DON’T MAKE ME THINK Ryan O’Mara

Key Ideas  Navigation  Usability  User Tendencies  Design For Users  Testing  Navigation  Usability  User Tendencies  Design For Users  Testing

Navigation  User location within the website should be clear, even if they enter in the middle of the site  Give the user a sense of direction  Make buttons clearly clickable  Create a visual hierarchy  Highlight the users current location on the navigation bar in some way  User location within the website should be clear, even if they enter in the middle of the site  Give the user a sense of direction  Make buttons clearly clickable  Create a visual hierarchy  Highlight the users current location on the navigation bar in some way

Usability  Every user has a “reservoir of good will” – the amount of problems they are willing to encounter before leaving your site – be aware of this  Make the things people want to do obvious and easy  Keep it professional  Don’t request unneeded information  Don’t hide information the users may want  Don’t overcomplicate the site with “fancy features”  Every user has a “reservoir of good will” – the amount of problems they are willing to encounter before leaving your site – be aware of this  Make the things people want to do obvious and easy  Keep it professional  Don’t request unneeded information  Don’t hide information the users may want  Don’t overcomplicate the site with “fancy features”

User Tendencies  We don’t read pages, we scan them  We don’t make optimal choices, we satisfy  We don’t figure out how things work, we muddle through them  We don’t read pages, we scan them  We don’t make optimal choices, we satisfy  We don’t figure out how things work, we muddle through them

Design For Users  Give the user a path – tell them where to go – don’t make them think  Give each page a name  Page name should be prominent, and in the right place on the page  Clearly defined page sections that serve clear purposes  Avoid extra/unneeded content – it does more harm than good  Give the user a path – tell them where to go – don’t make them think  Give each page a name  Page name should be prominent, and in the right place on the page  Clearly defined page sections that serve clear purposes  Avoid extra/unneeded content – it does more harm than good

Testing  Test Early  Test Often  Anybody can be used for testing, no need for careful selection  See if they understand the purpose of the site  What’s it all about?  Why is it valuable to them?  Take note of all their feedback and use it  A website should always be evolving to optimize user experience  Test Early  Test Often  Anybody can be used for testing, no need for careful selection  See if they understand the purpose of the site  What’s it all about?  Why is it valuable to them?  Take note of all their feedback and use it  A website should always be evolving to optimize user experience

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