Web-commerce: Industry Best Practices..task analysis, taxonomy, UX and much more..!
There is currently a great deal of
competition among e-commerce retailers to capture and hold the attention of
buyers. Further, the push for customer retention after acquiring that buying
customer is even more critical. With the effortlessness of shopping on the web, customers CAN go to any on-line store for any reason. However,
they still will return and be loyal to a store that meets their needs and makes
their buying experience smooth, easy and cost effective for the amount of time
invested.
While value-conscious customers may search
for the best price initially, the process and workflow of making a purchase on
a site leaves a lasting impression. In the end, it all comes down to user
experience: did the customer find what they were looking for and conclude their
purchase satisfactorily? The experience must be not only useful but pleasant,
even enjoyable.
The key to an outstanding user experience
is meeting the user's needs at every step of the workflow.
Task Analysis
Knowing the Customer
Customers shop online for 4 basic reasons:
- find a specific item they want to purchase
- find the best or lowest price for an item they want to purchase
- research an item they might want to purchase later that meets a
need for them
- browse areas of interest for inspiration
("window-shopping")
All of these can be described as tasks the
user wants to complete on the site. Good task analysis ensures every type of
customer is acknowledged and provided for.
Recommendation: Define users (who they
are), goals (what they want to do), and tasks (how they want to do it).
Bill Payment
Show total costs on the bill, and make
checking out easy with printable receipts, even duplicate of receipt sent by
e-mail.
Finalize site registration AFTER bill
payment since you already have most of the information.
Getting Support
Users should be able to quickly get support
via multiple methods. If you have a "Live Chat" option, it should
connect immediately to an operator.
Error Correction
Making changes to their purchases --
editing the shopping cart, changing quantities, customizing their order,
changing their minds in any respect should be easy and informative. Fixing
errors on input forms should be very easy as well.
Taxonomy
The categories, labels, and associations
users apply to the items they are looking for need to be correctly identified.
Just imposing the manufacturers' categories and labels is not sufficient. Card
sorting and tree testing methods of developing taxonomy provide greater levels
of confidence that the naming convention works for any visitor to the site.
For example, "fans and heatsinks"
may be the industry term, but if users are looking for "cooling" or
"overheating", the user will be disappointed unless those terms are
linked to the right products. A "not found" error is unacceptable.
Usability
Navigation
Customers approach a site with a task. They
want to acquire something, answer a question or solve a problem. Navigation
that supports task completion while minimizing user errors or frustration is
necessary for any successful site. For ecommerce sites it is even more critical
as users will quickly jump to a competitor (and a bad experience will linger in
their memory) when thwarted in accomplishing their task.
Searching
Most users do not have sophisticated search
skills. Many do not even know that enclosing a search string in quotation marks
will provide an exact match to their query. If they cannot find what they want,
it might as well not even be there. Users will go to another site rather than
take the time to reformulate their search. Therefore, any site search capability
must deliver successful searches in spite of users' inability to use search
tools.
Menus
The "horizontal super menu" or
top navigation that is in vogue is largely a result of eye-tracking studies
that indicate users view web pages in an "F" pattern, and usability
studies that show users love the top navigation. Keep it free from advertising
and promotions to allow the user to get closer to why they came to the site in
the first place.
The left side navigation menu (left rail)
is still useful for filtering of results. Filters should update automatically.
Flyout menus give users greater menu
options without taking up screen real estate.
Breadcrumbs
Users need to be able to adjust their
search quickly and easily without having to back out step by step using the
browser's Back function.
Sorting
Users like to sort by various criteria to
help them compare products and make decisions.
Filtering
When a site has multiple products in the
same category, filtering is absolutely necessary to help the user narrow down
their search.
Interface
Look and Feel
Appears correct visually, no matter what
browser or system specs. Clean, easy to read layout. Good type size.
Fewer clicks to get where they want to go.
Remember preferences, such as number of
items on screen I want to view.
Remember form input. If an error comes up,
keep all correct fields filled and highlight the error.
Show input formats for dates, postal codes,
etc. Very frustrating for users to enter a credit card number with spaces or
dashes only to be given an error message that requires the number to be one
long string.
Good Content
Since buying online is an information
experience where the user is attracted and convinced purely by the information
available about the product, the information provided must be compelling and
thorough. Bad content -- thin, uninformative, repetitive, boring -- can quickly
convince a customer to shop elsewhere.
Duplicate content not only turns off the
customer, it diminishes the SEO value of the site as search engines treat
duplicate content as stale and without value.
Product information must include
availability, product options, images, and total cost.
Visuals
Customers shopping online cannot see, feel
or otherwise experience the product; the tactile experience of shopping is
missing. Therefore, good quality, scalable photos are necessary. The customer
should be able to make the photo(s) of the product dramatically bigger so they
can see all the details of the item.
Customer Loyalty
Customers will often go to a site they
already know rather than search for a product using a search engine. If they
know they have successfully found and acquired a product that pleases them,
they will first go to that same site to have their need met again.
More importantly, they will return to a
site where their preferences have been captured and their contact/payment
information is already on file. However, users don't like up front
registration; capture their details when they make a purchase (or save a wish list)
and complete the registration process at the time they exit the site.
Registration further allows you to market
to that customer later, in other ways, as well as enhance the customer
experience via mobile, e-mail newsletters, and customer support.
SEO
Back-links
Back-links represent connections to other
websites. Make sure the back-links are relevant and valid, not internet
marketing spam. Similarly, customer reviews should be valid. Review these from
time to time to ensure they are contributing to the site, not interfering with
SEO.
Original Content
Original, compelling and informative
content is crucial for improving the online buying experience for users. Customers
want MORE information about the product they cannot see or touch prior to
ordering.
Plain Language URLS
As recommended in the article http://www.poweredbysearch.com/the-great-canadian-pc-e-commerce-showdown/ URLs should contain plain language keywords
rather than Item IDs.
