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Overall in these 3 websites selected, all had usability problems in regards to search which could be improved. Some have par=cular issues with aesthe=c and minimalist design and most had issues with sign in or during the final stages of the purchasing process.
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These are the Heuris=cs I have used for referencing my review as a guide.
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What is the purpose? To extend the Alibaba service into retail sales for an interna=onal and English speaking audience Who are the users? It allows customers to purchase directly with suppliers whilst maintaining the ability for wholesale buyers to purchase at bulk price (20% discount). How these two things influence human behaviour and psychology of the user: They may already be familiar with the Alibaba website or they may be familiar with the ebay site and may draw on those experiences when using the site. As such, they may be tenacious to get a bargain and rely on comparing prices, shipping costs, reviews and photographs to gauge the quality of a given product.
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The main problem affec=ng usability are the crowded pages (aesthe=c and minimalist design) in which cluWer takes away the communica=on of core informa=on. It tries to accommodate all op=ons for everyone including a ‘buy now’ buWon reminiscent of ebay, which in this context involves no bidding. The two call to ac=on buWons compete with each other. There may be no need to have that buWon, since most people like to confirm what is in their cart before purchase anyway. It adds to the confusion and cluWer on the page. It should offer no more than is required for the user to complete the task of purchasing their item.
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Consistency and standards is severely compromised in this site. What is the difference between these two rows of photographs? The users could have a lower level of exper=se, this form of naviga=on is non-‐standard to what users may be expec=ng from their usual websites they browse. Because their images are not consistent in composi=on, ligh=ng, and quality you cannot tell that its meant to be symbolic of a buWon you click for colour selec=on of your item. Consider regula=ng the type of images uploaded, i.e, it could be the same image but photoshopped into the different colours to keep consistency. ‘Add to wishlist’ is small, unno=ceable amongst the compe=ng cluWer and doesn’t make it easy to refer back to ‘saved searches’ or ‘items you recently looked at’ (flexibility and efficiency of use).
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This descrip=on seems to be made up of a list of keywords that the system uses to search. (Match between system and the real world) It is not a natural way humans read and speak in the real world. Consider changing the way the system uses to search for items, rather than just looking for keywords in the =tle, it could be checked aWributes in the lis=ng.
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Signing in is a difficult process. Apart from not being able to add to wishlist without signing in, the QR sign in doesn’t work (Error preven=on) and there is no feedback on how to solve the issue (Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors). Consider showing steps to self-‐solve issue as the user is lec wondering what happened.
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This page looks inconsistent with the rest of the website, users ques=on whether they are taken to an external site such as Paypal. The tabs differ from the ones previously, the ‘Not a member?’ tabs has now disappeared and replaced by a =ny ‘Join free now!’ link on the boWom ‘Forgot password?’ is placed above the password field, however the link for ‘Join free now!’ is placed below sign in. Make both sit below their respec=ve fields so that it is clear which one each belongs to. The original site has disappeared and users ques=on what has happened to their original searches. This log in page does not support undo or back to search. (User control and freedom) Consider this page as a pop up window. Sign in with Facebook op=on is also very =ny and easily missed. (FiW’s Law) and you can’t tell whether it is clickable (consistency and standards) Is this a deliberate act to prevent users from signing in with Facebook? This service is a quick shortcut to sign in (Flexibility and efficiency of use) and aids recogni=on rather than recall. Consider making this larger and integrate it into the tabs.
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(Visibility of system status) There is nothing but the standard loading sign when you try to log in a no indica=on of any difference the page when the system has failed to log in. Consider adding a status bar such as ‘logging in’.
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This unconven=onal naviga=on may need some text to help reduce misinterpreta=on (consistency and standards). The circled picture could be misinterpreted as full sleeve rather than a three quarter sleeve (figure 2.) Colours should also be arranged in order of most popular first, users have to click on view more in order to select white. BeWer yet, place the users frequently searched colours at the top (flexibility and efficiency of use) The cream colour on top lec could be misinterpreted as white. Changing the refine op=ons also is slow and means the whole page needs to reload each =me the ‘x’ is clicked. (User control and freedom) mistakes are difficult to undo and user is discouraged from experimenta=on (figure 1). A grey icon could mean that the seller is actually offline, since it is grey and not some other colour, like yellow or green, even though the words say ‘seller online’ (Consistency and standards). (figure 3) -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ Mee=ng Notes (27/09/15 15:29) -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ refine text
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What does this QR code do? There is no explana=on, it has affordance sugges=ng the QR code may enable efficiency however lack of descrip=on discourages users from trying it. New users to find it a complica=on to the user interface (help and documenta=on). Over on the right image, descrip=ons are not specific and are repeated. There is a big difference between whether a planorm is 1cm or 3cm. Upper material is listed twice. Consider organising and simplifying the descrip=ons to help minimise the cluWer and reduce buyer ques=ons. Again this feels like it is designed for the system to search as opposed to for humans to read and scan (Match between the system and the real world) and be careful of wording as some may not realise that cow split is a type of genuine leather.
