Stop using the term “Click” in a Mobile Experience
As I am sitting in a call for a native iPad application project, my Design Manager (Courtney Brillhart) and I find ourselves educating our stakeholders on the differences between taps and clicks. You might be asking, what’s the difference?
Well, one refers to a desktop/laptop experience utilizing a mouse/touchpad and the other applies to a mobile device experience utilizing touch targets/gestures. Two different experiences. I’ll explain.
Clicks
“Clicks” are used for desktop/laptop experiences. Users “click” on objects, links or interactive elements by utilizing a mouse or trackpad. This is a term used most frequently to imply navigating a website. There is nothing wrong with this term, but when taking wireframes or prototypes out for testing, this term could end up being confusing for testers, stakeholders and even user researchers.
When taking prototypes out for testing, using appropriate terms to communicate how a user should interact with a design will aid in gathering valuable feedback. Try using terms like “Select” and “How would you navigate…” when speaking with stakeholders, being mindful of the technology and the many differences in experience. Most stakeholders are used to the term “click/clicking/clicks.” Since terminology to support native mobile experiences is somewhat new, stakeholders tend to elude to typical desktop experiences.
While on this call, stakeholders start comparing the native app we are designing to our users’ current experience on an old DOS system, or desktop application. Utilizing a mouse sometimes adds time, complexity, and frustration when navigating a site, i.e, scrolling, single-click vs double click, etc., which can create a poor experience for users.
Taps
“Taps” are used for applications/websites on a mobile device. Having a mobile device in your hand is a completely different experience than using a mouse to interact with a screen. Tapping on a mobile device is a gesture that demands smart use of space, text that is easily legible, logical interaction clues and, perhaps the most important when designing a touch interface, large touch targets. Using a mouse allows a user to click on text links that can be as small as 6pt, whereas trying to tap on a 6pt text link with fingers on a mobile device can lead to a less than great experience.
The touch target can be way too small and users may be frustrated when they end up tapping on the wrong link, or if the link is hidden among other links. Another thing that is great about a touch interface is having the ability to use natural gestures. Most users inherently understand tapping, zooming and scrolling on a mobile device. To zoom in on an object using a mouse, we must double click to zoom or find a zoom-in/zoom-out feature. With mobile devices, users can simply pinch to zoom in and out. Scrolling on a mobile device entails just a flick of a finger, whereas using a mouse means either using a scrolling capability built into the mouse or needing to utilize a scroll bar.
I’m not saying one is better than the other because both have their pros and cons. We as designers must help educate stakeholders and others on the differences between the two, because they can be communicated in ways that are not helpful to a project. Let’s stop using the term click when referencing taps/gestures on a mobile experience.
