Is Your Web Site User Friendly?

Author: Erica Campbell

For Rent Media Solutions2122 asked this very question to its users by conducting a robust series of usability tests, with real apartment shoppers viewing eight different apartment listing Web sites including ForRent.com and its competitors. Usability testing is a technique used to evaluate a product by testing it on actual real users. A July 2008 MarketingSherpa.com study showed that highly engaged visitors have a conversion rate of about five percent, compared to about 0.2 percent of poorly engaged visitors 2014 a 2500% difference. Did you know that Web users form first impressions of web pages in 1/20th of a second? 1 That is literally in the blink of an eye.201CThe world2019s most powerful functionality will falter if users can2019t figure out how to make it work.201D2

In 2008 our Product Development Team videotaped users while navigating our site and our competitors2019 sites to find out what worked and what didn2019t work. They gathered comments and page ratings from OpinionLab, a third party leader in Voice of Customer (VoC) business intelligence. VoC plays a critical role in defining an organization2019s ability to recognize and react quickly to shifting market forces and customer defined opportunities. Seventy five percent of web users admit making judgment about the credibility of an organization based on the design of its website.3 The Product Development Team surveyed direct email lists of consumers in ForRent.com2019s demographic. In addition, they conducted in person interviews with people who were actively looking for apartments to get their opinions on their search experience. Throughout development, prototype testing was conducted. We videotaped test users carrying out specific tasks on the proposed design of the new search. The purpose of this testing was to find design and functionality errors at an early stage. As a result, we learned that apartment shoppers felt they had very little control, could not maneuver through any of the eight sites tested and felt the sites did not produce relevant results.

We listened to users and redesigned our search functionality to eliminate their complaints and bring a 201Csmarter search201D experience for all. For Rent Media Solutions is proud to announce the launch of the all new Intuitive Search functionality and enhanced search results pages. These features are exclusive to ForRent.com. The intuitive search and enhanced search results pages give apartment seekers more control and more relevant results to help them have a 201Csmarter search201D experience.

Intuitive Search provides both 201CExact201D and 201CClose201D matches, based on the user2019s search criteria. These features give apartment shoppers more choices, intuitively providing them with results that are relevant to their needs. This means more exposure for your listings and a better experience for potential renters.

Watch the ForRent.com Intuitive Search video here for more information.

Source: 1 Behavior and Information Technology Journal, , 2 Garrett, J.J. (2003). The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web. New York: New Riders, pg. 14, 3 Research Summary from the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab. Stanford University.

About the Author:

Erica was promoted to Marketing Manager of For Rent Media SolutionsTM in May 2006. In this position, she develops, executes, optimizes and analyzes a public relations/social media strategic plan across multiple channels including blogs, social networks, video sharing sites, and other conversational media. She spends a great deal of time building relationships with social media influencers, bloggers and new consumer business to generate awareness of clients and products. Campbell is also responsible for managing public relations and internal marketing communications campaigns.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Is Your Web Site User Friendly?