User Experience & Navigation
What makes a good user experience?
User experience (or UX) is about understanding the needs and how it is best to make the the best it can be. To get a better understanding of the term user experience I researched Peter Morvilles honeycomb diagram which breaks down the main factors that would make a good UX.
Useful
If the website does not meet users needs then it would not have a purpose. For example if it is e-commerce website it needs to be able to function.
Usable
Allowing users to effectively and efficiently achieve their end objective.
Finable
Users have a goal — to find things quickly. Does the website achieve this?
Accessible
The website should be easy to find and be designed so that even users with a disability can have the same experience as others.
Credible
Can you trust the website. You have 10 seconds to make an impression and to gain the users trust. If the design does not do this it will lose business.
Disirable
The visual side of the page needs to be attractive and easy to translate. It should make you want to return to the page again. This can be shown throughout branding, aesthetics and emotional design.
Example Website
Ikea is an exmaple of a website with good user experince. The website is clean and minimal making it easy and accessible for all users. The big graphic on the homepage grabs your attention as it changes. Conventions have been used so the site has a feeling of familiarity. For example the logo is shown clearly in the top left. The menu is simplified with 4 main sections,which limits confusion to users. The brand has used white space to their advantage and kept everything simple. The have a limited colour palette, mainly using black and white with hints of their colours used in the logo to help navigate customers around the page.
Ikea has aslo improved their interaction with users by adding a blog like section on their website.This gives a more personal feel and helps to engage more with the users. They have also made use of socail media with having twitter, youtube, pintrest and instagram. Instagram stories has become a big tool for Ikea when trying to increase audience engagment. They have made polls and asked their customers what posts they would like to see or asked them their opinion of products.
Navigation
Navigation is one of the most important features when thinking about designing a website. The movement around a page should be made simple and easy for users. If the navigation is confusing it will impact how long the user will stay on the site. If good navigation can be seen throughout it could lead to more business and promotion for a company/blog/etc.
Descriptive
After looking at some websites I like and use regularly I found that one method of having good nagivation is to be descriptive. For example when it comes to the menus and side bars it is important to consider the ‘key phrases’.
Looking at Urban Outfitters as an example, you can see that they have a very minimal looking menu going across the top of the page. There is no clutter or confusing phrases. They are kept short and to the point but are descriptive enough that you can find what you are looking for easily.
Clean
It is also important to make sure that the web page is kept clutter free. Below is a screenshot taken from an e-commerce website. Although at a glace I would not have been able to workout what the purpose of the website was. The lack of white space makes thew website apprear messy and confusing. White space is crutial to allow people to rest their eye and be able to navigate around a webite easily and can increase comprehension. There is no sense of unity as all images and type are diffrent shapes and sizes. The name of the business has also been lost in the clutter despite being places in the top left corner which is where we would usually expect to find it. Menus should be kept small with around headings. This can then lead to subheadings to further help a user find what they are looking for.
To avoid clutter in the main index it is important to make use of the footer.
Conventions
Conventions can be used when trying to improve the navigation. Conventions are things that users will recognise or expect to find on the webpage. As mentioned above we always expect to see the logo or brand name in the top left corner. We also expect to find acontact button somewhere when we first open the page. Usually in the top right. Social media links are normally placed at the bottom of the site to helpusers find further information if they need.
Consistency
It is important for there to be some consistency throughout the page as it willmake it easier for users to find what they arelooking for. For example by keeping the menu bar on all pages it should help them go back and forth to diffrent pages with out getting lost and confused.
Click Depth
Click depth is the amount of clicks/links that are needed for a user to find what they were looking for when they enter the webpage. The fewer amount of clicks the better, as this means the navigation is less confusing and more accessible for all users.
