400 Bad request

That was straight forward, however it took at least another 10-15 tests to determine the wording and copy to be used.

User testing copy and content

Early user testing is an important part of the product design cycle, but it’s important to not just focus on general layout and positioning, but think about the copy and content as well, and not just “figure that out later”.

For web applications this includes:

• Headings
• Instructions
• Labels
• Support text
• Inline help
• Help articles
• Buttons
• Anchor text
• Default input values
• Loading text

Takeaways from user testing copy and content

These were the main issues we found with our copy through user testing:

1. The user didn’t understand it due to the wording or jargon used
2. The user, in general, didn’t read instructions on screen and preferred to just click stuff to see what happens
3. There was too much to read so the user didn’t bother reading it
4. Inline help is useful, particularly for first time users, not so much for return/power users
5. Users weren’t 100% sure what would happen when clicking certain buttons or links

Every couple of tests we would change the copy based on feedback and observations then continue to test. So by the 15th test, there were a lot less issues or questions from the user. That said, there is always room for improvement and we’ll continue to test it and gather feedback.

Copy and content is more important than visual design

As a designer, what often matters most to you is what the user’s reaction is to the UI design; the colours, the textures, the use of subtle insets here and there.

Unless you’re building a product aimed at designers, users rarely care about this. They care about finding or producing content, so the copy that helps them accomplish their goal should be easily and quickly understood.

Don’t leave content or copy until the end. Make sure it gets tested early on along with the rest of your interface so you can iterate and improve it.

What are your biggest takeaways from user testing?

Further reading

• The Language of Interfaces by Des Traynor

A/B testing

A/B testing involves showing different users different versions of a site and measuring how each version performs.

• Design two (or more) versions
• Randomly show users different versions
• Track which version performs/converts better
• Evaluate
• Use the best version

Sounds complicated doesn’t it? Thanks to Google it’s not as hard as you think. Google has a Website Optimizer service that enables you to easily setup A/B tests and then analyze the results for you.

A/B testing in action

I recently setup a very simple test with Sharethrough changing the call to action text of two buttons and measuring conversion to the products page.

Some users seen these buttons…	and others seen these (50/50 split)
A	B 5% improvement

Version B showed a 5% improvement on conversions to version A, the original.

I must stress this is a very simple test I put together but it just goes to show that even the smallest text change can make a difference. I can now go onto setup more tests and experiment with button placement, language used etc. while measuring conversions to enquiries and conversions to user signups.

A/B testing resources

Before you get started with A/B testing, check out the following:

Carsonified: How to do A/B testing in WordPress

37 Signals: Writing Decisions: Headline tests on the Highrise signup page

UX Booth: How to increase site performance through A/B split testing

ABtests.com

Google: Website Optimizer

Do you use A/B testing?

Please share any experience or tips while doing A/B tests.

But at the same time I do get sick of IE6 rants and campaigns. This isn’t a rant, it’s more of a ‘be aware that it still exists and some reasons why it still exists‘ post. A recent blog post of mine researching popular design blog analytics showed that there are still 3% of users using IE6. And that’s in the field of design. There is more than likely a lot more than that in terms of the World Wide Web.

Why people are still using IE6

• They use a company computer and have no control over upgrades
• They’ve popped into an Internet cafe and have to use what’s available
• It works for them so why change
• They don’t realise there are other browsers available
• They like it

So rather than campaigning to get people to upgrade their browser, shouldn’t we just deal with it and support it?

But what does ‘support’ mean?

I think Andy Clarke hits the nail on the head in his killer contract:

We will also test to ensure that pages will display visually in a ‘similar’, albeit not necessarily an identical way, in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 for Windows as this browser is now past it’s sell-by date.

I think this is the best way to support IE6: it doesn’t have to be pixel perfect but the content should be accessible and it should look similar.

What I’ll usually do before launching a site is check to make sure all the links are visible and clickable and all the content is accessible in IE6. I’ll even spend 30 minutes to make sure it looks ‘half decent’ with regards to IE6 not supporting PNG transparency, which involves replacing the PNG backgrounds with GIFs via an IE6 specific stylesheet.

Supporting IE6

To specifically target IE6 users with special instructions or styles, use the following code.

<!--[if IE 6]>
Special instructions for IE 6 here, usually including a specific IE6 stylesheet
<![endif]-->

Anything placed between the special tags will only be recognised by IE6.

Interesting IE6 campaigns

Bring down IE6

Dear IE6

IE6 Update

Save IE6

Universal IE6 css

Help with common IE6 problems

• IE6 bugs that will get you every time
• Free tools to make IE6 bug testing easy
• 10 fixes for IE6 problems

Do you support IE6?

Hopefully over the next year or two we will be seeing less and less of IE6, especially if Microsoft encourage users to upgrade to IE8.

Do you ‘support’ IE6? Do you check to make sure your sites work? Do you spend much time fixing it or making it pixel perfect?