Today is day 1 of the Retail Week Conference 2008.  I arrived in time for the breakfast briefing, sporting a Conchango t-shirt. My trim figure barely made a dent in the XL Conchango t-shirt leaving plenty of room for a couple of colleagues to squeeze in. After a much-needed caffeine injection and over-indulgence in fresh croissants I brushed aside any early morning cobwebs. I was now ready share my retail and user experience wisdom with MD's and CEO's from some of the UK's largest retailers.

With myself, Dan and Justin making up a follicly-challenged trio resembling the Mitchells of the Consultancy world, it took Richard D, Lynne and Nik to make us appear more Dynasty than Eastenders.   

 

Image: Conchango's very own Mitchell family (below) 

 

Image: Conchango's more glamorous consultants (below)
 

 

My t-shirt concerns were nothing compared to the horror on Nik’s face when he was presented with a medium slim-cut t-shirt.  His generous frame squeezed inside this tight number made him look like he was heading for a night out at G.A.Y. (again)

 

Image: Nik camps it up (below)

 

So what are we doing at Retail Week and why are we sporting these Conchango branded t-shirts? Conchango is one of the key sponsors at Retail Week 2008.  This event is a great opportunity to hear some of the highest caliber speakers in the UK retail market discuss those issues that retailers are facing in an increasingly competitive marketplace and how best to shape their business strategies. Our very own  CEO, Mike Altendorf,  is talking about the challenges of tomorrow.  Catch his presentation about "Engaging the Facebook generation" on day 2 at  11.55.

Although I am looking forward to hearing Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, discuss brand loyalty and the closing-day Interview with Sir Stuart Rose, Chief Executive for Marks and Spencer, my challenge for today is to make up a 6-person team manning the Conchango stand and offer delegates an impromptu 30-minute eCommerce assessment . I’m representing the Experience arm of Conchango.

So what can I say about user experience that the delegates haven’t heard before?  Perhaps nothing, but I’m not worried about repeating myself.  If last years must-do experience enhancements are still not being implemented then they're worth saying again and again and again...

Many retailers still force their customers to register, fail to give customers reassurance at key times of their shopping experience or offer poor quality images and a few lines of uninspiring copy so that their customers have insufficient product data to make a purchase decision, and so much more.  The list of barriers that retailers put up is endless and it’s these barriers areas that need to be addressed to rejuvenate flagging conversion rates.

I will repeat my usual mantra of simplifying the checkout process, displaying shipping details upfront, highly visible support options, improving findability, reinforcing trust and credibility before I even discuss the web 2.0 elements such as user generated content.  For many retailers it's still about getting the basics right. My focus isn’t just online.  The customer experience covers the entire end-to-end experience and extends beyond the website. Every single touch point is an opportunity for their customers to experience the brand and to build customer loyalty. So I'll be looking beyond the online experience at fulfillment and multichannel strategies.

So if you are at Retail Week 2008 today or tomorrow and want to discuss your companies eCommerce offering then please come along to our stand for a friendly chat. 

P.S. Conchango are recruiting! If any of my ramblings interest you and you are passionate about User Experience then we'd like to hear from you.  Why not contact me and let's have a chat?

The 404 error is the most notorious of all status codes.   Four-oh-Four has hit the mainstream, becoming part of our Internet vocabulary and even infiltrating our everyday language. It’s so popular that this status code has abandoned its mates (401, 403...) for international stardom, with galleries, forums and Facebook groups hosting heated debates as to which is the best 404 message.

So what is a 404 error?  It’s an important question as not everybody knows, something we often take for granted. Despite so many users being in the dark about 404’s many sites persist in displaying messages such as  "this is a 404 error message" to their users. 

This status code is a server response when a document or file is requested and can't be found on the web server. Yup, it's a techie term.  Yet we're happy to throw this jargon at unsuspecting users who have got lost through no fault of their own.  Motley Fool explain it in their 404 message: “That's 404: File not found for the technically inclined. For the not so technically inclined that means the link you clicked, or the URL you typed in to your browser, didn't work for some reason."

