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There is a logical flow when driving your car down a highway and a website is no different: a website visitor will generally land on the top-left of the page and, if the page is designed with success in mind for the user, the page will have almost a directional flow straight to the conversion trigger.

Design theories are based on a "push" media with glossy graphics to grab attention and brand association - few design theories focus on a "pull" medium where the user is in the driver's seat and has specific intentions. Do you know if your website graphics are getting in the way, or if the white space or videos are hurdles that a user ignores, or do you have a newspaper-type layout that doesn't allow for a natural scanning pattern?

Through the use of eye tracking studies and observed user testing it is now possible to uncover how your users are looking at your website and what potential barriers they might be encountering.

This e-commerce website is typical of many that offer competing product choices, menus and special offers. As a site visitor, where do you look first?

Eye-tracking software reveals where people look on screen, and how long they spend on each element. Warm areas show the elements that were most viewed, while cooler areas received fewer views. Based on data captured from the eye-tracking tests, this site was extensively re-designed, and the number of click-throughs from the new version of the home page leapt 10-fold.

If abandonment rates are high or conversion rates are low, these are potential barriers on a website that might be a part of the problem. Two issues in particular that we observe time and time again are related to graphics and rich media.

With graphics, the size of the image can act as both a barrier and gateway depending on its placement and its look. Images that are harmonious with the site's color scheme and look clickable are inviting and effective. But be wary of designing graphical links to content that mimic the look of advertising banners - most users assume that they are ads, and will simply ignore them!

Rich media like video and Flash is attractive, and can certainly add a "wow" factor to a website. But if the design isn't executed perfectly, users will disengage from the content, and most likely leave the site. Avoid "amateur"-looking video content unless it's a deliberate design statement.

In order to assess some of these critical components there are a variety of services that can help evaluate and determine potential issues:

Website Audits A/B Testing Usability Testing Eye-tracking Studies Website Optimization

CLOUDBURST CONSULTING
52 RILEY ROAD #401, CELEBRATION FL 34747
T: (407) 557-2380 | C: (407) 666-7887 | E: INFO@CLOUDBURSTCONSULTING.COM

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