Customization allows users to make selections and set preferences in a system, with the intent of giving users more control over the user experience. Customization allows users to select the content, layout, functionality or design that appeals to them. However, customization tools require work and input from users, so need to be designed in a way that entices and attracts usage, and provides adequate payoff for the work invested by the user.
Here are 7 tips for creating a successful customization experience:
1. Show users that customization is available.
It is not enough to offer customization to users. If users don’t know about the feature or can’t find it, they...
Whether you're designing web pages, web-based applications (e.g., SaaS), or native mobile apps, one of the basic building blocks is the humble text-input field: a box where the user can enter some text. Uses of this widget are plenty and not the topic of this article. We should point out that there
Upon further experimentation, I discovered another way of getting rid of the options box: uncheck the checkbox marked "Show options dialog." This, of course, completely violates the design rules for checkboxes and radio buttons , which are not supposed to have any immediate effect when they are
Tools to create, edit, and post videos have made them accessible and easy to deal with. Prevalence in social channels has lowered the expectation for high-quality video production. In fact, many people welcome the simplicity and folksiness of more realistic, just-shot-myself type of videos. With
Blockchain Scalability: Even If Most Transactions Are in Layer II We Still Need a Layer I
Ultimately, there seems to be a consensus among the majority of the community that utilizing both layer I and layer II solutions is a no-brainer. What exact combination we end up seeing from the myriad solutions being developed is anyone’s guess, but using both offers the security and speed that
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
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
She explained that the original design of the Internet was driven more by considerations of interoperability rather than security, and as a result we are now faced with almost insurmountable issues. Some examples include online criminals who steal our information, mass bandits who have the ability
Brand Is Experience in the Digital Age
Though interaction has always been important for forming customer impressions in service industries — customers would quit going to McDonalds if they were consistently treated rudely by staff no matter how highly they rate the fries — what’s new is that interaction and user experience have
music 7 tips for successful customization features
The Four Dimensions of Tone of Voice
As our example with an error message shows, tone of voice applies to all touchpoints, not just to your homepage copy. Your tone of voice should be part of your omnichannel strategy and be used when creating writing and other communications for all channels, including email (whether promotional
Brand Is Experience in the Digital Age
In digital systems, customers interact with the representation of the brand in the form of websites and other interactive services, making behavior a crucial attribute of brand. The granularity of behavior as a brand attribute can and does vary and can be expressed holistically at the level of
Text Scanning Patterns: Eyetracking Evidence
The commitment pattern demonstrates traditional reading, not scanning. In this pattern, users fixate on all or most content words in the text passage. This pattern usually occurs when users are very interested or very motivated to read the content (for example, because they are studying for a test
After the Buy Button in E-Commerce
I recently discussed our report on the usability of confirmation email with a marketing manager. She said that while it was interesting research, it wasn't really relevant to her marketing team because confirmation messages are sent out only after customers have placed their orders. It's
Accot-Zhai Steering Law: Implications for UI Design
In most cases, moving outside the tunnel boundaries interrupts the user action: for example, in a hierarchical dropdown menu, if the user moves the cursor outside the menu area, the menu disappears (which is a somewhat harsh penalty, if the tunnel breakage was unintentional). That is why the width
Introducing Gutenberg Optimized Themes
In addition to all of the above, the Genesis Framework will be further upgraded for Gutenberg with the release of version 2.8 in Q1 2019. 2.8 will include built-in features that allow you to easily and efficiently style and control Gutenberg blocks as well as auto-load demo content, which can arm
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Mobile's New Power Couple: PWA and AMP
That’s where PWA (Progressive Web Apps) come in. What AMP does for landing pages, PWAs do for the rest of the website. AMP brings users in, ensuring consumers reach your landing page quickly without bouncing, while PWAs allow for immersive and complex shopping experiences that keep users on your
WordPress for Good: Relieving Fatigue .
In this segment, we highlight Untire, an application that helps cancer patients and survivors reduce cancer-related fatigue (CRF) symptoms and regain life. CRF is a common side-effect of cancer and related treatments; patients describe it as a paralyzing level of fatigue that leaves patients
iOS Design Rules to Break
The iOS home screen uses dots (page control) to indicate the current view and the number of additional views (that is, additional pages of apps pages) available. Although this is one of the most recognized and common examples of the dots, it’s also one of the few cases where they work tolerably
The Sketch Test: Test and Improve Your UX Deliverables and Other Documents
While it is tempting to focus primarily on what the participant says (especially direct suggestions for changes), the observation process can provide equally or even more important insights. Watch for areas of the document that the participant refers to when explaining ideas in order to figure
Breaking Web Design Conventions = Breaking the User Experience
Regarding “The Everything Directory” (the 2nd category in the global navigation) this alphabetical listing of the university’s online content was not helpful for users. Alphabetical listings can work well when there is a well-known, common vocabulary for the terms used. At a university
8 Things Every Business Should Know About Data Recovery
The frequency of backup must be based on data criticality and affordability. And there’s no debate on whether you should create and maintain a regular backup. The point is when and how. You should backup business database nightly. But in case some data is lost in between the backup cycle, use
How a VPN Can Enhance Your IOT Devices Security
A botnet is a network of computers or other internet-connected devices that are infected with malware. The devices are controlled as a group, making it possible for hackers to launch large-scale attacks. These attacks can be conducted not just from computers but from all IoT devices as well
4 Things Spotify Can Teach You About Data Sharing
The problem isn’t that Twitter lets advertisers target its users via their own data (Spotify does that, too); the problem is that users have little reason to share that data. Spotify, by contrast, leverages user data to deliver multiple personalized features. Using machine learning, it creates
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
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CSS conversion of my Radio weblog
The hardest thing about the re-design was integrating the tableless CSS design into Radio Userland. I had to do some jiggery-pokery with the Radio Userland templates and macros, and the CSS implementation is not yet complete. I’ve had to temporarily remove my blogroll and topicroll, along
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
7 Tips for Successful Customization | Customer-Service Information on Websites: The Hub-and-Spoke Model
Customer-Service Information on Websites: The Hub-and-Spoke Model
Some approaches worked better than others in enabling customers to efficiently locate the information they needed. One user on OneKingsLane.com was looking for a phone number. He spent several minutes on the home page going back and forth between the header and footer in search of a link, saying
Ensure High Contrast for Text Over Images
Adding a blur effect to photos certainly affects the aesthetics and the branding of a site, but is a good alternative to darkening every image. Additionally, blurring the portion of a photo over which the text will be displayed minimizes likely legibility issues, since the large variation of colors
Customer-Service Information on Websites: The Hub-and-Spoke Model
Many sites label customer-service pages differently, so what is under the Returns link on one site will be found under FAQs on another, or under Customer Service on yet another site. For this reason, users may find themselves making a best guess as to which customer-service page holds the
