Prioritizing Web Usability Nielsen and Loranger Chapter 2: The Web User Experience

1. Prioritizing Web UsabilityNielsen and LorangerChapter 2: The Web User Experience Paul Ammann http://cs.gmu.edu/~pammann/ SWE 432 Design and Implementation of Software for the Web

2. Overview • How Well Do People Use the Web? • User Satisfaction with Web Sites • How People Use Sites • Search Dominance • Scrolling • Complying with Design Conventions and Usability Guidelines • Information Foraging First Time User: You have Less Than Two Minutes!

3. How Well Do People Use the Web? • The Measure of Success • Progress Users Make in Completing a Task at a NEW Site • Example Task: Make a Reservation • Web-Wide Success Rates • 66 % (Site Specific Tasks) vs. 40% in the 1990s! • (60% Web-Wide Tasks) • Success by Experience Level • Low Experience: 59% (Site-Specific) to 52% (Web-Wide) • High Experience: 72% (Site-Specific) to 67% (Web-Wide) Users Fail a Lot!

4. User Satisfaction With Web Sites • Users Often Don’t Realize What They’ve Missed • Hence Satisfaction is Hard to Accurately Measure • Key Distinction: Home Page (40%) vs. Deep Link (60%) • Three Guidelines for Supporting Deep Link Users • Tell Users Where They Are and Where They Can Go • Name/Logo on every page • Direct, One-Click Link to Home Page • Search, Preferably in Upper Right Corner • Orient User to the Rest of the Site • Don’t Assume that Users Have Drilled Down Make All of Your Site Accessible

5. How People Use Sites • Average 3.2 Sites Per Task • Less Than Two Minutes Prior to Abandoning • Rarely Revisit A Site • The HomePage: So Much to Say, So Little Time • Average Times: 35 Seconds (Novice) vs 25 Seconds (Expert) • Experienced Users are Ruthless! • Clarity is Crucial • No Long Winded Text – Users Won’t Read It Anyway • Users Aren’t Reading the Page – They are Figuring Out Where to Go Next • Examples: QuadGraphicsDial Before You Dig You Need to Support The User’s Task

6. How People Use Sites (2) • Four Goals in Thirty Seconds For a Home Page • What Site User Has Arrived At • What Benefits the Organization Offers Them • Something About the Company and its Products/Benefits • Their Choices And How to Navigate To Desired Section • Interior Page Behavior • Users Read More Content on Interior Pages • Eye Scans Show Users Spend More Time In Content Area • Tip: Optimizing Interior Page Links • Put Important Links in Content Area of Interior Pages • Homepage vs. Interior: Apple vs. IPhones Settings Home Pages and Interior Pages Are Used Differently

7. Search Dominance • Percentage a Task Starts at a Search Engine: 88% • The Rise of “Answer Engines” • Users Search for Answers, Not for Promising Sites • Four Ways to Grab Value From Search Engine Visitors • Offer Flytrap content: • Narrowly Focused Pages With Answers to Common Problems • Embellish the Answer with Rich “See Also” links • Go Beyond Pure Information • Provide Analysis and Insight • Publish a Newsletter with Additional Tips and Information Users Don’t Want You; They Want Your Data!

8. Search Dominance(2) • Organic vs. Sponsored Links • Organic Links Are Best Matches for User’s Query • Sponsored Links are Ads • How People Use the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) • 93 % Visit First SERP Only • Only 47% Scroll the First SERP • With Google, 4 or 5 Organic Sites “Above the Fold” • 51% Click on First Site; Only 16% Click on Second Site • Number One Guideline for Search Engine Optimization • Aim for the Top Spot! Users Don’t Go For a Lot of Breadth

9. Search Dominance(3) • Keyword Pricing Estimates For Usability Improvements • Bottom Line: Google is Making a LOT of Money • Determining the Optimal Bid for a Search Keyword Ad • Maximize Profit, Not Total Business • How Much is Improved Usability Worth? • Typically Doubles “Conversion Rate” • Three Reasons to Improve Your Site • Keyword Bids Will Gradually Become Insufficient • Beat Your Competitor • Keep The Customers You Get Through Other Channels Business Case for Commercial Sites

10. Scrolling • Tip: Design for Short Scrolling • 23% Scroll Home Page First Visit • 14% Later Visits to Home Page • 42% Scroll Interior Pages • 47% Scroll SERP “Users are Lazy and Ignorant” (page 45)

11. Complying with Design Conventions and Usability Guidelines • Seven Reasons for Standard Design Elements. • Users Know What Features to Expect • Users Know How Features Look in Interface • Users Know Where on Site/Page to Find Features • Users Know How to Operate Features • Users Don’t Ponder Meaning of Unknown Design Elements • Users Don’t Miss Important Features • Users Don’t Get Surprised Part of Good Design Is Community Standards

12. Information Foraging • Information Scent: Predicting a Path’s Success • Users Persist If the Scent is Getting Stronger • Diet Selection: What Sites to Visit • An Easy Catch • A Tasty Meal • Three Ways to Enhance Information Scent • Ensure that Links Describe Precisely What User Will Find • Use English Instead of Made-Up Words • Remind Users They Are On The Right Path • Provide Feedback About Their Location And Its Relevance Web Sites In Darwinian Competition

13. Information Foraging(2) • Patch Abandonment: When to Hunt Elsewhere • Old Advice: Try to Trap Users On Your Site • New Advice: Thanks To Improved Search Engines, Users Now Leave When the Foraging Grows Stale • Design Strategies for Attracting Information Foragers • Support Short Visits: Be an Information Snack • Encourage Users to Return • Emphasize Search Engine Visibility • Informavore Navigation Behavior • Users Ruthlessly Apply Cost/Benefit Analysis For Information Nuggets Understand the Informavore!