I can operate almost any user interface. After all, I have 33 years’ experience using computers and 25 years’ professional experience analyzing bad designs: I know most of the ways interaction designers can confuse or annoy users. I’ve seen it all before. Or so I thought.
Despite my prowess at defeating complicated user interfaces, I was recently stumped by a simple dialog box. I simply couldn’t figure out how to proceed, so I had to close the application and use another program to achieve my goal.
The offending software shall remain nameless; it’s a nice piece of shareware that I enjoy enough to have paid the fee. Also, a single...
If form length is a concern, you can place field labels to the left of the text fields. However, make sure that labels are of similar length and are placed as close to the text fields as possible. If the labels are too far to the left, it can be difficult to associate the correct label with its
Note that ISO 9241 will eventually have 19 parts. The pagecount given here is a projection on the basis of drafts of six of these parts, assuming that the remaining parts will have the same average pagecount as these parts. Also note that the complete set of ISO standards applicable to user
Learn more is the new Click here. Some of its popularity is likely due to a misunderstanding about how people read online. Mailchimp might justify using a vague link (Learn more) because it follows a very specific and well-written tagline (Make your life easier with automation). However
Crypto Micropayments: An Exciting Future of Blockchain Transactions
There are plenty of transactions that occur which could benefit from the security and speed of blockchain, from making secure in-store purchases and the buying of tickets to events like sports matches and concerts. Blockchain also gives us a much-needed layer of confidence in keeping age-restricted
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
Finally, Hathaway sees this as a unique opportunity for the United States to work with countries around the world, and with organizations on an extremely local level. “We cannot succeed if our government works in isolation,” she added. It requires “leading from the top” from
The Future of Blockchain: Technology Partnerships with AI, Bots, and IoT
With more companies looking to undertake digital transformations, cities have also started considering what this same process might mean for key issues related to infrastructure, crime and security, energy consumption, and social issues. As The Hill explained, “Smart cities can reduce
UX Research Cheat Sheet
When deciding where to start or what to focus on first, use some of these top UX methods. Some methods may be more appropriate than others, depending on time constraints, system maturity, type of product or service, and the current top concerns. It’s a good idea to use different or alternating
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Beyond Usability: 3 User Experiences Reshaping Their Industries
Why are we willing to sleep in strangers’ beds, or conversely, let strangers into our homes? We do so because Airbnb has established a trusted, secure, and easy to use customer experience. Similar to Rent the Runway, Airbnb is a player in the growing “sharing” economy. The peer-to-peer online
Brand Is Experience in the Digital Age
In their definition of user experience, Don Norman and Jakob Nielsen claim that “the first requirement for an exemplary user experience is to meet the exact needs of the customer, without fuss or bother.” Brands that choose to address an unmet user need at the core of their business are
M-Commerce: Terrible UX
As an example of this latter point, consider the display of a product list. On a typical desktop screen, the user might be able to see 6 products at a glance (above the fold), whereas a mobile-phone user might only see 3 products. (The actual numbers obviously depending on the specific design and
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
Wishlists, Gift Certificates, and Gift Giving in E-Commerce
For wishlists and gift certificates, achieving highly polished website usability is a must. Beyond that, however, both offerings are often communicated through email, which is a highly brittle medium. We've studied usability for both e-mail newsletters and confirmation messages and have found
A Look Back at the 2018 WP Engine Summit
Last week, some of the most progressive marketers and innovative thinkers using WordPress came together at the 2018 WP Engine Summit. Attendees left exhilarated and inspired to push their brands and agencies forward faster. The theme of this year’s Summit was Breakthrough. Insight into the
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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
WP Engine All Hands Spring 2019: US
Last week, WP Engine employees from all over the U.S. came together at our Austin headquarters for the first biannual All-Hands event of 2019. All Hands is a two-day event in which employees from other offices and teams around the country get the chance to collaborate and strategize with one
Breaking Web Design Conventions = Breaking the User Experience
The site uses several visual-design trends that are popular now, such as minimal content and a full-width image that fills the page above the fold. Long-scrolling, image-heavy pages feature vertically stacked containers, card, and grid layouts, and mimic horizontal swipe on desktop. While these
Basic Patterns for Mobile Navigation
Making navigation important and accessible is a challenge on mobile due to the limitations of the small screen and to the need of prioritizing the content over the UI elements. Different basic navigation patterns attempt to solve this challenge in different ways that all suffer from a variety of
Beware Horizontal Scrolling and Mimicking Swipe on Desktop
Dennys.com: This design offers obvious global navigation in addition to arrows to advance through content. In testing this site, a user never used the arrows to swipe between pages. Instead, he relied entirely on the global navigation and was able to complete all the tasks successfully. Note, too
8 predictions for the future of IoT in 2017
With higher value and higher consequence devices, like those found in an automobile, automakers will start to pay closer attention to security in a number of ways, from encrypting and securing control planes like CANbus–which previously were assumed to be secure via obscurity–as
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
As Digital Identities Evolve, Data Security Should Too
Pretend my personal data is a pencil. I can wrap tissue paper around the pen and hand it to you, and you’ll know it’s a pencil. You may not know the exact specifications of the pencil, but you understand through context what I’m giving you. This environment is ripe for AI disruption. Machine
E-Commerce Failures and Mistakes: Why do so Many Startups Fail?
You’ve chosen a great product to sell online. You are sure it will hit the market as soon as people know about its availability and great features. You’ve done the target audience analysis and you are good to go. What if the product listing on your e-commerce store is inclusive of
users defeated by a dialog box in
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
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
Defeated By a Dialog Box | Homepage Real Estate Allocation
Homepage Real Estate Allocation
Using these major categories to map a site's use of space above the fold is a revealing exercise. You can do this yourself: Grab a screenshot of your homepage and superimpose semi-transparent colored boxes on top of each design element, using color-coding for each important screen space category
No More Pogo Sticking: Protect Users from Wasted Clicks
Recently, I found myself pogo sticking through the Redbox website. Why, you ask, was I doing this? I had wanted to walk to my nearest Redbox location, to get a little exercise and avoid an extra trip in the car, and grab a movie to watch that evening. On the website, I searched for my specific
Minimize the Need for Customer Service to Improve the Omnichannel UX
Any time customers’ online tasks are interrupted and they are forced to contact an organization, other unnecessary touchpoints are added to their journeys. Interruptions and channel switching (from digital to human, or otherwise) degrade the customer experience. Over time, they negatively impact
