Slide text: UX Ideas: Avoiding the Perils of Home Page Design, Part I Christine M. Perfetti Perfetti Media www.perfettimedia.com See the video presentation at www.uxideas.com Urban Baby The lesson of UrbanBaby.com UrbanBaby's design changes weren't drastic Added a sidebar for ads Reduced the area devoted to message boards Users' perception of the site changed YouBeMom.com Avoiding the Perils of Home Page Design The good news: Home page designs have improved Home pages primarily focus on the content that is most important to users In our recent analysis of health insurance web sites, we've seen there's still room for improvement The Perils of Home Page Design, Part I 1) Prioritizing aesthetics over the content 2) Ignoring users' main tasks 3) Failing to describe the site's purpose 4) Using unclear language 5) Focusing on unimportant featured content 6) Overhauling the home page Peril #1: Prioritizing aesthetics over the content Peril: Home pages that prioritize aesthetics and forget about the content This approach runs the risk of users failing to accomplish their goals 3 components of successful designs The 3 components of successful designs Usefulness: Does the site help users accomplish a goal? Usability: Can users accomplish their goals quickly, easily, and without frustration? Is the site learnable? Accessible? Desirability: Does the site elicit desire, happiness, and delight? Emphasizing desirability Aesthetics vs Usability Debate Focus on useful and usable content Usability and aesthetics are not mutually exclusive design attributes Focusing on aesthetics or "eye candy" is not a bad thing The best home pages focus on both aesthetics and useful and usable content Don't forget about the content What are your business goals and user goals? The lesson of Craigslist Peril # 2: Failing to focus on users' main tasks Users come to your site with specific tasks they want to accomplish Any information on the page unrelated to the task causes users distraction and decreases their confidence http://rashmisinha.com/2008/10/22/ 09 Prioritize your users' key tasks Identify the main reasons users come to your site Provide the information on the home page, or Get users off the home page and closer to their content as quickly as possible Peril # 3: Failing to describe your site's purpose Users may come to your site with limited knowledge about what you can offer them Home pages miss the mark when they fail to explain to users why they should be there Answer your users' main questions Users' biggest questions on the home page What does the product or service do? What value can you offer me? How do I know you're right for me? How are you different from everyone else? Stay tuned for The Perils of Home Page Design - Part II 1) Prioritizing aesthetics over the content 2) Ignoring users' main tasks 3) Failing to describe the site's purpose 4) Using unclear language 5) Focusing on unimportant featured content 6) Overhauling the home page Thank you! Sign up for the UX Ideas newsletter to get notified about the latest presentations at www.uxideas.com Twitter: @uxideas Want to learn more about Perfetti Media's offerings? Contact us at www.perfettimedia.com UX Ideas: Avoiding the Perils of Home Page Design, Part I Christine M. Perfetti Perfetti Media www.perfettimedia.com See the video presentation at www.uxideas.com
Video length: 25:57
