5 myths about UX (user experience)

Friday, June 12, 2015

There are a wide range of references on how to builde good UX (user experience), but lots of them are based on myths or outdated studies. Here are the 5 most popular myths about UX:

1. Everyone reads the same way.

Of course, this is a myth. Some people read each word, others only quickly browse, some can read a book in a single evening, while others have problems finishing a book in a month. In short, everyone is different. That being said, Jakob Nielsen's study has shown that a majority of people use one of 2 ways of reading the contents on the web.

F pattern

Z pattern

Make sure your content is readable using both patterns. To help you achieve that, we recommend you:

• Make sure the most important information is presented in the first 2 sentences of your product description;
• Keep your content interesting and use short sentences;
• Use H2 and H3 tags as well as list items to help break your text;
• Try to keep your main title (H1) at around 7 words;
• Test your website's readibility score with online tools;
• Keep good whitespaces between your paragraphs.

By following these rules, you'll increase your chances of having your content read and understood.

2. Your main content has to be displayed without scrolling.

We regularly hear clients who want all their content to be displayed at first glance, without having to scroll. More often than not, this results in a website that's too compact to be efficient.

Yes, it's true that in the beginning of the web, that was good practice because users weren't all used to scrolling. But nowadays, with the arrival of tablets and touchscreens, the vast majority of users are used to scrolling. You can now take advantage of that to create purer and more efficient designs than 10 years ago.

3. Functional design means good user experience.

At first, you might think that it's the same thing. Not exactly! The reality is that a functional design can help to have a good user experience, but it's not guaranteed.

Functional design

We can say that a functional design is a design that allows a user to browse intuitively. For example, having the logo clickable in the upper-left corner, having a link to change language in the upper-right corner, having the main menu always present when we scroll, etc.

Basically, if a user can browse your website without having to think or search, you can say you have a functional design.

Good user experience

When we talk about user experience, we talk about the emotions we want our visitors to feel. It's making sure the colours and presentation are used in harmony everywhere on your website so that our visitor gets the desired emotion.

For example, a good way to get your visitors' trust is by using testimonials or presenting them with logos of popular brands that use your product. It'll show them that your customers are satisfied and they can trust you with their work.

As you can see, you could have a functional design, with everything in its right place, but if the colours used don't fit, we can't say you're offering a good user experience.

4. Whitespace is wasted space.

As for myth #2, lots of clients hate whitespace. They say consider it a waste of space and money. They say that they paid a hefty price for their ad, so they want to use every inch of that space.

The thing is, lots of studies have shown that whitespace doesn't only help visibility, it also brings a feeling of sophistication and luxury. Take Apple for example, they use whitespaces alot to put all the attention on their product.

Whitespaces aren't only used in texts, they're also used in the padding of your main menu, between products, etc. Don't consider whitespaces as empty space, more like a tool you can use to sculpt good user experience.

5. L'utilisateur doit pouvoir tout faire dès le départ.

This myth is also tied to myth #2 which causes clients to want to do everything at first glance. According to Hick's law, the more choices you offer a user, the longer it will take for him to react.

One of the best tests that's been made is the jam test. They used two different displays in a large super-market. The first one, which offered 24 different flavours, had a 60% rate of customers trying the jam, but only 3% actually bought it. The second display, which only offered 6 flavours, only had a 40% rate of visitors trying out the jam, but ended up with almost 30% of users buying it.

What explains this? It seems that it's the user's expectation towards the product. If you offer him a wide range of choices, the user will expect to be able to find the perfect one. On the other hand, if you only have a limited number to choose from, he doesn't have any expectations, so he can't be disappointed.

In conclusion, if you follow these tips, you'll be sure to offer a superior user experience on your website.