Common Usability Mistakes Options

[scottiecl]

Sophie posted in this thread asking what some of the most common usability errors were.

Off the top of my head:

1) Splash Pages
2) No recognizable "home" link
3) Missing vital information
4) Inconsistent navigation links (change from page to page)
5) Confusing shopping carts (could be a thread by itself)
6) Low contrast color schemes- text hard to read
7) Poorly labeled links
8) Technology that slows the page or crashes the browser (copied in java applets tend to be a problem)
9) Scroll bars that blend in to the page.

Enough for me! Kim, you're up!

[sanity]

LOL what have I started.

Ok a few more:

Text so tiny you can't read it.
Huge graphics that take forever to load.
Overly cluttered pages.
Not displayig shipping info (prices and countries serviced) until you're checking out.
Low quality product images.

[cre8pc]

OI! Okay, continuing onward...

The homepage doesn't describe what the site is about.

There are no suggested "click paths" to follow (Not everyone comes to browse. Some want to know what you have that's worth sticking around for. Don't forget to tell them!)

Not testing pages on all possible browsers (if you expect it to work for everyone, that is.)

Pages are too large - over 60k. Takes too long to download with dialup.

Poor usability is even believing everyone has racing broadband access.

Forgetting to use both title and alt atttributes behind images.

Relying on the "BACK" button for navigation.

Not offering an alternative to navigation, such as search or a sitemap.

Inconsistent margins.

Forms too long (causing form fatigue)

When asking for a phone number, most webmasters forget to ask for a contact person's name, best time to call and time zone. For sites that intend on hearing from people across the planet, this always cracks me up.

Missing Privacy Policy.

Missing sample of the newsletter you want folks to sign up for. (Another one that boggles my brain. We're asked to sign up for so many things when we have no clue about what we're getting.)

I can't stop. Somebody stop me. I'm a usability addict!!!!

Kim :shock:

[gravelsack]

Many users don't understand enough of the what makes a web site work to describe their frustration in the phrases that we would use.

The biggest single issue I came across when training novices is best described as:

Why isn't it telling me what I need to do next

Which brings to mind a quote I read on another forum regarding the secret of making a web site convert:

Monkey press button, monkey get banana

In other words, without being condescending, don't overestimate your customers intelligence. Give them simple clearly marked 'calls to action'.

Make the path of least resistance be the path to your checkout.

[scottiecl]

Oh, I love the monkey thing. Perfect.

Another biggie... I remember watching several users on a site frustratedly clicking the blue underlined text- that wasn't a link.

Conversely, I've watched people stare blankly at a site where all the navigation was grey text links and tell me there was no way to go anywhere.

[sanity]

Another biggie... I remember watching several users on a site frustratedly clicking the blue underlined text- that wasn't a link.

That is probably one of my biggest pet hates. If it ain't a link don't hyperlink it! :mad:

Monkey press button, monkey get banana

Good analgy. Continually reassuring the user they're making the right choice helps too I've found.

[peter_d]

Being boring.

It doesn't matter how clear the links are, how well the site is structured, how fast it loads or wether it is cross-browser compatible, if a site is boring the user will not use it.

[sanity]

Being boring.

Even if it gives them what they want?

[peter_d]

Even if it gives them what they want?

Style will only get you so far. If a site has nothing to say, then it doesn't matter how it says it.

[sanity]

Style will only get you so far. If a site has nothing to say, then it doesn't matter how it says it.

Ah are you're talking about content & voice? I was referring more to design and usability. As far as what a site says I agree. That's the difference between your blog and some of the others out there.

[peter_d]

Ah are you're talking about content & voice?

Yah.

Garbage in, garbage out. It doesn't matter how much you dress up that garbage, or how accessible the garbage is, it's still garbage.

I find sites that have nothing to say unusable. I will forgive a site every design and usability crime in the book if it interests me. The medium isn't the message.

If you have a message, then you can start designing and doing usability work. If you haven't got a message, then no amount of window dressing will fix it. I feel that concept is something that often gets overlooked.

[sanity]

I feel that concept is something that often gets overlooked.

