The not so smelly hamburger nudges people into search in mobile website design
This summer we worked together on two projects where we measured both mobile and desktop website customer experience using Gerry McGovern’s Task Performance Indicator method. Success rates for mobile and desktop seemed to differ very little. However looking at the outcomes a bit more closely, we noticed something interesting. In Task Performance Indicator studies as well as measuring if people are able to complete their tasks we also capture the first tactic every person takes. Did they use search or did they navigate? Comparing the first tactics of desktop vs mobile customers provided valuable evidence about one problem with the mobile site designs of both organisations.
Straight to search
Given fat finger syndrome we sort of assumed that fewer people on mobile devices than on desktops would use search. In fact, the reverse was true. In both projects, significantly more people used search as their first tactic on the mobile site than on the desktop version.
In the testing we observed that poor internal search results hampered customers in both mobile and desktop environments. However, this negative factor was magnified for mobile sites because more people searched. Were our mobile participants “search dominant” with an inherent preference for searching? Or was there some significant other factor making search more attractive than navigation in the mobile design?
The not so smelly Hamburger
In the mobile versions of both sites, main menu choices were behind a hamburger (see images below). Well documented problems exist with this type of primary navigation, not least its tendency to lower the number of persons visiting key areas of sites. Mobile site A just presented the hamburger on its mobile version. Clicking on the hamburger presented search as the first and most prominent action (see illustration below) this nudged customers into search.
Mobile site B added the single word “menu” beside the hamburger menu. Adding “menu” reduced the push to search with about 10% more customers using main menu items where this one word label was applied. We concluded that if customers are offered any sort of scent from the menu then this will be reflected in more customers choosing to navigate.
Conclusion
Reducing information scent on mobile pages by using the hamburger nudges people into using search and this often hinders customers in reaching their goals. Mobile navigation design should show the top three navigation categories on the page as text.
Text smells! Give your mobile customers some scent and more of them will complete their tasks.
By Brian Lamb, Customer Carewords and Rinze Leeheer, Internet Architects
How does your mobile website perform with your customers? Let’s figure it out and drop us a line at marketing@internetarchitects.be!
Brian Lamb has worked with Gerry McGovern for 15 years, leading Top Task projects with CISCO, European Union, Boots PLC, Atlas Copco, Rolls Royce, BBC, HSBC, Department Food & Rural Affairs (UK) and the Irish Health Service.
Rinze Leenheer works as a user researcher for Internet Architects. He has completed several top task projects for a diverse list of clients (like the Port of Antwerp, Colruyt and EASME).
