Usability: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
According to a recent study by Brulant, usability is the 3rd highest holiday priority for online marketers (38% of respondents), just behind SEO (46%). It's gratifying to see that website marketers, who are typically looking for short-term impact this close to the holidays, are beginning to understand the value of usability.Scott Young, a partner at Brulant, explains it this way:
Because most consumers give themselves a spending limit when it comes to holiday shopping, online retailers need to ensure they are successfully attracting and converting customers so that those holiday dollars don't get spent at a competitor's site instead.I couldn't agree more: usability is a competitive advantage. Customers want to spend their money, and the easier you make it for them, the more of that money you'll get. On the other hand, make it too difficult, and those same customers will leave in a heartbeat; your competitor is still only a click away.
Dr. Pete
· Tuesday, November 20You and I know that, David, but I'm glad the word is getting out to a broader audience. Every time people get distracted by a new marketing tactic, they have a habit of forgetting that the competitive landscape of the web is, for many retailers, not that different than it was 10 years ago.
David Hopkins
· Monday, November 26Also in agreement. I think businesses are a little behind in that respect in the UK. Here they just seem to expect that their development company will look after them infinetly and that they know about everything there is to know about making a success online. If they knew that they wouldn't be making websites for other people ;)
Nice logo BTW. Your site is an easy read - good spacing, alyout and no stray pixels or margins.
Dr. Pete
· Tuesday, November 27Thanks, David (and thanks for stopping by). I went through a redesign recently, although I admit I'm still waffling on the darker background at the top and some layout items. I can't help but always think of my own projects as works-in-progress.
David Hopkins
· Tuesday, November 27I know the feeling - I'm always wanting to change my site. Althogh I am happy with the general functionality of it, the more you look at your design, the more you find things you don't like about it. I find that simlicity is the best option, the more complicated, the more jumbled it is and the more design flaws you can find.
Is this site also your business site? I read the about us page but it doesn't explicitly state your business site. A services page would be useful so we can get more info on what it is you do.
David Mihm
· Tuesday, November 20Definitely in my experience, the biggest turn-off on an e-commerce site is a painful checkout process, poor organization of products so that I can't easily browse a site's selection, and code which only looks right in IE.
Usability is a HUGE competitive advantage around this time of year!!