What is UX?

UX (User Experience) is a concept based on the concept of usability used primarily to evaluate websites and applications. Useful websites are websites where you can easily find the information, products or services you need and quickly convert, such as a purchase. The concept of usability is also related to intuitiveness – the website should be easy to use and unambiguous.

The term User Experience is used to define the user experience and their impressions while using the website. It boils down to determining the friendliness of the internaut’s interaction with the website and its accessibility. UX consists of many factors: from design and aesthetics, through navigation, to the quality of information. This is an issue that has received more and more attention recently, mainly due to its impact on the effectiveness of websites or applications. Taking care of UX (User Experience) usually translates into higher conversion, as it makes the website meet the expectations of visitors.

In addition to User Experience, it is worth paying attention to the concept of User Interface. It means the user interface – it is all the elements that allow interaction with the website (including page layout, graphic design, typography, colors). UX and UI are sometimes treated as the same concepts, but more often they simply appear next to each other, playing a significant role in the perception of the website by Internet users.

UX audit – what is it?

Even if you think that your website is friendly, sensible and intuitive, it does not have to appear this way to random internet users who come across it. So how do you check user experiences? UX audit will be the best way.

UX audits consist in checking websites or applications in terms of meeting the expectations and needs of their visitors. This requires knowledge of, inter alia, habits of Internet users, trends and issues related to the clarity of the message. UX audit is quite a complicated procedure, but it can bring many benefits:
– allows you to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of a given website,
– indicates the mistakes made and their potential impact on the conversion,
– also indicates opportunities and threats for the future,
– suggests what actions should be taken to develop and improve the effectiveness of the website.

The tests carried out during the audit should concern, inter alia:
– website structure and navigation between individual tabs,
– page views, especially in terms of readability,
– the clarity and unambiguity of the information provided,
– usability of the website – the possibility of obtaining the necessary information, placing an order, contacting the company, etc.

They are carried out in various ways, but it always requires expert knowledge and experience.

UX audit – what does it look like?

UX audit is carried out using various methods. The most reliable results are obtained when combining several of them. The first step should be expert analysis, that is, in-depth research of the site by UX experts – equipped with the appropriate knowledge and experience. In this case, several developed UX methodologies are used. What kind?

Heuristic evaluation
It consists in checking websites for heuristics, i.e. specific rules and guidelines. The most common is the so-called Nielsen heuristics covered in 10 points. They constitute very general guidelines for the functionality of a given website or application:

– Show system status.
– Maintain compliance between the system and reality.
– Give the user full control.
– Stick to standards and be consistent.
– Prevent mistakes.
– Allow you to choose instead of forcing you to remember.
– Provide flexibility and efficiency.
– Take care of aesthetics and moderation.
– Provide effective error handling.
– Take care of help and documentation.

However, you can also use the 8 golden rules of expert Schneiderman, 30 rules of Connell’s utility or the 9 cognitive rules of Gerhardt-Powals. These guidelines all convey similar content, but are worded slightly differently. Which rules will be applied for the audit does not really matter.

Cognitive walkthrough
This method is also known as the Cognitive Walk. It consists in testing scenarios of a potential user’s journey on the website. In this case, the expert plays the role of the user who visits the site for the first time. The adoption of various scenarios allows you to examine each path of the “walk” through the website and allows you to catch many problem areas or obvious errors in UX or UI.

Usability checklist
It is a method of checking the website according to specific points from the so-called checklists. The list is usually quite detailed and sets out the guidelines according to which the website should be constructed. It is also objective, which is certainly its advantage, but at the same time it is rarely tailored to a specific site, which may make it impossible to detect certain errors. The checklist procedure is fairly simple but often time consuming.

User tests can also be part of the UX audit. These are procedures that allow you to check how “ordinary” Internet users navigate the site. The survey can be moderated (led by a specialist) or unmoderated (the user freely moves around the site). After its completion, the participant is asked to fill in a questionnaire and comment on the website. This type of test can be combined, for example, with the analysis of eye movement, clicks, scrolling and other data, on the basis of which the so-called heat maps. This allows you to recognize not only the biggest obstacles faced by site visitors, but also the most important points of their interest.