For some web sites the 404 error message can be the most visited page on your site! For most sites the 404 message will be the response to around 0.1-0.5% of server requests. Yet as Tayler points out in her post "my very first 404 page goes live!" this page often gets overlooked and users who get lost in a web site are left to find their own way out.  The way I view it is that when a user receives a 404 error they have one foot out of the door. The purpose of the 404 message screen is to bring the user back in to your web site before they walk away.  The important thing to remember is that a user arrived at your 404 page because they were looking for something. You need to help them find it

The default error message for most web servers when they get a request for a URL that they don't have is the "404 Not Found" error message.  Fortunately the 404 message can be customised. The design of your 404 message can be crafted to meet the needs of your brand and target audience but there are some basic principles that must be followed. 

Pages go missing for many reasons. The page may have been moved elsewhere, some external site has given an incorrect link, the page no longer exists, or the user makes a typing error. So be realistic, it's going to happen.  The failure to address to 404 error screen is usually down to stubbornness to acknowledge that your site will have errors.  No matter how rigorous you are there will always be errors.

So face the fact, your site will have errors and employ these basic principles when customising your 404 error:-

Do no redirect
Many sites still redirect to the home page. This will disorientate the user. The user deserves an explanation for why they have not reached their intended destination.

Use clear jargon-free language that non-technical folk will understand
Something the user looked for can't be found.  Tell them that.   Your user doesn't care that it's a 404 so why call it that.  Many savvy web users or 'geekier' types know what a 404 is, but equally many existing and new users don't.  I have carried out repeated user testing on 404 screens and the message is loud and clear - talk to users in clear English and reserve “404” for technical discussions only.

Don't blame the user
For example, "oops, you've messed up″ may seem fun and cheeky, but a lost user can rapidly become a disgruntled user so put your hands in the air, take the blame and help them on their way. For example “It’s not you. It’s me.”  Do not make the user feel that they have done something wrong!

Be informative and give an explanation for why they have received the 404 error message
Inform the user what has happened.  For example, the standard message "the page you requested not been found", or the quirkier "this page has gone missing" or "oops, we're sorry the page you requested can't be found”.

Offer a site map so users are able to easily continue their exploration
Provide either a site map or at the minimum links to your web sites most popular pages or sections.  Place obstacles in the way of the user finding what they are after and they are likely to go elsewhere. For example, see Conchango  or Samsung's 404 Error.

Provide a search engine 
For large sites it is recommended to offer search functionality. Remember the user was looking for something when they reached this page so for the same reason as providing a site map, help them find it. For example, Twitter.

Provide Contact details
If all else fails give your users a phone number or email address to get in touch.

Retain the overall look and feel of the site
The 404 experience is part of the users overall site experience. 

What if the 404 error message was the first page a user ever saw of your website?  For some it will be.  Give this message the attention it deserves and treat this page like any other page during a site design. 

It's good to see 404's start getting the respect they deserve.  They are often neglected or an afterthought in a site design.  When a user clicks a button or link they have expectations of the destination screen, so when an error occurs they receive an unexpected page. To avoid disorientating the user this page must be well designed.  As well as following the basic principles above it's important to make sure it's on brand.  I wouldn't expect humour on a Crown Prosecution Service 404 message, but would expect something playful from the likes of Flickr and Twitter.

There are plenty of sites and articles which discuss the heroes and villains of error messages so I won't attempt to reproduce them but point you at 404 Research Lab and Smashing Magazine’s 404 Error Pages: Reloaded.

I’m building a comprehensive set of 404 error’s  - worth bookmarking if 404’s excite you as I’ll be adding to this collection daily. Unfortunately the Flickr screengrab doesn’t do justice to Bluedaniel’s 404 error.  It may not follow my recommendations above but it can't be ignored for its creative and engaging take on the 404 message.

P.S. Conchango are recruiting! If any of my ramblings interest you and you are passionate about User Experience then we'd like to hear from you.  Why not contact me and let's have a chat? 

