McGovern with a friend recently. We both like the way he writes about good web content. However my friend felt that he couldn’t really see a difference between Customer Carewords and Jared Spool’s trigger words. They are both similar I agree, but I think there are differences. I’ll attempt to describe [...]
Tags: Gerry McGovern, Jared Spool, navigation, trigger words, Usability testing, web writing
There was a time when I thought fly-out menus were the work of the devil. But I’m a little older now and hopefully a bit wiser too. I’ve seen that they can have some benefits. For example they can certainly help make up for poor 1st level categories. On one website I tested they definitely [...]
Tags: navigation
Using good sub-headers will help your users find the information they are looking for. It’s like navigation but without the clicking and the cool roll-over effects. Sub-headers help users decide whether to stay Your web pages will not be read word for word. In many cases your user is looking for a single piece of [...]
Tags: navigation, tips, trigger words, web writing
Many UK TV broadcasters now have catch up TV on their websites. I’ve worked on a few of these projects myself. Images tend to feature heavily in the design of such sites and are usually pretty useful. When you’re looking for your favourite programme it can be easier to find it when images are well-used [...]
Tags: catch-up TV, navigation, tips, trigger words
During usability tests participants will learn how to use the website during the session. This can have an affect on the accuracy of your results. Simulating reality Usability tests attempt to discover what people really do when they use websites. Essentially we’re trying to simulate situations that occur in real life. Good test facilitators try [...]
Tags: tasks, Usability testing
I was having a conversation with a friend today about writing for the web. I’d given him a bit of advice in the past about how to write good web content. I must have done something right because that advice stuck with him. Four years later he is still following it. He’s also using the [...]
Tags: web writing
Whether you’re carrying out your own test or a specialist is doing it for you, there are a few tasks I that recommend you avoid. Free browse The free browse task is when the facilitator just asks the participant to just spend a few minutes looking around the site. People often make it the first [...]
Tags: eyetracking, tasks, tips, Usability testing
I loved this article about the death of answer mail. Apparently it’s going to be taken over by voice recognition converted into SMS messages. It sounds like a great idea. But what exactly are those texts going to read like? Here’s an example of how one of mine might read, “Hi John it’s David Hamill [...]
Tags: innovation
I recently unsubscribed myself from the newsletter from User Interface Engineering. It’s not because I don’t like reading the articles, I do. I recommend that anyone with an interest in usability reads the site’s articles. These days I just go to the site and see what’s new there. The reason I unsubscribed myself was the [...]
Tags: Jared Spool, SPAM
I read an article on Retail Week recently. Online shoppers are warming to e-tail security systems. I’ve removed the link to it from this post because they’ve made it available subscribers only now. Apparently I’m warming to the idea of Verified By Visa since I was forced to register for it. They’ve used the number [...]
Tags: rants
Usability testing is the Champagne of user research. It doesn’t get much better than watching real people using your website. However like Champagne, usability testing is expensive. It also takes a while to organise, carry out and present the results. If usability testing is Champagne then an expert usability review is Cava. It is cheaper [...]
Tags: expert reviews, heuristic evaluations, tips
I'm a freelance usability consultant.
I'm based in Scotland, in between Edinburgh and Glasgow. But I work all over the place.
