Evaluating Homepage Design

A homepage is where organizations communicate what they’re all about. The funny thing is there’s often a big gap between how organizations are perceived internally versus how they’re perceived by their target audiences. In this class, we’ll go over five questions people ask themselves when they access a homepage, as well as UX research techniques to evaluate a homepage design, including: interception survey, first click test, and online usability testing.

Transcript

1. EVALUATING HOMEPAGE DESIGN TOMER SHARON, UX RESEARCHER, GOOGLE @tsharon
2. 3 GOALS
3. UNDERSTAND HUMAN BEHAVIOR WHEN ACCESSING A HOMEPAGE
4. OVERCOME CHALLENGES OF DESIGNING A HOMEPAGE
5. LEARN TECHNIQUES FOR EVALUATING A HOMEPAGE
6. AGENDA
7. INTRODUCTION TO HOMEPAGES
8. DESIGNING A HOMEPAGE FOR HUMANS
9. HOMEPAGE RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
10. AND A COUPLE OF COOL HOMEPAGE EXERCISES
12. INTRODUCTION TO HOMEPAGES
13. WHAT A HOMEPAGE NEEDS TO ACOMMODATE
14. SITE IDENTITY AND MISSION
16. SITE HIERARCHY
18. SEARCH
20. TEASES
22. TIMELY CONTENT
24. DEALS
27. SHORTCUTS
29. REGISTRATION
31. WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR
33. WHAT I’M NOT LOOKING FOR
36. WHERE TO START
38. ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY AND TRUST
40. CHALLENGES OF DESIGNING A HOMEPAGE
41. EVERYBODY WANTS A PIECE OF IT
43. TOO MANY COOKS
45. ONE SIZE FITS ALL
50. CONVEYING THE BIG PICTURE
51. DESIGNING A HOMEPAGE FOR HUMANS
52. 5 QUESTIONS A HOMEPAGE MUST ANSWER
53. [WRITE THEM DOWN, WE’LL USE THEM SOON]
54. WHAT PEOPLE ASK THEMSELVES ABOUT A HOMEPAGE WHAT IS THIS? IT’S NOT ALWAYS OBVIOUS
55. WHAT PEOPLE ASK THEMSELVES ABOUT A HOMEPAGE WHAT CAN I DO HERE? EXPLANATIONS ARE NOT ANNOYING
56. WHAT PEOPLE ASK THEMSELVES ABOUT A HOMEPAGE WHAT DO THEY HAVE HERE? EVEN USERS WHO NEED THE SITE CAN’T ALWAYS TELL
57. WHAT PEOPLE ASK THEMSELVES ABOUT A HOMEPAGE WHY SHOULD I BE HERE? ADVERTISING IS NOT THE ANSWER
58. WHAT PEOPLE ASK THEMSELVES ABOUT A HOMEPAGE WHERE DO I START? YES, THIS IS THE FAMOUS ‘CALL TO ACTION’
59. WHAT IS THIS? WHAT CAN I DO HERE? WHAT DO THEY HAVE HERE? WHY SHOULD I BE HERE? WHERE DO I START?
60. GETTING THE MESSAGE ACROSS
61. TAGLINE
63. BLURB
65. SPACE
68. PLAIN LANGUAGE
70. YOU BE THE JUDGE
71. REMEMBER THIS?
72. ANSWER THE 5 QUESTIONS FOR THESE HOMEPAGES…
73. WHAT IS THIS? WHAT CAN I DO HERE? WHAT DO THEY HAVE HERE? WHY SHOULD I BE HERE? WHERE DO I START?
74. CRESSKILLBORO.COM “YOU WANT TO CONTACT THE TOWN ABOUT REMOVING A DEAD TREE IN YOUR YARD.”
75. “YOU WANT TO CONTACT THE TOWN ABOUT REMOVING A DEAD TREE IN YOUR YARD.”
76. CESSNA.COM “FIND OUT HOW MUCH THE SMALLEST CESSNA COSTS.”
77. “FIND OUT HOW MUCH THE SMALLEST CESSNA COSTS.”
78. MILWAUKEEPOLICENEWS.COM “YOU OVERHEARD A CONVERSATION DURING A BUS RIDE ABOUT THE WHEREABOUTS OF RAFAEL GARCIA, A KNOWN MILWAUKEE CRIMINAL. YOU WANT TO REPORT IT ONLINE.”
79. “YOU OVERHEARD A CONVERSATION DURING A BUS RIDE ABOUT THE WHEREABOUTS OF RAFAEL GARCIA, A KNOWN MILWAUKEE CRIMINAL. YOU WANT TO REPORT IT ONLINE.”
80. HOMEPAGE RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
81. WHEN I SAY RESEARCH…
82. PROVIDING INSIGHTS INTO PRODUCT USERS, THEIR PERSPECTIVES, AND THEIR ABILITIES TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE AT THE RIGHT TIME.
83. 3 TECHNIQUES FOR EVALUATING IF A HOMEPAGE DOES ITS JOB
84. “ITS JOB”?
85. WHAT IS THIS? WHAT CAN I DO HERE? WHAT DO THEY HAVE HERE? WHY SHOULD I BE HERE? WHERE DO I START?
86. HOMEPAGE RESEARCH TECHNIQUE 1 INTERCEPTION SURVEY CAPTURE PEOPLE’S EXPERIENCE WHEN IT HAPPENS
