Usability Consultant
The core activity of Koss UK as your 'Usability Consultancy' is auditing your website. We pride ourselves in the helpful advice we provide and - because we have a pretty darn good track record, can show you ways to get more 'targeted' traffic to spend more of their valuable time at your website and, ultimately, spend their hard earned cash with your business...
If that is NOT your objective - you're at the wrong website.
If you want someone to hype up the numbers and make website appraisals sound like the ultimate magic solution or tell you that by hiring a usability consultant your website will magically start turning you into an Internet Marketing millionaire - generally making it seem easy to achieve and feeding you full of BS, then I'm sincerely sorry - you are at the wrong website.
If you want hard-talking, facts frank opinions and truth - with no sugar coating whatsoever, and, if you are willing to shove the designer's ego into the broom cupboard for the next few hours - well "hello; you're just the visitor we've been waiting for".
If you'd like to listen to the audio of Usability Testing, right click the MP3 link and 'save' it to your computer [MP3]. Or listen to the audio file here:
No matter what you call it; Website Appraisals, Website Reviews, Website Auditing, Usability Studies, User Experience Testing, etc., it all basically means the exact same thing: If your website does not get the user's attention, keep it long enough to keep them on your website, making it easy for them to find what they are looking for and to take the desired action (which is a result for you and for them) then they will leave. Simple as that.
If anyone tells you it is more complicated than that then they are spinning you a yarn in order to extract more cash from your back pocket.
What is Website User Acceptance Testing or 'wUAT'?
The main factors of Usability
Looking for all the positive reasons a website user would feel encouraged to become a customer and enhancing those features of your website. Then (yes, there's always a negative) identifying what could, most likely (based on history, user trends and thousands of previous user experience tests), is disrupting your website visitor's mindset and preventing them from taking the desired action.
A few quick usability test findings. This will give you an idea of the petty little things we look for (and usually find). It may seem petty to the website designer but it can have a massive impact on turnover if visitors become frustrated or annoyed about the way a website works...
While 99% of what we do is confidential between ourselves and the individual website owners (to save embarrassment and to prevent advice we give to our clients leaking their competitors), we do have a few tasty morsels we can show you.
Here is a clip from a website audit of fairly successful website that sells IT products.
[A typical problem with many e-commerce websites - the 'broken' back button]
The website clearly had not been tested under all potential situations and paths through the content and shopping system. One little bit of code was added to solve the problem. All it was doing was preventing the user from getting 'back' to where they came from. Loads of websites make this mistake - I would guess that we come across this at least once every day.
A Website Audit that was clearly worth tens of thousands of pounds - and it cost the company less than 100 quid for us to find the problems with their shopping system.
A website audit or "user acceptance test" would have flagged this problem far sooner but, instead, it was after 2 years of 'acceptable' sales that they realised the benefits of hiring a usability consultant! We now audit this company's website once a month to ensure the designer's don't wonder off on a wow-factor 'look how clever I can be' moment.
Over 400 Usability Guidelines used in Website Appraisals
There are over 400 guidelines to consider when designing a website. Sticking on the IT theme, here's another major problem we discovered on a website that was supposed to be a quick and easy way to buy computer memory.
[If users can 'get it wrong' on your website, how well does it correct itself?]
Another website appraisal - another high value result...
All this problem needed was a little bit of code to prevent users from making mistakes and ensuring that they had, in fact, selected a brand or model before moving through the system.
I could go on all day about mistakes we find on the websites we review. But I'm sure you get the point.
Has your website had any User Acceptance Testing?
If not, how do you know the people know how to use it? How do you know that it has the right quantity of information - presented in the right way and in the right tone of voice? How do you know if the colours are pleasing to most users? How do you know it 'works' and if the users 'get it'?
Even the biggest names get it wrong...
It's not about whether you 'get it' or know how your website works. It's what your users like and what your users dislike that matters and, whether they "get it".
Microsoft, Amazon, Play.com, and more
We have reviews of mistakes on sites owned by some of the biggest Internet names - just look at this clip of a Microsoft website: No matter how often you chose to 'remember me' the website didn't.
When you get a review that includes a selection of opinions from different people, their opinions are relevant to you - and to the future development of your website - because those reviewers, for a few minutes or however long the review takes, become your website user.
I know that, when we're talking about 'my' website, your opinion is far more important to me. In fact, my opinion about my own website is virtually irrelevant.
It's what other people think of your website that matters
This was found on a website that I actually used a few weeks ago. I'd bough a report and needed to provide some data back to the supplier. They made the assumption that I could and was capable of downloading the spreadsheet and opening it in the right software.
The biggest mistake was that they provided no alternative. Tut tut!
What makes them buy?
What is it that is making people buy or not buy from your website. If you do not carry out user testing, how will you ever know how to make your website perform better than it does already?
You need to maximise what you get out of your website. The Internet is, without any doubt, your best source of advertising. I will not contemplate advertising anywhere else - no matter what sort of business I'd been hired by. Your website is the best place to promote your product or service - and the most cost effective.
It's true: Website users are buying
But are they buying from you? If not, then why not?.
The buying decisions are made online - fact
80% of purchasing research these days starts on the 'web. You've got to get it right to be in with a chance of making some (or more) of those sales.
Does your website sell?
If you could ask dozens of people who had visited your website what they thought of the overall experience, what do you think they'd say, honestly?.
Wouldn't it be better to find out from us than a potential paying customer walking away via the 'back' button?...
You are just 4 hours away from me telling you what sort of questions people could be asking, and all the reasons that people could be bailing out of your website without becoming your next customer.
You can always improve your website conversions, if only you know what needs to be done.
Order Your Basic Website Appraisal Now for Only £29.95
Order Your Multi-User Website Appraisal (4 User Reviews) Now for Only £99.95
Isn't it time to say goodbye to all that time you've wasted on your ever-growing collection of free ebooks, 'expert' forums, time-sapping newsletters and £50 text books and get down to the real hard facts. Facts that are only exposed through in-depth, detailed, and unsweetened website appraisals.
Or, carry on as you are...