In early 2000, Yahoo! was crowned the no. 1 search engine. In fact, Google helped Yahoo!’s back-end, until the founders realized they could start a new search engine. At the time, DogPile, Ask.com were two of many search engines competing for attention from a surge in internet usage. So how did Google rise through the ranks to replace Yahoo!’s no. 1 position?
If you put Google.com side-by-side with Yahoo.com, there was (and still is) an enormous difference in the user experience. While Yahoo!.com has nearly hundreds of links, Google had around 15. The new surge in internet usage meant more tech newbies than ever before. For those non-tech savvy internet users, Google was the place to go. It was simple, easy to use, and straightforward, while Yahoo!’s user experience could seem overwhelming and confusing. It was partially Google’s simple user experience that helped the small search engine rise through the ranks and surpass Yahoo!’s majority market share.
The same principles that apply to creating a productive work environment (e.g. through ergonomically designed keyboards or chairs) also carry over into digital media. A website should be tailored specifically to its audience. Think of it as digital ergonomics — where an effective website marries usability and the webmaster’s goals.
Consider the difference between ESPN and Disney’s user experience. ESPN’s homepage is fact-driven and information-oriented. The header is a scoreboard and the right sidebar has the most recent stats. The site architecture (or sitemap) is very simple. It consist of the major sports ESPN covers (e.g. NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, etc.). Click on NFL and the top navigation breaks everything down into straightforward categories (e.g. scores, schedule, standings, etc) and the right sidebar consists of the latest NFL headlines and scores. In general, ESPN is simple, fact-driven sprinkled with analysis and commentary.
Disney delivers a completely different user experience. While ESPN does feature video and photos, multi-media is much more prominent on Disney’s site. Disney is trying to tell a story to children in a visually interesting and entertaining way, while ESPN is fact-driven coupled with analysis. The background is highly visual and “magical” while ESPN is text-heavy. In fact, the only real concentration of text on Disney.com is in the top navigation. Disney’s primary audience is children that think more visually than textually — many of whom might not know how to read. Therefore, the Disney web designers placed much more emphasis on visuals than ESPN.
While ESPN and Disney sites might be completely different (one fact-driven, the other “magical”), they effectively target their users in an engaging and meaningful way. To create an effective user experience on your webpage:
Find your user needs: Each user demographic has a need that you are fulfilling. For instance, ESPN users seek the most recent stats and analysis while Disney users want entertainment and the “magic of Disney.” By defining why a user will visit your site, you can begin to build the design and content framework.
Identify your capabilities and constraints: While you might want to build a site like Disney.com or ESPN, you might not have the capabilities to do so. Identify what you can do. Consider free web design services like WordPress and TypePad. There are thousands of free web design layouts to choose from and there are high-end website design layouts that cost a small fee.
Determine the best user experience: Whether you are consulting with a designer or choosing a free WordPress layout, combine your user needs with the key elements of your design layout. Key design elements include: post volume, visual and text weight and design simplicity (e.g. ESPN is complex while Disney is simple). If you are a photographer, consider a design layout with many large images and little text. If you’re launching a news blog, you would want a layout that would allow a high-volume of posts and an even balance between visuals and text.
Launch and test: The next step is to experiment to find the right design. Get customer feedback. If you can, ask prospective users to select their favorite layout and ask why they chose it. This will help you select a targeted design layout. Next it’s time to launch the site and gather user data. Google Analytics offers webmasters a website overlay to identify where users are clicking most often. Google also offers a website optimizer. Essentially you upload several design layouts to identify the one that most appeals to your user-base.
For inspiration and further insight, here is a presentation that identifies and analyzes user experience best practices:
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