Personalization allows a system to identify a user as a specific type or individual, and to deliver appropriate content and functionality to that user. Personalization targets experiences to users with the intent of delivering what they need when they need it. However, personalization needs to be carefully implemented to ensure ongoing success.
Here are some guidelines for creating a successful personalized experience:
1. Assign roles carefully.
When done well, personalization can enhance an experience by presenting the right information to the right user at the right time. However, if a user is tagged as the wrong “type,” personalization can result in a frustrating experience that might annoy the user at...
Formatting a date-entry field may seem like a minor detail; however, even small interactions can draw a process to a standstill if implemented improperly. Poorly designed date input leads to distressed or annoyed users — risking the abandonment of the form altogether. Even worse, if the user
Figure 2b shows a frequently observed error where the user has moved the document icon to a position just outside the Trash icon. Since most of the outline icon overlaps the Trash icon, the novice user may think that the Trash has been indicated as the destination for the document, but in actual
In this pattern, labels are placed within the form field as placeholders until the field becomes active and the user moves the input focus into the field. At that point, the placeholder label moves to the top of the field. As a result, the floating label (also known as an adaptive placeholder) is
What Will Cryptocurrency Be Like in 10 Years?
The second issue the subcommittee raised was that of government-created cryptocurrencies. Alex J. Pollock of the R Street Institute said that: “In short, to have a central bank digital currency is a terrible idea — one of the worst financial ideas of recent times.” Pollock argued that
9 Blockchains Transforming the Way We Pay, Play, and Work
Look past digital currencies’ nosebleed pricing volatility, and you’ll discover a robust, decentralized, secure database. Brands and technologists are quickly figuring out how to put this powerful ledger to good use. Here are several real-world examples that demonstrate cryptos’
Developers Set to Use Bear Market as an Opportunity to Accelerate Ethereum Upgrades
The second most famous cryptocurrency in existence has had challenges of its own this year, particularly from the direction of Ripple, which overtook it in terms of market cap back in September. This was followed by a dramatic fall in the Ethereum price in recent weeks, but the developers seem to
The Distribution of Users’ Computer Skills: Worse Than You Think
One of usability’s most hard-earned lessons is that you are not the user. This is why it’s a disaster to guess at the users’ needs. Since designers are so different from the majority of the target audience, it’s not just irrelevant what you like or what you think is easy to use — it’s
6 tips for successful personalization
Empathy Mapping: The First Step in Design Thinking
Aggregated empathy maps can also become ways to summarize other qualitative data like surveys and field studies. For example, an empathy map can be used to communicate a persona, instead of the traditional ‘business card’ approach. As more research is gathered about that persona, you can circle
The Impact of Tone of Voice on Users' Brand Perception (Nielsen Norman Group UX research)
Participants in both phases of the study agreed that Alpha (the auto-insurance sample whose tone profile was playful and informal – see Table 1) was friendlier than the more serious sample, Beta. (In the online survey, Alpha was rated as friendlier by a difference of 0.3 points ± 0.2 on a
User Experience vs. Customer Experience: What’s the difference?
For example, the claims process may function flawlessly and meet user needs when tested in the lab, but if the information provided in the confirmation email contradicts or confuses the messaging from the claim workflow, the journey breaks down. And if the entire claims process changes dramatically
Store Finders and Locators
Many of the websites we tested in Studies 3 and 4 included the option to use current location to begin a search. The majority of study participants allowed access to their current location when the site requested it. Some desktop users did not notice the browser popup requesting their location
The Slow Tail: Time Lag Between Visiting and Buying
Dr. Alan Rimm-Kaufman from the Rimm-Kaufman Group recently tracked one million clicks on search ads on Google and Yahoo. These advertising clicks eventually translated into 41,377 conversions on the target websites. Although the clients in question must remain anonymous, they presumably have
