Welcome to inventioneering in the Green Mountain State.

WEB SITE ERGONOMICS

Making Your Web Site User Friendly

GETTING THIS LETTER IS THE THIRD NASTIEST
THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO YOUR WEBMASTER:
Dear Webmaster:
      I have just finished the worst site visit I have ever made to any equipment support site.
      In the 65 minutes I spent at yourcompany.com...

read the rest of the letter here
NOT GETTING THE LETTER IS THE
SECOND NASTIEST
THING THAT CAN HAPPEN.
HERE IS THE WORST:
Dear Webmaster:
      Thank you for sending me the link to download the update I needed. I plugged the service tag number into the appropriate box at yourcompany.com and your link put me in an endless loop.
      Apparently, we will have to replace the hardware with someone else's brand.

If your customers leave in a huff or complain about your site, here's what we can do to help:

  • Incorporate usability plans in your site design cycle
  • Examine your site for flaws and gather quantitative data
       Streamline visits
       Look for drop outs
       Perform a heuristics review
       Conduct online surveys
       Perform hands-on usability tests
  • Set measurable goals with you
  • Build and test each process

Good Design is Good Business

      The buzz word, not that long ago, was "Ergonomics." Consultants started pushing "Usability" next. Whatever it's called, brick and mortar businesses have known for years that making the customer more comfortable leads to more sales. Web sites can do no less. It's simply good business practice.
      Usability dollars are usually well spent--especially if the ergonomics of your site are incorporated from the beginning of the design cycle.
      Let's consider some numbers. Less than half of all manufacturer's sites offer complete (or even relevant) product information. Two thirds of all shopper visits end in failure. And I suspect that over 90% of all webmasters have no single inventory of every document on their sites.

Four Principles

      We use four principles to keep the visitor's site experience productive:
  • Plan
  • Look and Listen
  • Set tangible goals
  • Keep focussed

MAGIC as NEEDED

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