Improving your website with some TLC: a gaggle of usability techniques

Stephen Blyth Connecting Up Inc. webinar 16 August 2012 Online

16 August 2012

Start from scratch or renovations?!

fes credit: ickr.com/photos/sven_

tersen

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ynn

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

What well cover in the next 50 minutes

Setting the scene Getting insights from: a) Web analytics b) User testing c) Soliciting feedback d) Accessibility review
credit: ickr.com/photos/jestermix77

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

Who decides?
a. You? b.Your manager c. Your committee or board? d. Flip a coin? e. Your audience?

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Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

Websites still rock!!

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

Where should you give the love?

Get insights from: a) Web analytics b) User testing c) Soliciting feedback d) Accessibility review
credit: ickr.com/photos/h_is_for_home

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

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Web analytics - in a nutshell

What is it? Purposeful collection of statistics and analyse of visitor trafc Understand visitor patterns and trends, ie what visitors do Whats it good for? Measurement and reporting, including trends, impact of marketing, where people come from Understanding visitor patterns Identifying areas for improvement No good for understanding why
Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz
16 August 2012

Where to start? Choose a package (eg Google Analytics, Yahoo, AWStats) Decide on key site goals Play with metrics Set up a dashboard

Where should you give the love?

Get insights from: a) Web analytics b) User testing c) Soliciting feedback d) Accessibility review
credit: ickr.com/photos/horiavarlan

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

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User testing - in a nutshell

What is it? Getting real users to undertake real tasks & observing what they do Use paper or graphical mock-ups, or a website prior to launch Recording & analysing feedback, then setting priorities for tweaks, bug xes or content additions/ edits Whats it good for? Getting an outside perspective on your website Gain insights into why people visit and what they do once theyre there Where to start? Next week in the hallway 5 is the magic number Lots of commons sense free guidance material out there The hard bit is interpreting results

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

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ht be able to get ard that you mig Youve he nisation. Where community orga money for your go to nd out? would you

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A great starting place

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

Where should you give the love?

Get insights from: a) Web analytics b) User testing c) Soliciting feedback d) Accessibility review
credit: ickr.com/photos/uk_parliament

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

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Avinash Kaushiks questions?

What is the purpose of your visit to our website today? Were you able to complete your task today? If you were not able to complete your task today, why not?

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

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Soliciting feedback - in a nutshell

What is it? Asking for feedback from visitors About the whole site in general, or sometimes just pages or sections Short or long surveys, or just use smiley faces Whats it good for? Understanding why people visit your website Getting a sense of the level of visitor satisfaction Collecting some demographic info Recruiting people for more in-depth research
Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz
16 August 2012

Where to start? Deciding on the questions you want to ask - keep it short! Learning about pros & cons of the different ways of asking for feedback, eg pop-up, embedded, etc

Where should you give the love?

Get insights from: a) Web analytics b) User testing c) Soliciting feedback d) Accessibility review

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

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Accessibility testing scenario!

1. Scope things out 2. Design and prepare tasks for participants to emulate a real visit 3. Carry out the accessibility testing with users with a range of disabilities - visually impaired (screen reader users), partially sighted (screen magnier users), dyslexic, learning difculties, motor impaired, elderly. 4.Testing participants record their everything theyre doing, impressions, and bugbears. 5. Analyse and prioritise the ndings.
Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz
16 August 2012

Accessibility review - in a nutshell

What is it? Practical tests to identify any barriers people may have to using your website Conduct one yourself or pay an expert Some common accessibility errors can be identied by a machine test, others need real users Whats it good for? Finding faults that prevent some users from seeing or understanding your website content Identifying usability tweaks that will benet all visitors Where to start? Run an accessibility test or two on your website Ask for feedback from within your community or visitors Agree on accessibility standards, plan for testing within a set timeframe
Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz
16 August 2012

Time for the rubber to hit the road

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credit: ickr.com/photos/rawhu

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

Time for the rubber to hit the road

How often? Next week Accessibility checklist Monthly Web analytics Bi-monthly User testing When its time to change or if you have big doubts User feedback Accessibility test
16 August 2012

Provisos You have time and budget for tweaks Your developer has time allocated to make tweaks (if applicable) Your organisation is ready to take action on any tweaks needed Accessibility principles are accepted

First steps? Get Google Analytics or similar (if you dont already have it) Read about accessibility principles and challenges Be realistic, but plan to do something each month

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

My TLC resources
http://commonknowledge.net.nz/free-resources/ connecting-up-tlc-webinar/ http://delicious.com/sablyth/webanalytics

Improving your website with some TLC www.commonknowledge.net.nz

16 August 2012

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16 August 2012