A March 2012 release from Forrester blog reported some alarming statistics. Their review of 1,500 websites for user experience finds that only 3% of sites earned a passing score. The rest had problems ranging from text legibility and use of space to task flow and links to privacy and security policies. These are revealing numbers, and today, we're going to see if www.Tide.com passes the test, based on the Forrester criteria.
Value: This section deals with the basics. Is the content there? It is clear how to use the site? This is the easiest part to evaluate. It is obvious how to use the site and the essential content and functions are all there.
Navigation: This is pretty self explanatory. Do the search boxes function properly? Are hyperlinks easy to use and useful? The drop down menus on the site are a little annoying; they are huge and personally, I think they linger too long after the cursor moves on.
Presentation: Can you read and understand the site? Do images make logical sense? In general, the sites is easy to read. some pages, however, could be set up in a more eye-pleasing way. The image below depicts this:
I think that the space could have been used more effectively, perhaps the video link could be bigger and in the center.
Trust: Essentially, does the site make you feel supported? Yes, it does. The site has a reinforced message that makes me inherently feel good about using it.
This message appears in graphics, in small lines at the bottom of pages, and even has a page devoted to the warning. This makes Tide appear caring and compassionate, to me at least.
The one beacon of light in Forrester’s findings? “There was a significant increase in the average score over the years just prior — a trend we hope to see continue,” writes Sage. “There’s a similar pattern when we compare B2C and B2B sites. B2B sites have consistently lagged behind B2C sites in user experience scores, but we’re finally seeing that gap narrow.” With any luck, more sites will follow in Tide’s example. It’s not perfect, but I give it a passing score.
Sources: Roberts, M. L., & Zahay, D. (2012). Internet marketing: Integrating online and offline strategies. (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
http://blogs.forrester.com/adele_sage/12-03-15-lessons_learned_from_1500_website_user_experience_reviews
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