UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
September//1//2017
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.https://www.nngroup.com/articles/back-to-top/
Back to Top Buttons. Another article hailing from the Nielsen Norman Group, this time focused on clarifying the application of “Back to Top” buttons. This is particularly relevant as most UIs that are responsive, easily become lengthy forcing the user to scroll through content. Highlight of the article includes:
“The popularity of responsive web design has led to a proliferation of single-column, long-page designs both on mobile and desktop. A consequence of these designs has been the Back to Top button, which is a shortcut that allows users to quickly navigate to the top of the page. When users get at the bottom of a really long page, they often will need to get back to the top to:
- See the navigation menu and choose a new destination
- Access filtering and sorting features
- Enter or edit a query in the search box”
2.http://www.eyequant.com/blog/is-eye-tracking-a-waste-of-time-for-cro
Is Eye Tracking a Waste of Time. Very useful article focused on the pertinence of Eye Tracking as it pertains to conversions. The article showcases other methods that are used to understand user behavior, but it’s definitely of great importance to assess where Eye Tracking positions itself and its success in the conversion process. Highlight:
“Eye tracking, more than any other insights method, has been held back by it’s sci-fi appeal and “cool” factor. Far too many people who try eye tracking will do it because it seems neat, but they won’t get real value from it. That’s not because eye tracking results are inherently useless — plenty of optimization teams get tons of value from it.”
3.https://alistapart.com/article/user-research-when-you-cant-talk-to-your-users
User Research with Limitations. Interesting article detailing how to find alternatives to gather user insight with limited resources, of when you don’t have access to users that are at the core of the product you’re designing. It’s an article with interesting alternatives and propositions, namely customer service logs and contact form emails. Highlight:
“For a start, companies that are new or have a smaller digital footprint can benefit from things like forums or even competitor reviews to get a better sense of the users in their industry vertical. And for more established companies, customer service logs and app reviews can be invaluable for learning what users think about specific products.”