UX audit results

The result of a UX audit is usually a comprehensive report, which should accurately indicate, above all, the mistakes made, areas for improvement and recommendations. By standard, errors are divided into three categories:
– critical errors – have a significant impact on the functioning of the website and require immediate repair;
– average errors – important, but to be corrected second;
– basic errors – details noticed during the research, which, however, do not have a significant impact on the functioning of the website.

It is also common to classify errors by type (e.g. communicative, visual, logical, etc.). Thanks to this, they can be immediately assigned to the appropriate teams and the necessary changes can be implemented faster.

It is also worth remembering that the audit report should contain both quantitative data (e.g. statistics) and qualitative data obtained e.g. through user research. The more information contained in the website analysis results, the more complete and objective the image can be obtained. Thus, the introduced amendments have a greater chance of having a real impact on the conversion rate and user satisfaction.

What after the UX audit?

After the UX audit, it should be time to implement its results and further usability tests that will allow you to check how effective the changes are. It is worth trying to prepare UX mockups presenting elements that require improvement, and then conduct A / B tests. This is a procedure during which two groups of users are presented with different versions of a page – and preferably they differ in just one element. Then, the behavior of the study participants is monitored and it is checked which version allows for higher conversion. After completing the website modification, you can re-audit to check its effectiveness.

The most common mistakes in UX – what should you pay attention to?

Every website is different, but there are some mistakes that recur too often. If you want to do some basic self-analysis of your website, be sure to check out our list and see what to avoid!

Interface not adapted to the user’s needs
First of all, the website should be legible and easy to navigate. Difficulties in this respect, especially those encountered at the outset, can effectively discourage the user from staying on the site. It really matters! For a website to be simply friendly, the first thing you need to know is what you want to achieve by publishing it. It is worth asking yourself questions about what the page is about and how the user should navigate on it, bearing in mind that the conversion should not take too many steps.

Some websites even throw their users more obstacles, making it difficult to find basic information about a product or price list, and then dragging the conversion procedure indefinitely (for example, requiring “clicking” through several subpages before hitting the registration or purchase tab). It is also worth remembering that the interface should enable the website to be expanded in the future, e.g. with new categories, products, services or language versions.

Triumph of form over content
A related error is the excess of form over content. This is primarily the result of an overly ambitious approach to design or the willingness to present your skills as a developer. The result may be a site that looks great at first glance, but definitely loses the next time you “get to know”. Too complicated structure, lack of readability, animations and other visual “tricks” only really distract from the main message of the page. The simple is sometimes the best – especially when it comes to usability.

Failure to adjust to reading patterns
The human eye usually “scans” the presented image according to one of several so-called reading patterns. The three most popular are Gutenberg’s diagram, Z pattern and F pattern. They tell about how the human eye travels. Knowledge of these rules allows you to place important elements (e.g. buttons leading to registration, purchase, etc.) in places where the user’s eyes will almost certainly fall. Meanwhile, many creators ignore them completely and opt for solutions that may look good, but they certainly do not provide the desired conversion.

No responsiveness
According to the global Digital 2020 report, more than half of all visits to websites are made from a smartphone. Meanwhile, some sites are still not adapted to users of a few inches of screens! If the page is unreadable on your phone, it’s no wonder you can’t boast a satisfactory conversion. Importantly, it is not only the presence of the mobile version of the website that counts “as it does”, but above all its quality. Content and functions from the desktop version copied in the smaller version will not work. It is worth considering the placement of individual elements carefully, and if necessary, give up the less important ones to obtain a clearer and more friendly design.

Ignoring the fold line
This is a point that somehow relates to the previous one. A fold line is a line that marks an area of your website that is visible without scrolling down. Above all, it should be encouraging. Some people, not wanting to risk that the Internet user leaves the website before reading the most important information, put the majority of content here. However, this is a big mistake. It is also worth remembering that the fold line is in a completely different place on the screen of a computer, tablet or smartphone. Therefore, the amount of information above it and their graphic representation should be adjusted separately for each screen size. Remember – often less is more.

Content overload
Content is king – at least that can be deduced from the wise analyzes of marketing specialists. However, this does not mean that website users should be bombarded with information. Long, detailed descriptions of products or instructions related to the services provided may be your advantage, but they must also be properly presented. Otherwise, nobody will read it, and many people will leave the site and never return to it.

