Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

goodui.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 152 posts

Re: Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

#101

Post by ulisesrmzroche »

pc86 wrote: post #92
ivankirigin wrote: post #88

Dear HN, just because someone makes a blog post about good UI elements, doesn't mean you need to shit on details big or small about the specific site (e.g. the big footer). For most people, this is a great way to understand the possibilities for different UIs to test. Instead of just copying others, you can think more abstractly about the UI ideas.

It's not just people's desire to shit on something in order to feel superior (although that's likely quite a bit of it). It's the fact that if you have a website dedicated to good user interface, and you want to be known as an authority on good user interfaces, and the site on which you intend to launch or grow this authority has a completely FUBARed user interface... I think it's fair to point that out. Orange text…

I agree with everything you said, but would like to add that apart from having very poor contrast, which does affect readability, orange text on a dark background is also quite tacky. Halloween colors.

Re: Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

#102

Post by jmsbrwr »

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #37

As I scrolled down, reading each point, I began to notice something happening to the number of each item in the periphery of my vision. It took until point 5 before I figured out what it was: the circle around the number is dark grey until it gets to around the top quarter of the screen (on my screen, at least) at which point it becomes light grey. I'm still trying to decide if this is a good idea. Now that I have in…

I thought I was just going crazy when I noticed something happening, but couldn't tell what it was.

Re: Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

#103

Post by kmfrk »

ivankirigin wrote: post #88

Dear HN, just because someone makes a blog post about good UI elements, doesn't mean you need to shit on details big or small about the specific site (e.g. the big footer). For most people, this is a great way to understand the possibilities for different UIs to test. Instead of just copying others, you can think more abstractly about the UI ideas.

On one hand this is true; on the other, this is a result of the horizontal (flat) treatment of comments that make pedantic comments appear the same as deeper ones.

The one upvote button just means that people agree, not that they think it's an important, insightful comment, and that's why we see those comments float to the top.

As the OP, in this case and others, I wouldn't too much into those comments, because I too know how skull-numbingly hairsplitting and pedantic comments here can be - or seem.

Re: Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

#105

Post by ulisesrmzroche »

If I may offer a little critique:

I'm on the really-hates-the-footer camp. It's off-putting. See the thing about the footer is that you already broke rule #2, you're trying to close the sale(it's not a gift, I know you're trying to get me to sign up to your newsletter) So putting it out like that is just obnoxious, and no one likes an obnoxious salesman. You should have just put the offer at the very bottom, once I read your article and I'm liking what you're saying, when I'm half-sold, not the large black footer that cuts out 1/3 of my screen, and I'm on an old macbook air, so screen real-estate is important to me at all times. And as was noted by ascimo(sic?) in this thread, on an android device it literally blocks the content!

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5996040

The other thing is that it kinda doesn't sell you, which sucks because I'm sure you're a great dude, but you're telling me I should sign up because you're awesome, you're smarter, and you have way more fans than me. If you would have told me how it would have made my life easier, or the holy mantra (increase revenue, decrease costs) then it would have had a better shot.

The other thing is the headline, then copy, then picture layout of the bullet points. This goes against how we scan things, which is picture then headline then body copy. Visual, then bold and big, then small print. When you scroll down, the first thing you see is the picture, and then I have to scan up real fast, and then read down. Watch yourself and you'll do the same thing.

Also, that text is not organized in columns, so it makes it hard to read. Dividing it into two columns (like, say, a book, the epitome of the two column layout) would be so much easier to read and in turn, sell me more on what you're saying.

Re: Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

#106

Post by ulisesrmzroche »

asciimo wrote: post #104

Here's a screenshot of the newsletter form occluding content in Android. https://www.dropbox.com/sc/jln36yrne8jzhbr/X_r8tldSXn Do you have to submit it to dismiss it? :)

See, this is a great find, and adds to the case against the sticky footer. It's almost a slap in the face when you come from an Android device.

Re: Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

#107

Post by pc86 »

ulisesrmzroche wrote: post #101
pc86 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just people's desire to shit on something in order to feel superior (although that's likely quite a bit of it). It's the fact that if you have a website dedicated to good user interface, and you want to be known as an authority on good user interfaces, and the site on which you intend to launch or grow this authority has a completely FUBARed user interface... I think it's fair to point that out. Orange text…

I agree with everything you said, but would like to add that apart from having very poor contrast, which does affect readability, orange text on a dark background is also quite tacky. Halloween colors.

Hadn't even thought of the Halloween bit! That's a good point.

Re: Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

#108

Post by mcintyre1994 »

gmac wrote: post #82
mcintyre1994 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still think a confirmation with "Don't ask again" is a much better solutions. Power users see it once, understand what'll happen and turn it off, no annoying confirmation after they've identified as a power user. Novice users would, I think, feel better about a confirmation than an undo - if you need an undo you've made a mistake and that's not a good feeling, if you see a confirmation the service is looking out fo…

I think both theory and data are against you here. e.g. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163835.aspx

Fair enough, you could be right - that's a well written counter-argument. However, while data might exist that users hate confirmation boxes, even those they can ask never to see again, and prefer undo, the cited articles doesn't contain any. It's not a Microsoft employee either, so the author doesn't have the sort of Windows data we often see in Microsoft blogs on UI. I'd also point out that the confirmation box example in his picture, for example, doesn't include an option not to show it again. It's also an undoable action as he points out, and I'm certainly not arguing that we should include both.

All that said, I can certainly see reasons for both - it's probably not really a black and white issue.

Re: Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

#109

Post by [deleted] »

kapilkale wrote: post #96
ivankirigin wrote: post #88

Dear HN, just because someone makes a blog post about good UI elements, doesn't mean you need to shit on details big or small about the specific site (e.g. the big footer). For most people, this is a great way to understand the possibilities for different UIs to test. Instead of just copying others, you can think more abstractly about the UI ideas.

Thank you. I really wish the #1 comment here were something debating the merits of the article rather than questioning the author's ability to implement his own advice.

[deleted]

Re: Ideas on how to improve customer conversion and ease of use

#110

Post by paranoiacblack »

latortuga wrote: post #87
PavlovsCat wrote: post #18

Testimonials are one of the things that make me skip things right away. I would explain why, but I'm afraid that would at best be used to find ways to circumvent that, and deprive me of one of the litmus tests for mediocrity and needyness. Speaking of needy: Calls to action I accept from activists, but that's it. Just describe the service or product, name the price, instead of treating me like a moron who needs to pu…

It's really surprising to see a comment like this, so wrong on something and yet upvoted. Crucially, your view is entirely anecdotal - a much better argument would be "Testimonials are a bad way to sell things because X" where X is a reason that is valid and tested. Unfortunately, X for you is either highly personal or based on a faulty understanding of persuasion because social proof is incredibly powerful as a pers…

You're getting pretty uppity about testimonials here. Regardless of them being effective persuasive techniques, they're still just persuasive techniques and I imagine a lot of people dislike persuasion getting in the way of content. I happen to agree with the OP that testimonials tend to make me believe that the product lacks enough substance to be useful by itself. In any matter, it's a personal preference and no amount research changes that.
Post reply on HN