Our trip to Miami for the Internet Retailer Web Design Conference was definitely a success. Kathie and I brought home many new ideas about the latest technologies and design strategies for 2008. I am happy to say we also confirmed that we are doing a lot of things right!
Last week, all of our staff got together for a “Lunch and Learn” where we ate pizza and Kathie and I shared what we learned at the conference. What were the highlights? Here are a few.
The conference speakers emphasized the importance of uncluttered design to allow the customer to see the most important (read actionable) elements of the page. For example, Walmart.com had the challenge of having too much information on their product page competing for the ‘above the fold’ area. We can relate to this for our clients, too. In this case study, Walmart.com needed to show two Add to Cart areas – one for online shopping and one for shipping to a retail store. The designers created two mockups, a side-by-side design and a stacked design. They thought the side-by-side design would clearly show both options but, through user testing, they were able to conclude that a stacked design was more user-friendly. I was surprised by that answer, too. User testing is definitely worth it!
There was much discussion about re-evaluating the site design and refining it over time. To continue with the Walmart.com example, they have now simplified their product page further to have just one Add to Cart button with two “Delivery Options.” Take a look at how much information is shown above the fold using as few words and elements as possible, http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8054975. All the supporting information is further down the page and, if customers are interested to read more, the content is there for them.
There were many speakers who focused on the benefits as well as the issues of using rich media (such as dynamic imaging, zoom, color swatching, personalizing/monogramming tools, video, interactive catalog, Flash, etc.). I particularly enjoyed the presentation by Ice.com’s Mayer Gniwisch. Not only did he have a great sense of humor, he gave us the details of his experience and the testing results using video to increase conversions. He found putting video on the product page engaged the customers with an alternate view of the product resulting in increased sales. He plans to add video to all his product pages. See an example, http://www.ice.com/customer/product_detail.jsp?product=75320300.
The conference focused the second day on emerging technologies including Web 2.0. I found it exciting to see the latest developments for mobile browsing, and David Sikora of Digby gave a demonstration of web sites for mobile commerce on the Blackberry. Many speakers discussed the importance of letting customers control or influence the shopping experience through customer ratings, advanced search, blogging, social networks, etc. The take away message: give power to the user and conversions will increase.
In all, we are very glad to have had the opportunity to listen and share ideas with designers from around the country. The world of the Web is an ever-changing place, and it is so important to know about the current technologies and best practices so we may create the most effective web sites for our clients.
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