Web Site User Experience Anatomy and Shopping Vs Purchasing

I thought I’d share a great article I came across on the Web Site User Experience Anatomy

It breaks down a website into the impact it has on a users’ experience as well as highlighting some of the key things you will need to achieve with each section. Great to see how the make up of your home page is different from your product page or your order flow.

It talks about ‘shopping’ and before you brush it off as something we in the Middle East don’t do online, remember not to confuse ‘shopping’ and ‘purchasing’ .

‘shopping’ and even ‘buying’ is 90% about eliciting interest, satisfying inquiry and presenting compelling information. All of which is increasingly done online in the Middle East (even if the ‘purchase’ happens in person or over a phone).

This is critical to both products and services and is the same across commercial and public sectors. Every web site is (should be) offering a 'shopping' experience. Presenting information (browse, search), driving user behaviour (converting to a goal) regardless of whether it is ecommerce or finding out opening times of government departments.

The web channel is about information, tailored experience and segmenting and satisfying users and ultimately

increasing revenue through

· better experience

· recommendations (both automatic and community)

· up sell and cross sell

· easier search

· allowing the business to reinforce and influence the process, in near real time.

reducing costs

· less time and resource to market and manage

· reducing call centre traffic

· reducing unnecessary queues in contact centres

· automating work flows and approval processes

changing how companies do business

· a mixture of extranet and internet sites can fundamentally change how your customers perceive and interact with your organisation inside and outside the region.

Enjoy!