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I search ‘shirt’ but it is not immediately clear how to refine it to be women’s shirts. Aside from the overly complex interface, the refine sec=on is not intui=ve and you cannot easily pick more than one category for search. Poor naviga=on makes it difficult for users to find the informa=on they are looking for. Consider suppor=ng ‘undo’ or ‘change search’ or add in Women’s Clothing as a category underneath Men’s Clothing so it can be seen. (User control and freedom)
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You cannot select mul=ple items for search and refining it makes the page reload each =me (User control and freedom). Consider conver=ng these to check boxes to give users freedom to reverse when they make a mistake.
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What is the difference between these two search boxes? There are many elements which are unnecessary and cluWer the page (aesthe=c and minimalist design). Consider removing the keywords box and try to reduce the horizontal search bar to one row. Add in the price and quan=ty informa=on into the lec side naviga=on to consolidate the elements. Sugges=on of key searches or quick links may help (flexibility and efficiency of use).
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This buWon doesn’t work on certain pages. There is no response when you click on it. Consider removing it or allowing it to con=nue func=oning. (Visibility of system status) This causes confusion and degrades trust in your website from carrying the tasks.
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Spelling mistakes are not tolerated (error preven=on). Even more humorously, they suggest other keywords to search by based on your misspellings. Consider predic=ve text or sugges=ons of search.
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The word ‘sorry’ placed blame on the user and not the system. Consider a more polite and specific instruc=ons for self solving this error message.
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QR sign in could not work and when I looked for help, None of these responses help solve the problem. Consider having a human service help instead of a ‘24h online intelligent robot’ answer your ques=ons, or perhaps create a log of possible problems and improve the help given from these robots.
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Purpose: capitalise on mobile sales to Asos for an interna=onal audience Target audience: Women aged 14-‐ 35 (and Men aged 18-‐30) How these two things influence human behaviour and psychology of the human user: Asos is a leading player in the fashion e-‐commerce industry with an already established client base of young fashion forward teens and adults looking to buy cheap (and somewhat disposable) clothing. They may be less stringent to quality of products but are highly aWuned to new technologies and visual trends. They are more impa=ent, distracted, connected people and are avid on social media planorms.
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Task orienta=on and func=onality is very good, with almost iden=cal features to the desktop site (minus the contact and careers page) however the app loads quite slowly, consider ways to speed up loading process or include more feedback (visibility of system status)-‐ perhaps place the loading status bar in a more prominent posi=on.
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‘Pay securely now’ func=on is slow although the ‘scan my card’ feature is innova=ve. User is unable to change method of payment once chosen (it seems to lock in) (error preven=on) and could degrade user’s trust to con=nue the purchase. Consider allowing a back buWon or ‘change payment method’ op=on for greater flexibility and users’ trust in the app (user control and freedom).
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Within the refine menu, use of the double horizontal naviga=on could confuse users who accidentally click ‘all’ instead of ‘done’. Consider reducing the size of ‘none’ and ‘all’ to create visual hierarchy (consistency and standards).
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Consider also the visual design of the ‘refine’ page to fit onto one screen and perhaps show how the images are being updated as the search is being refined. Clarify the term ‘current price’ to ‘price range’ (consistency and standards). An inclusion of saved searches could reduce the need to constantly refer to the refine tool (Flexibility and efficiency of use).
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When the refine search op=on comes back with no results, consider a quick back buWon to revert back to previous page rather than having the user uncheck all their unsuccessful refine op=ons (user control and freedom).