Use short paragraphs and bullets instead of huge blocks of text. Highlight the most important elements with appropriate graphics or pictograms. Add buttons with CTA (call to action). If there is too much content on the page, why not break it down into several tabs about individual services, products or offer aspects? It can also be beneficial for SEO if you use the right keywords.

Confusing forms
Forms are a minefield, especially for inexperienced web developers. If you expect website users to fill out a form (e.g. registration, quote, contact), make it as simple as possible! The rule in this case is quite clear-cut – the more fields, the less chance they will be filled. Labels, additional comments and buttons must convey an unambiguous message. If a date is required when filling in, please specify the format in which it should be entered. For weights, measures, etc., be sure to specify which unit applies.

After creating the form, take a close look at it and remove any fields that are not necessary. Use checkboxes and radio buttons where possible. It is also absolutely necessary to mark the errors accurately. If, after completing and confirming all the fields, the user receives feedback saying that an error has occurred (without indicating which field and which field), he will most likely not only give up on further actions, but also become irritated.

Incorrect placement of important components
The most important elements of the website should be placed in visible places – so that the user does not have to guess “what to do next” or look for the right button (eg allowing to add a product to the basket). There is probably nothing more daunting than a page that arouses interest and then makes conversion difficult. It is worth remembering that there are some unwritten rules on the Internet – all approval buttons (“OK”, “Next”, “I agree”) should be on the left, while those with negative actions (such as “Cancel”, “Delete” etc.) – on the right. It has also been assumed that the button for adding a product to the basket is located near the price. It really doesn’t pay off in making your users’ lives difficult – even if it makes you think your site is genuine.

Take care of UX, and success will come by itself

Building effective websites is really not as easy as it may seem. Success is a combination of many factors that must perfectly harmonize with each other. However, taking care of User Experience will certainly pay off. A functional website means greater conversion and a better brand image – and therefore both short and long-term benefits.

New customer profile – senior online

To start with, let’s specify who we call senior or elderly. In research, this nomenclature already affects people over 55, and therefore often professionally and socially active people. And the difference between the consumer needs of a 60-year-old and a 70-year-old is huge.

Let us assume, then, that we will refer to senior or online as people who have not grown up surrounded by modern technology, but adapt to it to a greater or lesser extent. Due to the manner and frequency of Internet use, we can divide this group into the following consumer profiles:

– Beginners – their knowledge of the network and technology is small, in this topic they rely primarily on the knowledge of loved ones. They often use only one thing, e.g. mail;
– Advanced – they work with the computer on a daily basis, understand the principles of the Internet and computer programs, and are able to use it no less advanced than the younger generation;
– Enthusiasts – they discovered the internet at a late age, it became their passion, that’s why they use new technologies, invest in them, for example: replace the old phone with a smartphone, understand the operation of applications and games.

What technologies does e-senior use?

Seniors are not strangers to using a smartphone or a computer, and in case of problems they use the help of younger family members or IT courses. E-seniors are also eager to use tablets and e-book readers. Thanks to the data, we know that 18.5% of people in the age group up to 75 are actively using the internet. People over 50 can spend up to 4 hours a day on it. So what do they most often use the network for?

What does a senior do online?

In studies carried out at the request of Paraphrase-Online.com, 94% of respondents declare that they actively use online banking, and 68% of them do it at least once a week. Thanks to the online service of a bank account plus the increasing knowledge of the network, new opportunities have opened up for seniors in the form of online shopping.

The most frequently purchased products include clothing, cosmetics, perfumes and books. Often these are gifts for friends and family members. Household and RTV purchases are also becoming more and more popular. Thanks to research carried out by Paraphrase-Online.com, we also learn that 62% of seniors spend time searching for information about brands, and 65% before buying, compare products, looking for a convenient offer for themselves. Senior online is no different from a young internet user.

Mobile activity is not worse. It turns out that the smartphone often replaces your favorite newspaper or TV show. According to a survey conducted by Paraphrase-Online.com, 60% of users use it every day, and not just for sending sms or phone calls. E-senior willingly takes pictures, and then shares them on social networks, gives on forums, comments. Research has shown that 39% of users aged 55-64 have an account in social media. On portals for seniors you will also find a series of guides on how to use e.g. Snapchat or Instagram.

