Saturday 4pm - Ruining User Experience
It’s all about the water. Or more specifically it’s really the small aspects of one’s meal that determine how well you appreciate your waiter. The same holds true for web applications. It’s not how well the app does it’s job but more about how much it annoys you. Any annoyance is a barrier to entry and will keep or drive your users away.LaLa.com was the first example on the chopping block. It requires javascript, doesn’t downgrade at all, and won’t work on mobile browsers. While LaLa was a favorite site of Aaron’s it was would, and most likely has, driven away others who would find it useful but can’t get past the barriers.
When building a web application, start with the no frills set. Be sure everything works and then offer a slightly dressed up version. Cool colors, better layout, and nicer fonts appeal to a lot of people but might hinder a screen reader or phone browser. Be sure they aren’t required for a usable experience. Lastly add the whiz-bang items like ajax, javascript form validation and animations. Again, be sure they don’t get in the way and that they aren’t required.
Usability and accessibility is key. It won’t matter how pretty your site is if people can’t use it they won’t.
Aaron Gustafson Sr Web designer/Developer, Easy! Designs LLC
Sarah Nelson Design Strategist, Adaptive Path
March 17th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
[...] to the minute details and the customers will have a better experience (see what what was said about the water here.) Each level of a great experience should provide a positive enjoyable [...]