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If the user has forgoWen their password and requires it to be reset, the app sends an email to the user containing a reset link. The user is then taken to the mobile site hWps://my.asos.com/ and away from the app. Acer password is reset, the user is lec with the mobile page containing informa=on about password resepng. It would be a more seamless experience if the user is taken back to the exact page on the app from whence they had to log in, instead of star=ng the app again from scratch. Once back to the app, the user is s=ll not automa=cally logged in. Possible purchase is lost. (Flexibility and efficiency of use)
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Purpose: to tap into the range of purchasers who shop on mobile with The Iconic app on the ipad. Target audience: Mainly women aged 18-‐35 How these two things influence human behaviour and psychology of the user: These women are tech savvy, usually on the go and u=lise their mobile devices frequently. They are comfortable with online shopping and have gained trust shopping online on tablet devices. These women are busy professionals with both disposable income but no =me for leisurely brick and mortar shopping-‐ as such The Iconic is purely an online store.
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Overall visual design is bright and clean and displays the brand well. However it is not very user friendly because striving for minimalism compromised many elements necessary for ease of use. Scanning this naviga=on there is liWle dis=nguishable difference between Womens and Mens sec=ons and it looks like a long list -‐ extra effort is needed to think, ‘which category is my item a part of?’. Consider emphasising the headings, use separators to group them into chunks of 7 items or less or divide them into columns.
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Once you go into sub-‐nav, the main nav disappears and it becomes a horizontal scroll bar. This may not be standard within the users exper=se and more =me is needed to work out how to use this naviga=on i.e you cannot easily see ‘jeans’ as a sub-‐category at the end and the rest of the words ‘jumpers and cardigans’ are hidden. Consider blending the two (main and sub nav) on one page (recogni=on rather than recall) as opposed to making the user click in and back out to switch between the naviga=ons. (Flexibility and efficiency of use). The less =me users focus on working the naviga=on, the more =me they can focus on the content.
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The combina=on of search box as dropdown menu is a good idea in an effort to save space however its is fiddly and non-‐standard, making it difficult for users to move around the site. Consider separa=ng them. It is also unclear what ‘refine’ and ‘sort’ do when seen against the context of categories instead of a product (consistency and standards). There is no explana=on of site architecture or easily accessible and informa=ve naviga=on, the user doesn’t know their bearings within the site.
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Large photography works well aesthe=cally however there are no affordances showing this is a scrollable slideshow; your user may be confused trying to look for more informa=on. As you browse the ‘add to bag’ feature is small and unno=ceable. Consider moving these words below the image and placing the size selec=on buWons above the fold. Alterna=vely, even a ‘double tap’ to add to bag will facilitate this further, u=lising similar features of ‘liking’ an image in order apps for use in this e-‐commerce site. (Consistency and standards) Accessibility is difficult for readers that have difficult eye-‐sight as the text is small. It is also difficult to select buWons and scrolling bars and has no features for the sight-‐ impaired.
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Acer clicking the ‘bag’ icon the back buWon disappears and replaced by ‘checkout’. (User control and freedom-‐ support undo and redo) This creates a sense of nervousness in the user, since preven=ng accidental purchases is a concern of online shoppers and creates the experience of a hard sell
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Error tolerance is poor. A search for ‘high rise panjs’ returns with ‘0 results’. Allowing the user to refine search via ‘users also searched for’ or ‘similar items’ to allow users to discover in a explora=ve, linear way. (flexibility and efficiency of use),
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There is no status when logging in (visibility of system status). When you make an error, the app simply fades out the ‘log in’ sign but the difference is faint and unno=ceable. Consider an error message to pop up describing nature of the error to help users recognise the error.
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To summarise: Summary of findings: Ali Express Overall the cluWer on the page hinders the ability to effec=vely search for items they are looking for. A bombardment of keywords that seem to service the system rather than for humans to read adds to the confusion and the side naviga=on should allow mul=ple categories to be searched. Generally a very hard to use site. Summary of findings: The Iconic Ipad App: Overall, the app is not en=rely user friendly. It relies on many buWons that are small to select and don’t stand out on the page. The app’s pursuit of minimalism has removed a lot of the affordances needed to guide the user. Naviga=onal design is difficult for the user to understand the context and bearings of where they are in the site and could improve its combined search/drop-‐down/sub-‐category menu. Summary of findings ASOS mobile App: Overall this app is very well designed with areas of improvement to making the app load faster and a more effec=ve ‘Refine’ tool. Two major usability improvements should be focused on polishing the ‘log in’ commands at all stages of the browsing process and payment.
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Thank you.
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