Adaptation of UX solutions to the needs of E-seniors

It is worth noting that the mechanisms, which are intuitive for the young generation, will most likely be incomprehensible to the senior. Should they be changed completely? As long as e-senior is not our main recipient, the exchange of solutions can be replaced by instructions or a guide. In the opposite situation, it is worth investing in designing the interface or customer path tailored to the needs of the older user. What should be considered?

– Security – one of the most important values for the elderly in the network. Very often he becomes a victim of fraud, cheating or cyberbullying. It is worth stressing the recommendations and certificates, as well as providing access to the hotline or other contact with a person who will assure the senior about the company’s credibility;
– Clear interface – should be easy to use and have specific descriptions and commands;
– Product or service description – must be very accurate. Seniors are a generation that values ‘live’ shopping very much because of their physical sensations – nothing else will provide them with the benefits of a product like seeing it or trying it out. That is why it is worth investing, e.g. in 3D or 360 preview;
– Comments and opinions – seniors do not differ from other clients in this field. They want reviews that will verify product information, so you should increase their visibility on the page.

Customer profile and future of the market

Thanks to statistics and research, we know that the growing number of seniors can significantly affect the consumer market. Longer professional activity and higher earnings are just some of the factors that allow you to look at this group with more interest. Increasing technological awareness gives a lot of new marketing opportunities targeted specifically at e-seniors. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to his needs when creating and improving contact points with the company, especially in the face of data that shows that in a dozen or so years he will be the main recipient of the market.

The Google Ads panel in conjunction with Google Analytics and YouTube Analytics gives you wide possibilities of measuring campaign data. When running a video campaign on YouTube, the advertiser can monitor, among others:

– number of views,
– average cost of watching the advertisement,
– daily (or generated in another, selected time period) advertising cost,
– the number and type of conversions,
– cost of conversion,
– video playback percentage,
– activity earned, i.e. likes, shares, subscriptions, etc.

In the case of television, viewership is determined by telemetry. Telemetry surveys are statistical surveys carried out on the basis of a panel, i.e. a group of recipients representing e.g. the entire population of a given country. In order for the panel to be reliable, it must properly reflect the structure of the society it presents, and must also have the appropriate amount of data. According to Paraphrase-Online.com, telemetry tests in the world are carried out on a group of 2,000-10,000 households.

A tycoon on the television research market on its website informs that it is able to obtain data on viewers, the channels they watch, as well as on the time of watching television. As part of the available viewing rates, it provides information on:

– television audience behavior,
– demographic characteristics of recipients,
– programs watched by individual members of the household,
– programs watched jointly by all family members,
– family attributes, e.g. possession of pets, income, education and their correlation with television preferences.

Certainly, telemetry data are a very valuable source of knowledge about recipients of TV programs and commercials. However, they are statistical data, obtained on the basis of a small group of recipients, and in addition they do not present such specific details that can be obtained from online advertising. For TV ads, it’s difficult to get data on the cost of a single interaction or the number of conversions that an ad generated. By promoting their products or services on YouTube, advertisers, however, have significantly more access to data on the effectiveness of promo videos and the behavior of viewers watching videos.

Advertising on television – costs

Online advertising fees are usually based on views (CPV) or per thousand impressions (CPM), not on broadcast time (as with TV advertising). The unit costs of online advertising usually range from a few to several cents per interaction, thanks to which, even with a very limited budget, the advertiser can display their promotional video on the web.

With a limited budget, the additional advantage is the ability to target specific, small audiences and the fact that you can choose specific periods of video display.

In the case of online advertising, the viewing rates are not so dependent on the duration of the spots, and even if they increased at a certain point in time, the advertiser always has access to such data. Thanks to statistics, the advertiser has full control over the daily budget of the campaign, which allows him to decide how much exactly he wants to invest in the promotion. Additionally, it can track expenses on an ongoing basis and decide at any time whether to continue or suspend the display of its campaign.

Targeting TV and Youtube ads

Google Ads offers many types of ad targeting. Audience groups can be created based on:
– demographics
– interests,
– life plans and events,
– destinations visited by internet users,
– topics of pages, channels, mobile applications,
– keywords related to the content of pages, channels and mobile applications,
– devices used by network users.

and combine the above mentioned options.

Television advertising – due to the fact that it is tested telemetrically based on a specific panel of recipients – will never be as well tailored to a specific recipient as online advertising. Unfortunately, television does not allow to narrow down the target audience as precisely as Google Ads allows. Equally important, the television does not have the remarketing option – therefore, it will not be possible to return there with a re-advertising message only to those recipients who were thinking about buying, but resigned from it at the last moment (e.g. they left the shopping cart).

