Portland Web Design » Graphic Design

Effective Usability Testing

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:05:57 +0000

Usability testing is often viewed as time consuming and expensive. While this may be true in some instances, it doesn’t have to be. It’s like any other part of web design, the more time and effort that is spent on it, the better the result should be.

You will never completely eliminate the time consuming aspect of testing. A tester has to assume the mantle of a user at varying skill levels, performing different activities within the site. Allowing them time to do this, then provide feedback and results, then analyzing those results does take time, but it should be viewed as an investment, not just a cost.

There is nothing more important that having a new design tested purely from the users perspective. The site has been designed for them after all. We have been staring at the site and working our way round it for days, if not weeks so we can’t test it ourselves.

Three useful ways of getting inexpensive, reliable user testing is by using the online tools Userfly, UserTesting.com and ClickTale. All three use real users to test your site and provide feedback on the experience.

Userfly is only suitable for smaller, simpler sites as it has problems with playing back the review in an iFrame which doesn’t match the element of the site they are using. If the design is simple and it’s pretty obvious what action was taken and when, this isn’t a problem.

UserTesting.com is a much more thorough and reliable testing system, albeit more expensive. The site allows you to specify the demographic of the testers, how many you need and what you want them to do on your site. They arrange for the testing and provide a video so you can see exactly what the users did, and listen to an audio commentary the user made while doing it. They then provide a written summary of the testing including what elements the testers did or didn’t like.

ClickTale is similar to UserTesting.com but slightly cheaper for some of the options. It also records user behavior and provides a video and written summary of feedback for you to use as you see fit. The testing also includes a heat map generated during testing for you to analyze hot spots on each page. This is great for refining navigation or page content.

These aren’t the only three user testing tools out there. We have found them to be the most reliable and who provide the best kind of data and feedback. Detailed information on how end users utilize the new site is essential in making the most of the design and ensuring its success. Using impartial, user oriented testers is by far the best way of achieving this, which is why we suggest using this method of user testing.

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The world of Web Design and Graphic Design

admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:26:37 +0000

The world of web and graphic design is an ever changing landscape where the inhabitants have to continually strive to learn and perfect new skills as new technology evolves. Much of it we can learn in-house or from vendors, but much of it we have to figure out for ourselves.

What follows is a list of some of the sources we use to keep up with developments and learn new skills. Some of them teaches us something new, while others reinforce what we already know. We don’t know everything, as much as we might like to believe we do. Each website in this list offers us something, and they are included in this list in case they can help you too.

One of the most popular resources on the net for graphic design is Smashing Magazine, (www.smashingmagazine.com). This is a well established site with a regular audience of web developers and graphic designers. It has imparted knowledge since it began and continues that trend to this day with plentiful tutorials on web design, Photoshop and all the other toys we get to play with during the day. The forum is remarkably quiet for a site so lively, but the information it contains is sound.

Next up is tuts+, (www.tutsplus.com). This is another high quality site and one we use here in our office in Naples. Graphic design at its best with high quality tutorials written by experts. It is the hub for all of the Tuts+ sites and is great place to start when searching for information or inspiration. The site is aimed at beginners and pro’s alike, but is more geared towards advanced users. It leads off to subordinate sites like psdtuts, for Photoshop, aetuts for Adobe After Effects and so on.

Another useful site is called CreativePro, (www.creativepro.com). This is another resource site aimed at existing graphic designers. There are more categories and tutorials on that site than any sane person could read. There is literally something for everyone here. Beginners may find things a little hard going as most of the content is for advanced users, but who said design was easy?

Sitepoint is the last site we are going to mention here, (www.sitepoint.com). This is another site aimed at experienced graphic designers or web developers, but has a lot of information and resources for the newcomer too. Often there are other tips, like how to run the business side of things, or practical advice for clients and that kind of thing. Sitepoint has been around a few years, just like Smashing and has built up a loyal and vocal fan base. The marketplace is an excellent place to go if you have spare templates, JavaScripts or other stuff to sell too.

Those are just four of what I am sure are thousands of sites out there. They each offer something different and are lively enough to keep us going back every week. Hopefully they will give other Naples graphic design enthusiasts a hand up as they have done to us.

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Naples Web Design

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:24:50 +0000

Being a web developer is a great career if you don’t mind long hours and cold coffee. It lets us use our imaginations and creativity as much as we like and get paid for it. It’s important to try new methods and ideas, as well as embrace new technologies as they mature. It’s way too easy to build the same old sites with the same navigation or functionality day after day, but that’s not what we’re about.

The RT Design Group is successful because we don’t follow the crowd. We don’t design cookie cutter sites, or use templates to create. We use what we have and let our imaginations get the better of us. We way “why not?” instead of “why?” and that pays dividends.
Major Naples Web Design Companies

There is a definite balance that needs to be struck between a design idea and practicality though. It’s all very well having a killer design, but if it’s difficult to navigate or find anything it’s a failure. Whatever the concept, the function has to win over form and the main job of a web developer is to balance the two.

It sometimes hurts when the design you are so enthusiastic about won’t work because it breaks usability rules. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the end user and consider how they would use the site and navigate their way round it. Ask any developer or artist who has had to compromise on a concept or abandon it because it doesn’t work. They will tell you it isn’t easy, but it is necessary in order for the client and the end user to get what they need.

It sounds pretty straightforward when you think about it. After all we aren’t designing something for ourselves, or even our client. We are designing for the end user who will actually be using the site in the real world. It’s hard sometimes, because when you put a lot of time, sweat and tears into something you become fond of it and think of it as yours.

Being a Naples web developer, and working a lot with local people and businesses allows us to build relationships with them. It also makes it more personal, and drives us to do a good job for them.

This makes the whole process that little bit harder. Especially when it comes to form over function. In the end, however good the artwork or design might be, it has to fit the brief. It also has to fit the brand of the client and the needs of the users. The user must be able to navigate everything easily and the client must be able to update it just as simply.

So while the design is important, and something we at The RT Design Group are very good at. It is second to function. The whole point of a website is to provide the visitor with exactly what they need, exactly when they need it. All other considerations come second.

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