I am often asked by B2B clients to give my opinion on their websites; usuaully they want no more than a 60 minute glance at what they have and a quick idea of what could be improved.
My suggestions vary from site to site and client to client but there are some common fixes that are worthy of note.
So, the next time you’re tinkering with your b2b website here are 5 things to think about:
Posted by craigbrewster on May 22, 2012
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/b2b-websites-5-thing-to-think-about/
A client recently posed a question to me that brought back a thought I’ve had for a while – occasionally when I talk to designers about what UX people do they are under the misapprehension that we are going to remove all the creativity from their process.
But, for me, UX is quite the opposite. My job is to dig around the subject and give designers and other creative types enough information to better understand the brief and offer enough ideas to kick start their creative thought process.
Posted by craigbrewster on April 3, 2012
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/design-versus-usability-its-not-a-war/
Smashing Magazine recently posted an article discussing 15 common mistakes in ecommerce design, and that got us thinking. This is a subject close to our hearts – we have helped many of our clients increase their online sales – and we think we’re quite well placed to talk about making improvements.
There isn’t really a “One size fits all” approach to increasing online conversion. We always recommend our client establish detailed web analytics that allow them to see exactly what users do at each stage of the buying process and employ methods for gathering insight into why they behave the way they do (e.g. user testing, focus groups, online surveys).
We also recommend a “suck it and see” approach; we encourage our clients to make incremental changes and to use techniques like MVT and A/B testing to monitor the effectiveness of each change.
That said, we thought we’d have a bash at our own top tips on how to improve the user experience and bottom line…
Posted by craigbrewster on November 8, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/11-ways-to-improve-an-online-shop/
Unsurprisingly, as a user experience consultant, I spend a lot of time talking about users. I tell my clients that they should think about who their users are, what they do, what they think and what they want.
But I am concerned that “customer-centric” thinking is giving businesses licence to forget about creativity. I am worried if we doggedly focus on where the journey takes a user, we don’t allow them to enjoy the trip.
Posted by craigbrewster on August 25, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/448/
I have subscribed to Google+, I have tinkered with it and started to form an opinion. I think it has some great features but offers nothing spectacularly new. I will no doubt find useful in the future but, right now, I have no particular need for it.
Posted by craigbrewster on July 27, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/google-lacks-the-important-connections/
Two posts in a row nay-saying social media? I’m going to get myself a reputation if I’m not careful.
Clearly I love social media – I am blogging after all – but I don’t think it fixes everything. In particular, I don’t think it is necessarily the most effective or efficient way of getting your users to engage with your brand.
“Huh, are you mental?” I hear you say. Let me give you an industry example and three reasons to support my point.
Posted by craigbrewster on May 5, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/don%e2%80%99t-overegg-the-social-media-pudding/
I find it encouraging to see the amount of interest UX is receiving and I’m particularly pleased that many businesses now see the benefit of understanding what their users think, do, and want.
More and more clients seem to grasp that we’re not trying to be altruistic; they know that listening to their audience’s demands improves their business.
But as UX enters the mainstream and the forefront of our client’s minds are we losing sight of its purpose?
Posted by craigbrewster on February 17, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/user-experience-is-not-just-a-strapline/
I have read a few “predictions for 2011″ but none I have found really discussed what will happen with UX.
So I thought I’d have a crack at it myself.
Posted by craigbrewster on January 12, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/ask-not-what-2011-can-do-for-ux/
I had an enforced sabbatical from the internet over the Christmas period.
We moved house on 20th December so I was too busy shifting boxes and eating food to fire up the laptop. And, as anyone who has moved house in the UK will know, it took an age to transfer my broadband connection to the new address.
It’s been quite refreshing really and has given me the chance to look at UX from a real world perspective.
Posted by craigbrewster on January 6, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/a-moving-experience/
I read two seemingly unrelated reports and I spotted an interesting connection.
The first was a Government report about the unfair depiction of mental health on TV (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11800017).
The second was a report from Econsultancy about multichannel customer experience (http://econsultancy.com/uk/reports/multichannel-customer-experience-report).
See, I told you they seemed unconnected. Let me explain the common thread:
Posted by craigbrewster on November 22, 2010
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/what%e2%80%99s-the-value-in-preaching-to-the-converted/