Building engagement & impact on recipients

Online advertising allows Internet users to easily and quickly interact when they are interested in a product or service being promoted. When watching an advertising spot on the web, an Internet user has several different options at their disposal:

– watching the entire advertising film,
– clicking on the call to action to go to the advertiser’s website and get more information or to convert directly,
– movie likes
– entering the advertiser’s channel and watching other available materials,
– subscribing to the advertiser’s channel,
– making the advertising film available to other people,
– temporarily pausing the ad,
– as a last resort and if you are not interested in advertising – skip it.

In the vast majority of cases, interaction with online advertising does not require the use of a device other than that on which the ad is played. Thanks to this option, at the moment of interest in a given product or service, an Internet user can immediately explore the secrets of the offer without wasting neither time nor enthusiasm to reach for a computer or telephone, turn it on and look for the page or name of the product, which in the meantime may have unintentionally disappeared from memory.

In the case of TV ads, it is not possible to interact directly on the advertising medium. To learn more, you need to use a laptop or telephone. Many of you will say that during ads they grab the phone, and therefore at any time can tap the name of the thing that he saw on the glass screen. Truth. But…

According to research carried out by Paraphrase-Online.com during television advertising blocks, 33% of people using smartphones browse social networking applications, 21% of these consumers play games, 8% of people use messengers or have traditional telephone conversations, while 6% use them from online shopping applications.

In the case of TV commercials, it is common to distract the viewer and draw his eyes away from the TV screen. Social networking, phone calls and games often win with a glass screen.

Equally important, TV commercials – in view of the fact that they are most often displayed in the form of blocks of several or several minutes, and appear in between programs or during the break of the series – often serve as a moment to move away from the receiver. I guess each of us has happened to wait for an advertisement to brew tea, quickly prepare a sandwich or go to the toilet and not lose a fragment of an interesting film.

And how many of us at the time of the advertising break “jumps” on other channels and checks whether something interesting is going on there, or what is the result of the match that did not interest us enough to watch it in its entirety?

Simple configuration and optimization

Online advertising campaigns can be built and run by virtually any user who has access to the Internet and has created free Google Ads and YouTube accounts. In addition, there are a lot of guides on the network on how to create and optimize campaigns. The surest source of knowledge, i.e. Google support is in itself a mine of knowledge, good practices and news in the field of online campaigns.

An advertiser wanting to work on his campaign is not dependent on external viewership data providers (as in the case of TV). At any time, he can log into the advertising account and check the effects of the campaign and make necessary changes to it. All statistics are visible in the account, so if there were any anomalies, it can easily catch them.

In addition, all you need to create an online video campaign is a good-quality video on your YouTube channel. In the era of such intense technological development, an advertising spot can be recorded even with a smartphone. Once you have your video ready, simply paste it into the previously created ad group and add the destination URL or ad headline and description depending on the campaign type you choose.

In the case of television advertising, only a professional film is involved, recorded at a significantly higher cost and using a film crew or computer graphic designer. The advertiser cannot optimize the advertising campaign alone, as he has no access to any tools or current data.

Ad Reach

Only a few years ago television was the leading carrier of video materials. Due to the intensive development of the Internet and YouTube, the ways of consuming all kinds of film materials are changing rapidly.

According to YouTube analyzes, the viewership of video posted online has been growing not only on mobile devices, but also TV sets. According to statistics, YouTube has a wider range among young users than traditional television. The overall reach of Google’s video service is constantly growing, and the number of website and application users is increasing from year to year. Same as watching time of available materials. Equally important, many lovers of the glass screen are moving to the online world, because there they can watch programs of their interest at the time they choose, and not when ordered by the schedule.

Accordingly, the online advertising market itself is growing at the expense of the press and television. According to analysts, in 2019 television advertising expenditure was to increase by only 0.6 percent compared to 2018, while expenditure on online advertising was to increase by as much as 11.8 percent (mainly due to the development of video advertising). What’s more, in 2020 the share of television in the global advertising market is to reach 32.6%, which means that the highest place on the podium in this field will fall to the web and its 41.8%. So, does television advertising have a future? Certainly yes, but it appears in increasingly darker colors.