When our clients observe usability tests we are careful to encourage them not to focus too much on what users say and instead look at what they do. On many occasions users will tell us that they liked a website, and found it easy to use. But just the opposite was true from our observations. They struggled to use the site and spent a long time being confused when making navigation decisions.

Why does this happen? If you’re asked why you did something (why did you select the button on the bottom right instead of the button on the bottom left), you will probably find a very reasonable answer you believe to be correct (the button on the right is red, and that’s my favourite colour).

Rather than saying “I’m not sure” we have a tendency to formulate credible scenarios to articulate why, but this will often not be the real reason. This phenomenon is known in psychology as ‘confabulation’. Psychologists believe that much of our behaviour is driven by our unconscious which, by definition, is something we are not aware of.

Avoid asking people to explain why they did something

When conducting usability research it is important to try to remain focused on observing real behaviour by looking at how users complete a task, where they seem to get confused, what practical barriers stop them from completing their task and so on.

Choosing the right method in user research is important and some methods are better than others to understand how to improve your website’s usability. Surveys and focus groups can be incredibly useful to gain insight into users but are not the best method to retrospectively ask why users behaved the way they did.

Similarly, eye tracking research often uses a method called ‘retrospective think aloud’ where participants are shown their gaze patterns after using a website and asked what they were looking at and why they used the site in the way they did. This is a fantastic tool in the right circumstances but, if it is so easy for us humans to unknowingly make up reasons for our behaviour. Can we rely on the retrospective feedback users give us when we’re making key design decisions?

When making key design decisions you should observe people using the website

Although we will never really know what unconscious urges can influence users to click one thing over another, by being alongside them while they experience a website, a usability test will provide a time sensitive and clearer insight into which areas of the site cause confusion and which areas work well in supporting user decision making.

We will never ignore what users say, but we are aware of the effects of ‘false memories’ and will use observations of their behaviour to interpret what users say during a test. So, use eye tracking to review your website and you’ll get some great insight, but make sure you use the findings to run a typical usability test, this will validate the findings and ensure you really know why users make the decisions they do.

Have you observed people using your website?

Related services: Usability testing & e-commerce usability

A recent report from the Royal Mail reports that 82% of online shoppers said that free delivery would encourage their use of a website.

This makes sense, but before you rush out and start advertising ‘Free Delivery’ all over your website, it is important to look at how best to promote this.

When usability testing eCommerce websites we often observe users completely ignoring large ‘Free Delivery’ banner adverts, and still getting confused when they are looking for delivery information. This is due to banner blindness, where users discount anything that looks like an advert in the corner of their eye. So how do eRetailers combat this?

First, look at the user journeys to understand where in the process they will need information about free delivery. There are often multiple points in a process where your customer will ask themselves about delivery charges. This may differ on a variety of websites but typically this will include:

• Pricing – include ‘Free Delivery’ where ever you quote a price. This will remove the need for users to ask how much delivery will be
• Product detail page – explain that delivery is free when users are reading about a product and considering their purchase
• Delivery page – for users who are specifically looking for delivery information, ensure there is a dedicated page to reiterate that delivery is free

www.play.com provides ‘Free Delivery’ message with all pricing

The above tips will provide a starting point to encouraging your users to buy from you. However, observing your users interacting with your website continues to be the best way to establish where in the user journey the Free Delivery should be mentioned, and to establish what other barriers are a cause of cart abandonment for your users.

How well are you promoting Free Delivery, and do your users see it?

Related services: e-commerce usability & usability testing

We’re often asked about how to get a website ‘right’, or what is the ‘right’ way to display a product page for example. Our clients want to know what the best practice is, what guidelines and standards to conform to, what other sites are doing and so on. Understandably, everyone is very anxious about getting it right, but looking good for investors or designers is not the same as looking good in the eyes of an end user or customer.

In our opinion, guidelines and best practices can be useful to help make quick decisions during design but ultimately a guideline or statement of best practice is only a generic principle that worked for someone else at some time in the past. It may not be right for your users, on your website, at this moment in time.

Most of us are worried about getting it wrong. Ultimately though, getting it right is about what works for your website users. The only way to really get it right is to test the site with real users to understand what works and what does not. Getting it right for your users is far more important than adhering to a guideline.

Do you test your site with users or rely on guidelines instead?

Related service: Usability Testing

The use of A/B testing, where customers get different versions of the same live site to interact with, is an increasingly popular tool for website owners. However, while the company may get useful feedback and data from this testing is it really the best way forward?

While the results might look black and white, A/B testing still leaves a lot of unknowns. The test designs can be subject to bias from the person setting up the test, while customers may not get the best service they were expecting. It also leaves the question of how many testing iterations do you go through, and what impact will this have on the goodwill of your customers.

Pros of A/B testing

Get clear evidence
It’s easy to see how many users complete a transaction with site A over site B. The evidence is based on real behaviour, so is hard data of the type that money men love (and can be presented in a simple-looking, hard hitting chart).

