Forms part two – Pace and BalanceThe shockingly high dropout statistics you will undoubtedly find if you probe into an average online form’s analytics begs the question: ‘Why are they so difficult to get through?’ Often they are not actually difficult; they are just boring.
Forms part one – the reservoir of goodwillIt seems the only people who enjoy forms in any way are those who get to criticise them for a living.
You may also think there to be masochistic form creators out there who enjoy deliberately creating frustrating experiences; but I believe they are simply failing to grasp how many problems a set of questions and answer fields can run into.
An introduction to inclusive designA lot of research goes into understanding how physical disabilities (e.g. blindness) affect users online and how support technologies can help. However many people suffer from psychological disorders or learning difficulties which greatly affect their experiences online, and comparatively little research and development has gone into understanding and designing for these issues.
Yo! UsabilityThis is a thought piece to help explain what I am calling ‘Yo! Usability’.
To illustrate it, let’s design a restaurant…
Encouraging Customer Loyalty- Winning Hits and Joined up CRMOne of the biggest challenges facing online businesses today is getting customers to stay loyal to them. It is easy enough to generate numerous first time hits through an ad campaign or promotion, but the cost of doing so often outweighs what users spend on their first visit. Many statistics show that returning and long-time customers are of more value to your business than first time ones, due to both increased sales and reduced costs. Therefore the key to sustainable revenue is to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business.
Simplicity- It’s complicatedDon Norman ‘the guru of workable technology’ recently posted an article questioning the concept of simplicity in design, proposing that it is not the ‘answer’ to usability after all, and it is highly overrated. His theory is controversial- not only does it go against the traditional principles of design; it contradicts things he has written about himself in his award winning books design of everyday things and emotional design.
Eight Tips for designing donation web pages – Part IIIn part one we talked about the ‘heartstrings’; how to engage the user’s emotions and persuade them to help your cause. This part will focus on the ‘purse strings’; how to persuade people to translate this desire to help into an online donation.
Eight tips for designing donation web pages – Part IPersuasion is a subtle art, but an understanding of the psychology of donation can help reap great benefits for your cause. This two-part article explores human nature, caring for and helping others, and how we can use these ideas to design websites which turn viewers into donors. Eight tips for achieving this are embedded within the text and summarized at the end of part two. Part one will focus on emotion…
