Why thanking donors online is powerfulWhy should you thank your online donors? After all once they’ve completed the transaction, surely it doesn’t matter what you do then? Having viewed the Thank you pages on a number of different charity websites, it seems as though many charities are taking this attitude.
Simplicity? Complexity? PersuasionThe ‘C’ word can send shivers down the spine of a UX consultant. I’m not being crass; I’m talking about complexity of course! From the work of Don Norman we know that actually simplicity is complicated. By mapping design to behaviour we can maximise the user experience, an element of that is making sure they aren’t overwhelmed.
8 tips for a sane IAFor World Usability Day I provided 8 tips (tweets) on Information Architecture “truisms”. Things on how to structure a site, how to prevent poor navigation experiences, and why you would want to avoid buckets! These are things I’d want everyone on a team to know before starting a typical website project. .
Positive UX: Optimal user experience is more than the absence of usability issuesThe study of well-being focuses on the topics of positive psychological functioning and experience. It has captured the interest of moral philosophers for centuries. In this article I draw parallels between the fields of well-being and UX in order to illustrate the factors that define and foster ‘Positive UX’ and the implications this may have on measuring good experience with the web.
Promoting committed giving onlineWith government funding for charity programs being cut, many charities are currently looking at increasing their income from individual giving. However the current economic climate means that people are less willing to give their spare money to charity – charities have to work harder to make their case.
Online donations are one source of individual giving that can work well. A whole range of marketing campaigns can be used to drive people to your website where they can then quickly and easily make a donation.
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.
Knowledge is power and this is why we shareIn this article I lay the foundations of why I believe people share UX knowledge. I look at three personality types and what influences people to share their knowledge and what makes people think twice about sharing. A model is introduced to try and understand the processes that people go through when deciding to share articles about their own knowledge and experiences.
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.