Test new ideas
If you have an innovative idea for an existing site, A/B testing provides hard proof as to whether it works or not. However, you will need to implement that big idea in hard code before you can test it this way.

Optimise one step at a time
If you run a large site, or many sites, then A/B testing is a fantastic opportunity to “patch” test, by starting out in a small corner and then working up to the main pages of the site. However, can smaller site users with less traffic afford to gamble with real users by giving half of them a site experience that might not be optimal?

Answer specific design questions
Are green buttons better than red ones for your site design? This and many other questions can be answered by A/B testing as they allow the designer to test different colours, placement of buttons, page layouts, different images which are all good areas to slowly improve a website.

Cons of A/B testing

Can take lots of time and resources
A/B testing can take a lot longer to set up than other forms of testing. Setting up the A/B system can be a resource and time hog, although third-party services can help. Depending on the company size, there may be endless meetings about which variables to include in the tests. Once a set of variables have been agreed, designers and coders will need to effectively work on double the amount of information. In addition, in order to get conclusive results, tests can take weeks and months for low-traffic sites.

Only works for specific goals
This kind of testing is ideal if you want to solve one dilemma, which product page gives me the best results? But, if your goals are less easy to measure pure A/B testing won’t provide those answers.

Doesn’t improve a dud
If your site had usability problems to begin with and the variations are just an iteration of that, it is likely to still have the fundamental flaws that your other site contained. A/B Testing won’t reveal these types of flaw or reveal user frustration and you won’t be able pick up on the reasons behind the site’s problems. Just because A resulted in more sales, it is only in relation to B. Removing the original usability issue could be much quicker to identify and result in much better results.

Could end up with constant testing
Once the test is over, that is it. The data is useless for anything else. Further A/B tests will have to start from a new baseline and other types of testing will only likely be applied to the more successful site, when they could have found equally useful information from the rejected version.

The best use of A/B testing

When used with other testing methods, A/B testing provides a valuable tool in refining a working design and finding out what attracts your users or helps them complete the processes on pages. However, it cannot measure ease of use, frustration or other elements, so cannot be relied on as the total solution. Therefore, utilise some form of usability testing to better understand the users’ frustrations and issues, then use A/B testing to test the different solutions.

What are your experiences of A/B testing, were they as useful as you had hoped?

Related services: eCommerce Usability &  Usability Testing

Most website owners are never happy with their sites. It could be doubts from a design or content perspective, or merely not seeing the metric results that were anticipated. Whatever the issue, site stress is becoming a common ailment among the Web fraternity.

Our research has shown that many site owners are actually some six months behind where they want it to be. Some react by throwing time and effort at the site without considering the underlying causes, leading to wasted effort and yet more stress.

Others look for new ideas and features to add, which can just over-complicate the site and further exacerbate the problem. If any of this sounds familiar, there are some easy ways to fix your site. They are not instant solutions, but can make for a quick turn around and a lot less stress.

1. Opinions are like tummy buttons, everybody has one, but they’re full of fluff!
Many sites draw influence from a range of sources. This may be from rival sites, well known ones, input from designers, design agencies, even colleagues and peers. Designing a site based on opinion is a recipe for disaster, the design for your site should be pure, simple and achieve the tasks behind your business plan. If you have a live site that came to life through opinions without speaking to users, it is critical to validate them with research rather than assuming everything is fine. More on how to deal with opinions about your website

2. His vital stats are dropping, get the crash cart!
Following the metrics religiously in the early stages of a site’s life is a sure way to get a headache. Consider the first few months as the creation of a baseline which you will compare against in the future. As your site finds its feet, you might get a spike of interest that will tail off, or you might see cyclical peaks and troughs (beyond the usual weekly rhythm). Use this data to gradually better your site and not induce a panic attack.

3. You don’t need a crash test dummy, but a crash test smarty
Using website testing is the best way to find out what is wrong with a site that is not performing as expected. Usability testing can methodically go through the site and point out where real users will have trouble, find a problem or get frustrated. Fixing those problems found in testing is the only way to ensure that your users get the best experience and keep them coming back.

4. Innovation can save the day
If you start to worry that your site is stagnating then throwing bells and whistles at the problem will not solve it. Instead get creative with what you offer your customers or clients. Make your content more valuable, insightful or add unique elements. Reward loyalty from repeat customers and create offers that add value for customers rather than just slashing prices which will only serve to reduce your own income.

5. Check what’s going on around you
Watching competitors is always a good plan. The trick is not to just blindly follow what they do (we’re staggered at the number of designers who are asked to build a clone of a successful site from people who think that’s all that is needed). Do what they do better, or with your own unique twist, or just do something that makes you look different to build up your own customer base. If you’re always following your competitors lead, you’ll always be one step behind.

Keeping it together
When your site is struggling, the first thing is step outside the problem(s) and look at your site as a whole. Often, getting an independent voice is the best solution and this is where usability testing can play the most beneficial role.

Have you had website anxiety? how have you dealt with it?

Related services: Usability testing