Category

Research

Make your navigation like other websites

By Navigation, Research

✅ Do this Follow Jakob’s Law by making your navigation look and function like other websites users are familiar with. Don’t reinvent the wheel.   Why Users spend most of their time on other sites.* Therefore, users prefer your website to work the same as others. Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D. and principal of the Nielsen Norman Group, coined the term Jakob’s…

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Provide fewer options in navigation

By Navigation, Research

✅ Do this Follow Hick’s Law and help users make faster decisions by providing less uncategorized options in navigation. As options increase, categorizing options using Miller’s Law.   Why Fewer options lead to faster decisions. As options increase, categorizing decreases decision time. Hick’s Law explains how the number of possible choices impacts the time it takes for a person to…

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Miller’s Law says to limit lists to 7 items or fewer

By Navigation, Research

Miller’s Law The number of objects an average human can hold in working memory is 7 ± 2.   ✅ Do this Follow Miller’s Law when showing lists, such as when you’re listing features on page or building groups in your navigation (e.g., “Checking, Savings, Certificates, Money Market” under “Accounts”). Each list should contain about 7 items or fewer.  …

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Organize your navigation by topic

By Navigation, Research

✅ Do this Organize your navigation by topic (e.g., checking, saving, loans, etc) rather than by content format (e.g., videos, podcasts, articles, etc).   Why Initially, “users interested in a specific topic usually don’t care in what format the information will be delivered to them” (Avoid Format-Based Primary Navigation).   Test See Cases from Epicurious, The Home Depot and Google…

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Use generic names for products and services

By Navigation, Research

✅ Do this Use generic names for products and services rather than fancy, made-up ones. For example, call a free checking account “Free Checking” as opposed to a made-up or ambiguous name such as “Silver Checking”, “Prime Checking” or “Community Checking”.   Why For instance, no one shows up on a credit union website looking for a “Gold Checking” account,…

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Why you shouldn’t put credit cards under “Loans” on your website

By Navigation, Research

  If consumers can’t find what they’re looking for on your website, then they will likely go somewhere else. That’s why research-based navigation is crucial for your credit union website design. Based on some counterintuitive research findings, I’d guess you probably have credit cards in the wrong spot. If you pick a credit union website at random, you’ll likely find…

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