Count to Ten for a Great UX
By Julie Kennon | June 29, 2021
How important is your user experience?
It depends on how much you like your users spending time on your website! 88% of people don’t want to return to a site after a bad UX. What makes a user experience good? We like to refer to Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics.
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Visibility of system status: People like predictability and they don’t like uncertainty. Where are they on your website? When they make a selection, does the color change or does a check mark appear? Do you need a download bar to show progress if users are viewing a video, reading a PDF, or downloading a document?
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A match between your system and the real world means that the UX will be intuitive. Conduct user research so you know the lingo for your audience.
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User control and freedom: Unlike in life, offer undos and redos! Give your users the ability to undo an action, and remember that digital spaces need emergency exits as much as movie theaters do.
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Consistency and standards: mean that if there’s a shopping cart on your website, there’s something to buy. If there’s a phone icon, pressing it will dial your organization. Don’t try to be cute or tricky – most things are considered standard because they’re universally recognized to perform a function.
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Error Prevention:: Isn’t it a relief when Amazon tells you that you already bought the book you’re considering? Or when an association website asks if you’re sure you want to add two memberships to your cart? Put into place some safeguards that will protect your users from errors.
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Recognition, not recall,: is kinder to our overloaded brains. In other words, make sure the buttons on your website will help users reach a goal. If they need a member number to log in, have that autofill when they enter their name. Give as many clues as you can to help people navigate your site.
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Flexible and efficient:: This is where personalization and customization come into play – can your users choose different actions to get to a goal? For example, you can offer newer users a step-by-step wizard for registering for a conference, but if someone has visited the site before, they can choose a keyboard shortcut that preloads their information.
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Aesthetic and minimalist design: Back to our overloaded brains. The sites that have the most positive user experiences aren’t crowded with images or content – the principles of aesthetic and minimalist design remind us that every unit of information on your website, whether graphic or written, is competing with other, relevant units of information. Give the relevant info the space to rise to the top!
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Recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors: : We’ve all forgotten to fill in our birthdate or phone number on a form and gotten the angry red field blinking back at us. This is actually great! Like a “wrong way” sign on the highway, error messages should quickly and clearly redirect your user. When users can recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors, your website is instantly easier to use.
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Help! No, really, offer help, and offer it clearly. Make sure there’s a question mark or even a bot that can help users who get lost or need to carry out a task. Whenever possible, point users to documentation and list concrete steps to solve their problem.
Chances are good your website scores a perfect ten, meaning it offers a great user experience. But if it doesn’t, this checklist is a great way to evaluate your UX and start to map out a plan for improvement.