 

 

Listening to: Bloody Mother F****ng A**hole EP by Martha Wainwright

 

 

A web site I once worked on has recently received a trust overhaul and is now lit up like a Christmas tree with all manner of sparkling trust-builders. Whilst the client must be applauded for their endeavour to reassure their customers and engender trust in their online store, simply littering their web site with a generous dollop of trust-builders shows a naivety and misunderstanding of how to build trust for their target audience.  

3rd party verification logos, customer service contact details, links to privacy statements, returns policies ... are just a few factors that build trustworthiness. Of course, customers also associate trust with the look and feel of the web site.  These and plenty more trust builders now adorn this site and at every step of the shopping experience you can feel these trust-builders breathing down your neck. This clumsy kitchen-sink approach might work for some audiences but the screen clutter creates noise and dilutes the impact of other trust-builders whose purpose at that moment is to allay any concerns and put the customers’ minds at ease.

Create a Trust Strategy Document

As part of the user centric design process I can't understate the value in creating a Trust Strategy Document. 

This is more than industry wisdom and includes trust design principles and guidelines written to meet the needs of your target audience.  This is more than just identifying what factors build trust and reassurance, but when to provide these reassurances, how to deliver them and where to position them.  Building trust is complex and is more than dropping a security seal on every page.  Trust cues vary for a brand and target audience, by industry, over time, and during different stages of their online shopping experience.

The art of serving these cues is like that of a great salesman.  He says the right things at the right time.

Why?

In the early days some customers were reluctant to shop online because of trust issues around the Internet and online transactions.  As the Internet has matured as an online market place the trust issues now faced are around which company to do business with online. It’s important that this is given the attention it deserves and how, when and where we communicate trustworthiness to our audience is carefully crafted.

Why? Well, if you lower a user’s trust in your store then the bottom line is your conversion rate will be hit.

P.S. Conchango are recruiting! If any of my ramblings interest you and you are passionate about User Experience then we'd like to hear from you.  Why not contact me and let's have a chat?

 

Listening to: Club Ska '67: Whine and Grine by Various Artists

Everyone knows Flickr is a great community platform for sharing digital photos with friends and family. However, Flickr is also a great tool for capturing, organising and sharing Design Patterns or collections of Interface Designs. 

Here are a few examples of people doing this...

• DragonVista’s collection of 500+ ecommerce home pages

• Peter Morville’s (findability.org) Search Patterns

• Factoryjoe’s Design Patterns

 

It's easy to capture screen designs and create your own Flickr collection with Snagit, although there are plenty of other tools which do this including freebies such as TechSmith's Jing. Snagit works for me as it has a ‘scrolling window’ capture profile to capture all the content of a scrolling web page.

 
You can install accessories to extend Snagit further.  There are a number of accessories to take your Snagit screen capture and send directly to a 3rd party service, such as Flickr.

 

 

 

This accessory adds a Flickr button to the Snagit preview window toolbar.  

 

 

 
You can configure your Flickr output options to add default tags to the screengrab being sent to Flickr and specify what collection to add it to.

 

 

With just two clicks I can capture a screen design and upload it to my Flickr account. Easy. 

 

If you're interested in seeing a comprehensive set of Product Details pages then bookmark Wandy's Collection as I'll be adding to this collection daily.

 

 

 

 

P.S. Conchango are recruiting! If any of my ramblings interest you and you are passionate about User Experience the  we'd like to hear from you.  Why not contact me and let's have a chat?
 

Listening to: Let the blind lead those who can see but cannot feel by Atlas Sound

 

 

I walked in to an electrical store this weekend to purchase a Cambridge Audio Azur Receiver but couldn’t find what I was looking for.  There were no sales staff around whatsoever to ask whether they had the item in stock, although a sign read ‘leave us a message and we will try to get back to you within 48 hours’.

Sounds strange!

However this is the scenario still faced by many online shoppers.

Most customers expect an immediate response to product and service queries.  Answers may come from the help and product information displayed on your site but when it doesn't answer their query your customer needs to be able to talk to a Customer Services Representative. Customers also require the reassurance that should they need help there is someone to talk to.

