UX

Tabbed Navigation

One of my favorite UX quotes comes from Chikezie Ejiasi, UX lead at Nest.

He wrote: “Life is conversational. Web design should be the same way. On the web, you’re talking to someone you’ve probably never met—so it’s important to be clear and precise. Thus, well-structured navigation and content organization goes hand in hand with having a good conversation.”

Can tabbed navigation be clear and precise? Of course it can, which makes it a valid form of navigation and content organization. What matters, as with most things related to UX, is how you implement it and how you optimize it.

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Password UX

Have you ever forgotten a password for a site? What about a security question?

Have you ever spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to think of a password you can remember, but also complies with a list of arbitrary requirements (e.g., seven uppercase letters, four special characters, etc.)?

When these UX problems pop up, they cause friction.

Friction that prevents new SaaS customers from signing up, friction that prevents loyal eCommerce customers from creating an account for next time, friction that prevents current customers from accessing their accounts.

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On-Site Personalization

In 1999, David Weinberger, a technologist and co-author of  The Cluetrain Manifesto, wrote, “Personalization: the automatic tailoring of sites and messages to the individuals viewing them so that we can feel that somewhere there’s a piece of software that loves us for who we are.”

Two decades later, ironically, personalization is being used by companies attempting to make the online experience more human.

Personalization has grown rapidly since David’s statement. So much so that personalized experiences have become the norm, not an option. [Tweet it!]

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Progressive Web Apps: What Do Marketers Need to Know?

Often, marketing creativity encounters technical limitations. A web page can load only so fast. UX is constrained by browsers. Cutting-edge solutions are accessible only to those with large budgets.

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m(Dot) vs. Responsive vs. Adaptive

Every once in a while a big debate comes along in the conversion optimization industry. There was the carousel debate, the hamburger menu debate, the above the fold debate, etc.

Optimizers have been debating another question: Which mobile design is best for optimizers?

Is it m(Dot) design, responsive design, or adaptive design? All three options have their unique pros and cons as far as UX and SEO go, but which is most suitable for someone running experiments and tests on the regular?

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4 Ways Animation Can Actually Improve User Experience

Animation for the sake of “cool” can often hurt conversions since it’s distracting, but not always. There are four ways animation, when used properly, can actually strengthen user experience. And better user experience can lead to higher conversions.

You don’t need to overhaul your site to take advantage of animation. Just about any site can utilize basic animation in its loading sequence, calls-to-action, or navigation.

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11 Low-Hanging Fruits for Increasing Website Speed (and Conversions)

Website speed matters. Fast-loading sites perform better on all fronts: better user experience, higher conversions, more engagement, even higher search rankings. If you’re after mobile traffic (everyone is), site speed becomes even more important. No one wants to download a 4MB website on their smartphone, but most sites are that way. Your website can be different.

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8 Ways To Measure Satisfaction (and Improve UX)

A good user experience equals more money. But how do we measure user experience? How do we know if it’s getting better or worse?

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Error Messages: Examples, Best Practices & Common Mistakes

Your users will make mistakes. It’s inevitable. That’s what error messages are for—but so many companies fail to follow best practices, and they’re pissing off potential customers in the process.

So, how can we better design error messages to improve the user experience and, therefore, increase conversions?

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Ghost Buttons

Ghost buttons are transparent calls to action that appear on websites and in apps. They tend to have a thin border and a text label that sits within the transparent body of the button.

The use of this type of button reached its peak a few years ago, but can still be seen across a wide range of websites. They’re generally used more on websites that use a minimalist or flat design.

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