Thursday, May 22, 2008

NN/g Conference Notes #2: People want control

People want CONTROL

People want to be in control, click and get what they expect

The search box = perceived control.
Give the user enough space to type in their search (the length of searches/query strings are increasing – the average is 18 characters)

Marketing terms don’t help clarify
– Use key words
– Don’t be cute, the results page is the most important.

For example people were asked to learn how to tie a bowline knot, after searching ‘bowline knot’ many people avoided clicking this link:
*Roper's Knot Pages - Single loops
The Bowline Knot is one of the most used loop knots. This variant is most used in the world. Probably due to its simplicity, security, and its relationship ...

*The word ‘Ropers’’ doesn’t mean anything to them, but if they were to click, this page would have been a good resource)

Video: give the user the controls (stop, replay, play, rewind etc.)

Don’t start playing a video without the user making the choice

Too much stuff – is off-putting. For example: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/

Don’t use rigid forms – do the work on the back-end (users will bail).

Use vertical fields (not side by side)

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