Newsletter issue #51 - 2nd June 2008
This issue
Hello and welcome to the June edition of the Webcredible newsletter!
In this issue:
- Feature article: 5 ways to improve online cross- & up-selling
- Top tip: Improve the display of your search results
- Useful program: Functional Accessibility Evaluator
- Top link: UXmatters
- New articles in May
- Webcredible news in May
Enjoy!
Feature article: 5 ways to improve online cross- & up-selling
Cross- and up-selling isn't at all difficult as you're selling to people who already want to buy. Cross-selling is selling an additional product to existing customers, usually related to what they've already bought. Up-selling is selling a better (but usually more expensive) product to customers, after they've decided on a cheaper product. Find out how to improve both of these in this month's feature article...
Read this article in full at www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-credibility/cross-up-sell.shtml.
Top tip: Improve the display of your search results
When users seek out information on your website they'll do it in one of two ways - searching or browsing. As such, it's essential that the display of search results is done in as usable a way as possible so as to help your searching site visitors find what they're looking for as quickly as possible. Make sure your search results adhere to the following guidelines and you'll be off to a good start!
- Repeat the search term More and more browsers and toolbars have in-built pop-up blockers so do be careful about opening calendars in a new window. These pop-up blockers can of course stop the calendar from actually opening. Rather, have the calendar open as an overlay on the current screen, thereby preventing this problem from happening.
- Allow for easy manipulation of listings A usable calendar should conform to a number of criteria. The next and previous buttons should always be in the same place for each month; the calendar should be easy to close if users decide they want to instead manually type in the date; and invalid dates (e.g. days before the current date) should be greyed out and impossible to select.
- Display text results by default Search results can sometimes be displayed in non-text formats, such as on a map or as images. For most websites, displaying search results in a non-text format by default confuses users. Rather, use regular text to display the search results and provide a prominent link to adjust the results to an alternative display such as on a map or as images.
- Make it easy to search again If users can't find what they're looking for quickly in the search results then they'll often run another search. Because of this, it's really important that the search box is easy to find, and ideally pre-populates the previous search term - doing so allows users to make minor adjustments to their search term without having to retype the entire phrase (especially useful if a spelling mistake was made).
Useful program: Functional Accessibility Evaluator
The FAE is a useful accessibility tool that evaluates the HTML code of any page against best practice accessibility and usability. As with any automated testing tool its results should be taken with a pinch of salt, but it's certainly worth a look.
Use this useful program at fae.cita.uiuc.edu
Top link: UXmatters
UXmatters is an online magazine aimed at user experience professionals. With new articles regularly added it's well worth checking in with the site to see the latest.
Check it out at www.uxmatters.com.
New articles in May
Read these and many other articles at www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources.
Webcredible news in May
- Travolution publishes Webcredible interview podcast
Read this news story in full at www.webcredible.co.uk/about-us/latest-news.shtml.
Training courses
Courses continue to sell out well in advance! Our next training courses will take place in our training centre in Aldgate, London in June, July & September:
- Web writing training - Monday 23rd June, Monday 21st July & Monday 1st September. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our intermediate web writing training page.
- Web usability training - Tuesday 24th June, Tuesday 22nd July & Tuesday 2nd September. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our web usability training page.
- Usability testing training - Wednesday 25th June, Wednesday 23rd July & Wednesday 3rd September. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our usability testing training page.
- Web accessibility training - Wednesday 25th June, Wednesday 23rd July & Wednesday 3rd September. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our web accessibility training page.
- Intermediate CSS training - Thursday 26th June, Thursday 24th July & Thursday 4th September. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our intermediate CSS training page.
- Advanced CSS training - Friday 27th June, Friday 25th July & Friday 5th September. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our advanced CSS training page.
About Webcredible
Based in London, UK, Webcredible is a user experience consultancy. Tailor-made usability, accessibility & design solutions include:
- User research
- User-centered design
- Accessible CSS web design
- Training courses & support
- Website reviews
- Usability lab hire
Please contact us on 020 7423 6320 or info at webcredible.co.uk, or consult www.webcredible.co.uk for further information.