10 Must-Have Features for a WordPress Website in 2018 .
Lead capture features are easily possible with a wide variety of plugins, having a lead capture box on your website is the best feature of 2018. This doesn’t mean it needs to be an obnoxious popup or take up half your page, but a smart lead capture placed in the right spot can encourage visitors
6 tips for successful personalization
WP Engine Recognized For Excellence at The Stevie Awards
We aim to amaze customers with our expertise, service, and transparency. That’s why The WP Engine Support Team works tirelessly and 24/7 to ensure that we provide customers with peace of mind and confidence. We believe this customer-inspired mentality has helped us achieve a current support NPS
Recapping the State of the Word 2018
Google Docs is perfect for collaborating because multiple people and workflows can be operating at the same time. Integrating these capabilities into WordPress would expedite projects and avoid frustrations. Integration would allow for user revisions and allow them to be fully extensible in a way
Instructional Overlays and Coach Marks for Mobile Apps
In the following proposed redesign for the Makr app, the primary actions that the user should take are clearly outlined in a digestible format of images with ultra-short text. People can immediately understand that their goal is to personalize their chosen template, and what they can do to
Good UX: What I Learned While Working in Restaurants
When we asked 1,015 UX professionals for their career advice and experience, one respondent claimed to have learned everything about UX from playing Dungeons and Dragons. Although such experience is sure to be good, I think you can learn even more about UX from waiting tables in a restaurant. You
How Channels, Devices, and Touchpoints Impact the Customer Journey
Every organization will have its own set of relevant channels that make up its unique omnichannel ecosystem. Some organizations like banks and retail stores will rely heavily on physical locations, while internet-based companies may not have these physical channels at all, but support a multitude
Is Business Headed for a Cognitive-First Future?
Smart machines can transform data points into patterns and insights; imbuing these machines with human knowledge and allowing them to “learn” from the additional information they gather can speed up the computations needed by businesses. Cognitive machines aren’t just reactive, however. With
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
Melissa Hathaway came across our radar recently when President Obama tasked the former Bush administration aide with leading a 60-day review of Bush’s Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative; a largely classified, purported $30 billion, multi phase plan to address cybersecurity issues
The Key IoT Security Questions You Need To Ask
These questions only scratch the broad surface of IoT security. To learn more about securing your IoT solution, register for this free, one-day event. You’ll hear from the researchers behind The seven properties of highly secured devices and see an IoT solution come to life before your eyes
Standardizing “Tribal Knowledge”: It’s Time for Your Company to Grow Up
I’ve found that the best way to foster standardization is to create a widely accessible company knowledge base — a place to capture intellectual property, best practices, and informal “tribal knowledge” contributed by employees along the way. This kind of growing knowledge base can
6 tips for successful personalization
How Healthy Office Snacks Can Help Create A Better Culture
Online grocer Peapod also found that healthy office snacks boost employee happiness. In their study of more than a thousand office workers, about two thirds (66%) of employees who enjoyed free snacks at work reported being either extremely happy or very happy with their current job. On top of that
Images of Fitbit next smartwatch reveal heart-rate improvements
Fitbit is on schedule, as its boss James Park keeps reminding us, to launch its next smartwatch by the end of the year. We don’t know what the smartwatch will be called, though Blaze 2 seems likely, but thanks to leaks we know its design and some of the hardware improvements. Images obtained by
6 Tips for Successful Personalization | Instilling Confidence in Online Shoppers: I Bought a Sofa Online and Good UX Sealed the Deal
Instilling Confidence in Online Shoppers: I Bought a Sofa Online and Good UX Sealed the Deal
In my journey of shopping for a sofa online, I went from a skeptical shopper to a committed customer in only a few days, due largely to the quality of the experience. I faced a lot of frustration after hours of trying to spend my money online. In the end, I found myself purchasing a product for
Teenager’s UX: Designing for Teens
Help teens learn and stay focused by choosing your words wisely. Use words that teens understand. Write in short sentences and paragraphs. Format key points or steps of a process using bullet points. Teens generally have poorer reading and comprehension skills than adults. If your site targets a
Intelligent Assistants Have Poor Usability: A User Study of Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri
But many participants started speaking before formulating the query completely (as you would normally do with a human), and occasionally paused searching for the best word. Such pauses are natural in conversation, but assistants did not interpret them correctly and often rushed to respond. Of
