42244

econsultancy_xml

<ol> <li> You seriously can’t afford not to Repeat: you cannot afford to ignore the user experience. Especially if you sell online. Or if you can afford to then you aren’t optimising your business performance. It’s that simple. </li> <li> User experience can be more important then brand and price It can be argued that the user experience is more important than both brand and price. What use is a brand like Gap when there is <a href="/blog/750-find-the-gap-com-oh-actually-you-can-t">no on-site search tool on Gap.com?</a> What use is discounting prices when your checkout process is poor and haemorrhages prospective buyers? Conversely, a startup with no known brand and average prices can get on the map by being more user-friendly than established competition. </li> <li> Gain the competitive advantage There is a bigger picture here: a higher than average conversion rate will ultimately help you to outbid competitors on Google Adwords. Usability studies can help you convert as many prospective customers as possible. Again, with Google Adwords in mind, if you are paying to attract these prospects then it becomes even more important to realize a return on your (paid search) investment. Likewise, if your site converts well, then affiliates will like sending traffic to your site as the earnings per click (EPC) they get from you (how much money they make on average per referral they send you) will be better than your competition. </li> <li> Focus on web standards Usability studies will test your website for errors, as well as problem zones. Error-free code is important for various reasons, not least your Google rankings. </li> <li> You are already spending on design Websites should be constantly tweaked for optimum business results, but even if you only update your site every couple of years you will still spend a lot of money, so make sure you spend it wisely. Invest 5%-20% of your design budget on usability to be sure that your new design is in line with what your users want. Usability first, changes second. </li> </ol> For more, see our <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/usability-user-experience-business-case"> Usability & User Experience Business Case </a> , which provides you with a framework for an internal presentation and / or argument for a usability budget. Note that there are <a href="http://www.e-consultancy.com/research/business-cases.asp"> five other internet business cases </a> to check out.

<FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <List Type="Numeric"> <ListItem> <Emphasis>You seriously can’t afford not to<LineBreak /></Emphasis>Repeat: you cannot afford to ignore the user experience. Especially if you sell online. Or if you can afford to then you aren’t optimising your business performance. It’s that simple. <LineBreak /><LineBreak /></ListItem> <ListItem> <Emphasis>User experience can be more important then brand and price<LineBreak /></Emphasis>It can be argued that the user experience is more important than both brand and price. What use is a brand like Gap when there is <Link URL="/blog/750-find-the-gap-com-oh-actually-you-can-t" Window="New">no on-site search tool on Gap.com?</Link><LineBreak /><LineBreak />What use is discounting prices when your checkout process is poor and haemorrhages prospective buyers? Conversely, a startup with no known brand and average prices can get on the map by being more user-friendly than established competition.<LineBreak /><LineBreak /></ListItem> <ListItem> <Emphasis>Gain the competitive advantage</Emphasis> <LineBreak />There is a bigger picture here: a higher than average conversion rate will ultimately help you to outbid competitors on Google Adwords. <LineBreak /><LineBreak />Usability studies can help you convert as many prospective customers as possible. Again, with Google Adwords in mind, if you are paying to attract these prospects then it becomes even more important to realize a return on your (paid search) investment. <LineBreak /><LineBreak />Likewise, if your site converts well, then affiliates will like sending traffic to your site as the earnings per click (EPC) they get from you (how much money they make on average per referral they send you) will be better than your competition. <LineBreak /><LineBreak /></ListItem> <ListItem> <Emphasis>Focus on web standards<LineBreak /></Emphasis>Usability studies will test your website for errors, as well as problem zones. Error-free code is important for various reasons, not least your Google rankings.<LineBreak /><LineBreak /></ListItem> <ListItem> <Emphasis>You are already spending on design<LineBreak /></Emphasis>Websites should be constantly tweaked for optimum business results, but even if you only update your site every couple of years you will still spend a lot of money, so make sure you spend it wisely. <LineBreak /><LineBreak />Invest 5%-20% of your design budget on usability to be sure that your new design is in line with what your users want. Usability first, changes second. </ListItem> </List> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>For more, see our </Emphasis> <Link URL="http://econsultancy.com/reports/usability-user-experience-business-case" Window="New"> <Emphasis>Usability & User Experience Business Case</Emphasis> </Link> <Emphasis>, which provides you with a framework for an internal presentation and / or argument for a usability budget.</Emphasis> <Emphasis>Note that there are </Emphasis> <Link URL="http://www.e-consultancy.com/research/business-cases.asp" Window="New"> <Emphasis>five other internet business cases</Emphasis> </Link> <Emphasis>to check out.</Emphasis> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent>

2007-04-24T14:48:00+01:00

econsultancy_xml

An investment in usability - optimising the user experience on your website - is a smart move to make, as outlined in our new <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/usability-user-experience-business-case">Usability Business Case</a> report. Whether you hire a usability agency to look at your website's usability, or choose to undertake usability studies in-house, enhancing your site can deliver a massive return on investment.

<FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>An investment in usability - optimising the user experience on your website - is a smart move to make, as outlined in our new <Link URL="http://econsultancy.com/reports/usability-user-experience-business-case" Window="New">Usability Business Case</Link> report.</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Whether you hire a usability agency to look at your website's usability, or choose to undertake usability studies in-house, enhancing your site can deliver a massive return on investment. </Paragraph> </FormattedContent>

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Refer also to Econsultancy's <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/user-experience-buyers-guide">User Experience Buyer's Guide</a> and <a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/effective-web-design-best-practice-guide">Effective Web Design Guide</a> for more information about best practice in these areas.

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Five reasons why you should embrace Usability false

2007-04-25T14:14:00+01:00

five-reasons-why-you-should-embrace-usability

2009-04-28T22:47:27+01:00

2009-10-13T09:00:41+01:00

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