Thursday, April 3, 2008

Is your Web site frustrating users?

A recent article by UX Matters gave a very relevant example of web communication as part of the entire user experience:
While working with a company call center receiving about 300,000 calls/year, the article’s author found that about 55% of callers were asking one of three questions:
• Where can I purchase product X
• I have a broken product X; where can I get it repaired?
• I have product X; how can I get a new copy of the product X manual?
Of course, all of this information was available on the company website. As a temporary solution, a message was added to the on-hold music to remind callers about the information on the website.
The result? The callers became more irate – it turns out that many callers had tried looking on the website and hadn’t found the information. In the end, the design of the website was adjusted to feature the information that visitors were most likely to need, resulting in 25% fewer calls to the call center.
The story emphasizes two great lessons:
First, online information must be easy to find or it might as well not be there. It’s not enough just to post information online.
Second, we should be very aware of all communications with stakeholders, whether they come through our department or not.
What are you doing to make online information easy to find, and where are you finding guidance on what information stakeholders are actually looking for on your district's website?
(Posted by Guest Blogger - Dave Nielsen, Asst.Webmaster, HEB ISD)