Agreed. Actually the written word has been overlooked since the inception of the web. When designing sites I can't tell you the number of times that the copy was an afterthought for the client - they would either send you through a brochure and say use that or expect you to "fill the gaps". It's starting to change thank heavens.

[dragonlady7]

Amen, Peter.
Which is why, since about 1995, I've wanted to make a website, and I've only just started getting around to actually doing it, because I've only just recently figured out what to say. Blurry photos of my cat were not going to make a compelling website no matter what theory I applied.
But I digress.

I really like the banana thing.
I was discussing this in another thread-- someone posted and said they'd heard they had to write to a 4th-grade level in their copy, and a bunch of people got annoyed and accused each other of "dumbing down" (which is an annoying phrase, but my sleepiness is showing there).
And I thought, no, that's not it.
I'm a pretty literary person, or so I like to think. I *enjoyed* reading James Joyce and found Chekov stimulating. I fell madly in love with Tolkien. I do like to read.
But if the copy on a website is too dense, and if it demands that I think too much... I'm going to click away!
It's not that I can't read it.
It's that I don't have the time or the brainpower.
So it's not that you have to realize that your users are dumb. You have to realize that your brain real-estate in your visitors is not as big as you probably think it should be. I mean, of course you've poured your effort into this wonderful site, so your visitors should give it their attention.
But they don't have time. They have screaming children, they have screaming migraines, they have screaming bosses sneaking up to look over their shoulders, they have screaming deadlines, and whatever they've come to your website to do-- they're probably devoting less of their brainpower to it than you're assuming.
So don't treat them like they're stupid, but don't try to muscle their worries about their housebound mother out of the way too. You're not going to win. You can only get so much of their attention.

[sanity]

That's why there's such a market out there for you Bridget. 8)

[sanity]

You know another pet peeve. Really crappy logo's. Sure it's not usability but if your logo is of bad quality and you're willing to present it to the world what does it say about the rest of your organisation. :shock:

[dragonlady7]

>such a market

Yeah, who'd've thunk I'd be good at knowing when to use words sparingly?

>crappy logo's

They're really freaking hard to make.
I think the secret to success on the Internet is knowing who to hire to do it for you... I'm getting dizzy.

[cre8pc]

Style will only get you so far. If a site has nothing to say, then it doesn't matter how it says it.

For years I've worried about Cre8pc because it's always been loaded with content and not exactly the prettiest site around. I keep changing it, but overall, it's not a designer's dream site

But, I felt much better when I saw in my traffic stats that roughly 15% of my daily visitors RETURN to the site that same day and the average time spent on my site is an hour (the blog is a huge part of the attraction). Also high are the number of pages visitors click on. They're interested, and they stick around.

I just know it's not due to my looks :wink:

Kim

[tosheroon]

here's another two
Check grammar and spelling thoroughly.
Don't mess with the appearance of the browser window. I want my scroll bars, pointer and back button exactly where they've always been.

[Adrian]

I guess in many cases companies have only though of the flashy brochure/poster type site, only thought about getting the attetnion, not keeping it. In that sense, content isn't as much an issue as a flashy designer site that people go 'wow' at. Problem is, wow doesn't necessarily bring sales eh.

Seems odd that Supermarkets put loads of money into analysing the set up of a store, seeing what the best layout of products is and the like (like having fresh fruit and veg near the door so you see it as soon as you go in, or pumping the smell off cooked bread round the store), yet they don't put nearly as much effort into their websites it seems. You get the impression they made one because they felt they should, not because they really wanted one or had desires to have one. Its a bit like a toy for the management to play with.....

[peter_d]

because they felt they should, not because they really wanted one or had desires to have one

Agreed Adrian.

The web is about one thing: communication. Good article here, although I don't think that communication is merely about words any more than it is about talking. One can talk for hours and still say nothing. Politicians, mostly.

Some sites have nothing to say, or nothing worthwhile to say. And no matter how much time and money is thrown at them trying to cover that fact up, it will always show through. And if a web site has nothing to say, then how can it ever be usable?

Usability starts at the concept stage, IMHO