By simply positioning your customer services phone number in a prominent location you can significantly increase customer confidence.  Some users I’ve done research with refuse to shop at any store without a direct line to the stores customer services.  So get your phone numbers up and make them easy to find.

Sounds obvious!

Yet many ecommerce sites still don’t provide a non-premium contact number or make it hard to find.  View your web site as a Virtual Customer Service Representative. The web site is there to help your customers find and purchase your products, as well as to give your customers the confidence to do business with you.  This Virtual Customer Services Representative should be as helpful as possible but when they cannot answer your customers query then there is no substitute for contact with the real thing. Offer your customers reassurance that if they had a problem there is a real person they can talk to.

When we built a content managed ecommerce site for one client I recommended that they place their Customer Support phone number in a generous font at the top centre of every single page. The eCommerce Director was concerned that this would increase the call volume.  I reassured him that there might be an initial 5-8% increase in callthrough rate after their site redesign as customers familiarise themselves with the new site but after that the number of calls would steadily fall below that of the call volume before the site launch. The client listened and the phone number took pride of place in the header (and footer) of every screen.

Post-launch a slightly disgruntled client informed me they had been swamped by calls and the increase was closer to 40%.  I had advised the client that the prominent positioning of a contact number is just a small element of a wider strategy to address customers support needs.  When I reviewed their site I discovered poor product descriptions and product imagery, confusing information around their delivery proposition, almost non-existent FAQs etc  The increase in callthrough was only partly due to the prominent number but more so because they were not addressing their customers’ needs. For example, they had increased their product catalogue ten-fold but not enriched the product data. Most customers tend not to call unless they have a reason - of course there are exceptions and there is no accounting for the actions of some folk who will phone no matter how clear and informative your site is.

You need to give your customers as few reasons as possible to phone.  Building the site experience around your customers needs will reduce callthrough and increase conversion rates. When you provide a contact phone number you must have the support strategy, infrastructure and agents in place to handle the calls, otherwise customers will suffer a negative experience of your customer service. One user went as far to say “I would phone the telephone number to speak to someone to get an idea of whether to do business with them or not.” 

I recently phoned Empire Direct 2 or 3 times a day for 5 consecutive days with a product query and did not get through one.  I finally gave up. If I had a problem with a faulty item I had purchased then I would not be able to resolve it if I couldn’t speak to anyone.  So I shopped elsewhere.

And let's not forget the infamous Kiddicare whose disregard for Customer Services is second to none.  If you are unfortunate to have to return an item to Kiddicare you are likely to find they don't respond by email and the only channel you can get a response from them on is their premium phone line. You'll soon find any savings are rapidly eroded as you are kept talking on their revenue generating premium line.

Webcredible carried out research last year to identify what builds customer trust in a website when buying online. From nearly 1200 responses 'contact phone number readily available' was the 4th most popular reason. Making the number available was rated more important than providing security assurances.

Customer services is regularly viewed by the business as an overhead but the costs can only be reduced by either investing in a user-centric site design and/ or by regularly updating your website to ensure all support content on your site is still relevant and adding stuff to address latest support enquiries. As customers are very cautious when buying online you must go the extra mile to reassure them and build that level of trust. The worst thing you can do is hold back or hide your contact numbers.

P.S. Conchango are recruiting! If any of my ramblings interest you and you are passionate about User Experience the  we'd like to hear from you.  Why not contact me and let's have a chat?

 

Listening to: Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend

Am I one of the rare breed of eBay virgins who has resisted the allure of this auction site for over a decade?  If so, the clan is one man less as I was deflowered this weekend after years of resistance.  I finally succumbed to the charm of eBay as a seller tempted me with a delicious and extremely rare compilation CD (limited to 100 copies) that I had been hunting for a while.

Calling me an eBay virgin is somewhat misleading as I have purchased plenty of items from eBay at a fixed price (using the Buy It Now button).  But until now I had not purchased a listing at a bid price and taken part in the auction side of eBay.