87. ALSO CALLED “TRUE-INTENT” STUDY
88. TELL US WHY YOU ARE HERE AND HOW WE ARE DOING
89. POP-UP / SIDE DRAWER DIARY STUDY EMAIL
90. WHAT TO ASK
91. WHAT IS THE PRIMARY REASON FOR YOUR VISIT WITH THIS WEBSITE TODAY?
92. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THIS HOME PAGE?
93. WHAT, IF ANYTHING, DO YOU FIND FRUSTRATING ABOUT THIS HOME PAGE?
94. DID YOU FIND WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR?
95. EXPECT SHORT ANSWERS
96. PROVIDE ANSWERS TO CHOOSE FROM
97. DON’T PUSH YOUR LUCK
98. WHAT IS THIS? WHAT CAN I DO HERE? WHAT DO THEY HAVE HERE? WHY SHOULD I BE HERE? WHERE DO I START?
101. HOMEPAGE RESEARCH TECHNIQUE 2 FIRST-CLICK TEST WHAT THEY DO FIRST TELLS YOU A LOT
102. NOBODY LIKES TAKING A WRONG TURN…
103. …ESPECIALLY IF IT’S THE FIRST TURN.
104. WHAT THEY WOULD CLICK ON FIRST TO COMPLETE A TASK
105. CAN BE PERFORMED ON A FUNCTIONING WEBSITE, A PROTOTYPE, OR A WIREFRAME
106. WHY IS THE USER’S FIRST CLICK IMPORTANT?
107. USERS WHO CLICK DOWN THE RIGHT PATH ON THE FIRST CLICK WILL COMPLETE THEIR TASK SUCCESSFULLY 87% OF THE TIME
108. USERS WHO CLICK DOWN THE WRONG-PATH ON THE FIRST CLICK, TEND TO ONLY SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THEIR TASK 46% OF THE TIME
109. HOW-TO
110. CREATE SCENARIOS
111. DON’T TELL PARTICIPANTS THIS IS A FIRST-CLICK TEST
112. TRACK CLICKS
113. WITH CHALKMARK
114. WITH CHALKMARK
115. WITH TREEJACK
116. WITH TREEJACK
117. WITH TREEJACK
118. WITH USERZOOM
119. WITH LOOP11 vimeo.com/15860443
120. BY HAND BY WATCHING A RECORDING
121. TIME THE FIRST CLICK
122. COMPARE IF YOU CAN
123. PRACTICE
124. WHAT IS THIS? WHAT CAN I DO HERE? WHAT DO THEY HAVE HERE? WHY SHOULD I BE HERE? WHERE DO I START?
125. HOMEPAGE RESEARCH TECHNIQUE 3 ONLINE USABILITY TESTING LEARN WHAT WORKS AND DOESN’T WORK IN A HOMEPAGE
126. USERS ARE ASKED TO COMPLETE TASKS WHILE UX METRICS ARE COLLECTED
127. METRICS?
128. TIME-ON-TASK
129. TASK SUCCESS
130. SATISFACTION
131. CONFIDENCE
132. RESULTS
133. THINGS TO KEEP OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT COMPERATIVE DATA ABOUT SPEED, SUCCESS, & SATISFACTION
134. PREPARATIONS
135. SCRIPT
136. BRIEF
137. WARM-UP
138. TASKS
139. DEBRIEF
140. PILOT
141. TASKS
142. CORE
143. REALISTIC
144. 15-20 MINUTES
145. IMAGINE YOU ARE PLANNING A VACATION IN BORA BORA IN MAY 2014 WITH YOUR SPOUSE. USE UNITED.COM TO FIND A FLIGHT THAT SUITS YOU.
147. USE THE RAINBOW SPREADSHEET TO TAKE NOTES COLLABORATIVELY (goo.gl/XWydEC)
148. WHAT IS THIS? WHAT CAN I DO HERE? WHAT DO THEY HAVE HERE? WHY SHOULD I BE HERE? WHERE DO I START?
149. HOW MANY PARTICIPANTS?
150. TRY THE FIRST-CLICK TEST
151. WORK IN PAIRS
152. GRAB A HOMEPAGE CARD
153. RUN A FIRST-CLICK TEST WITH YOUR PARTNER
154. SWITCH ROLES
155. CLASS DISCUSSION
156. RECAP
157. WHAT A HOMEPAGE NEEDS TO ACOMMODATE SITE IDENTITY AND MISSION SITE HIERARCHY SEARCH TEASES TIMELY CONTENT DEALS SHORTCUTS REGISTRATION WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR WHAT I’M NOT LOOKING FOR WHERE TO START ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY AND TRUST
158. CHALLENGES OF DESIGNING A HOMEPAGE EVERYBODY WANTS A PIECE OF IT TOO MANY COOKS ONE SIZE FITS ALL
159. 5 QUESTIONS A HOMEPAGE MUST ANSWER WHAT IS THIS? WHAT CAN I DO HERE? WHAT DO THEY HAVE HERE? WHY SHOULD I BE HERE? WHERE DO I START?
160. HOMEPAGE RESEARCH TECHNIQUES INTERCEPTION SURVEY FIRST-CLICK TEST ONLINE USABILITY TESTING
161. RESOURCES goo.gl/Kx57cy
162. THANK YOU @tsharon speakerdeck.com/tsharon/evaluating-homepage-design