This auction took me on the emotional journey that an eBay shopper experiences.  I was soon caught up in the ecommerce site that trumps all the other online retailers when it comes to pathological shopping compulsions.

Within 24 hours I had grown from an eBay virgin to serial bidder.  Within 24 hours I had won my 3rd auction.  And a few days later I joined the army of sellers desperate to make a quick buck by listing some guilty pleasures from my record collection.

As someone who is often regarded as the grumpy old man of site critiques I thought I would be generous and open my 2008 account with a positive review.  Some may see it as slightly perverse that I am about to give praise to a company that many regard as having a lackluster attitude to their users experience!

After my graduation from eBay virgin to experienced bidder a co-worker quizzed me as to what I thought of the user experience. He expected me to launch in to a tirade of usability flaws but I had to be honest and respond "I don't know".  Perhaps I was overcome by the sudden rush of adrenaline as I joined the bidding war and therefore somewhat blind to the user experience.  However, my rule of thumb is that if you can't remember the site experience then either it's not very memorable or it was a fairly good experience. A user remembers experiences that delight or disappoint.

I'll give eBay the benefit of doubt and say it was a fairly OK experience even though this doesn't support the endless threads I read from frustrated eBay users moaning about the experience. 

So my praise comes in the humble and faint praise of "I don't know".  Maybe I've still got some Christmas spirit left in me after all.

eBay has not been pimped up with web 2.0 controls or communities but not every site needs to match Amazons appetite for innovation. Site improvements are high on eBay's agenda and their conservative design strategy is as valid as Amazon's design strategy.  Maybe people should cut eBay some slack.

So I've been happy with my experience and eBay's conservative approach to design improvements.  But for those critics who want enhanced feature filtering, are craving for improvements to the search algorithm to address exorbitant shipping costs or feel the site organization is in need of some loving, the good news from eBay is that in 2008 they plan a generous helping of user experience changes.

If you don't think eBay have shown their commitment to users then take a peep at the improvements that evolved http://www.motors.ebay.com/ to http://motors.ebay.com/

And what about http://playground.ebay.com/ .This is a play area where eBay experiments with new features before they are introduced to the site.  This shows eBay’s cautious but real intent to improve the user experience.

And don't overlook the latest shop from eBay - eBay express, http://www.express.ebay.co.uk/ which showcases improved ways to search and browse.

I'll leave you to judge eBay but maybe it's not as bad an experience as many think.  But for those millions of loyal eBay users who have waited patiently you should be rewarded in 2008.

P.S. Conchango are recruiting! If any of my ramblings interest you and you are passionate about User Experience the  we'd like to hear from you.  Why not contact me and let's have a chat?

 

Listening to: Distortion by the Magnetic Fields
 

Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) won't be breaking in to a sweat quite yet but a new web site, toonlet, offers non-designer folk the tools to create comic strips in a matter of minutes. 

 

This fun flash site has some interesting features such as  creating your own custom cartoon characters from a large range of exaggerated body parts and the ability to create & save a character with multiple moods (happy, mad, disgusted...).   But the killer feature is creating comic strips as comments in response to other persons comic strips.

 

Is there potential for comic strips to become a valuable addition to the existing user generated content players?  Could comic strips be a serious challenger to existing technologies for posting comments or product reviews?

 

What would express the pitiful customer service I received from Empire Direct or celebrate the pleasures of my new Panasonic flatscreen than a short succinct comic strip?

To test this out I set out to see how quickly I could create two new characters and a four panel comic strip in response to an article I read on ROI of User Research? 

I clocked in at an impressive 1min 47s.   OK,  I’m not the next Robert Crumb but I’ve taken less than two minutes to create my comic strip below. 

 

In response to the article my comic strip communicates a common frustration faced by user experience consultants. The post didn’t support comic strips comments but if it had then this would have been a fun, alternative and effective way to have my say.

Are comic strips the future of UGC? :)

P.S. Conchango are recruiting! If any of my ramblings interest you and you are passionate about User Experience the  we'd like to hear from you.  Why not contact me and let's have a chat?

 

Listening to: Comicopera by Robert Wyatt