Friday, May 27, 2011

Hongkiat.com: Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

Hongkiat.com: Usability Testing: What You need to Know?


Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

Posted: 27 May 2011 07:02 AM PDT

Usability testing is often a misunderstood part of the web design process. While most designers, developers and business owners these days have the idea of what usability testing is, a good number don’t see what it can do for them, what value it can add to your site by testing, and how to even get started with testing in the first place.

usability question Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

(Image source: Geert Allegaert)

Obviously doing some usability testing can show up potential issues in your site, help you get feedback on what is or isn’t working, and have a much broader understanding of what users are doing and how they interact with your site.

Furthermore, having a usable site means users will enjoy their interaction that much more, are much more likely to return to your site, and much more likely to recommend it to others. Conversions will increase whether that be sales, subscribers or any other goals you are aiming for. In short, it’s good business for you regardless of what goals you are looking to achieve – unless of course you don’t want to succeed, in which case you may as well stop reading now.

Supposing you are still reading, you should see that usability testing can add value for you; the key then, alongside knowing which testing method you’d like to go with, is knowing what type of method would work best for you and what kind of questions to ask to get useful, actionable answers. Read on to find out:

Types of Usability Tasks/Questions

In a remote usability test (or with any type of usability testing), there are a range of different question types you can ask. This is a selection of three of the more common types so you can get an idea of how to do your own testing in the future. You can combine different types of tasks/questions into one overall test.

Single test

These are great for testing different elements of an interface, navigation structure, layout, for finding products or services, and a range of other similar tests. A single test just means you are testing one image at a time, compared either an A/B or a preference test.

single Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

A/B test

An A/B test is where you are shown either image A or image B (NOT both – the image below is the result of the test) so you can see how people might interact with changes in your interface, different wording, different navigation options, different coloured buttons – you get the idea. It’s great for comparisons of any changes, redesigns or any little tweaks you are thinking of making.

abtest Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

Preference test

Preference tests are when two images side by side (as per the image below), and you can decide which one you prefer. This can be really useful for testing how people are going to feel about new features you are thinking of adding or changes you are thinking of making.

preference Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

The image above is comparing UI elements to see which way people better understand the design. Imagine if Twitter had done a test on the quick bar – it surely wouldn’t have launched if they had. Think about what this could do for your site and community – it should be pretty worthwhile.

Good Usability Testing Questions

What part of the interface stands out the most?

This question is useful for a number of reasons; are you trying to sell a product on your site? You probably want the call to action button, text or product to stand out – if everyone is clicking your logo or other information, you may want to consider making some changes. If people are taking a long time to decide which element stands out (shown by average click time), you may want to make some changes. If you are producing content, you’d probably want your RSS feed to stand out. If people can’t find it, again, you’d want to try to make it more visible. Seems simple, but until you test it you don’t know.

How would you fulfill such and such a task ?

People use sites, browsers, computers and technology in a whole range of different ways. The way you perform a task may be different from the way I do, which could be different again from a third person. Watching how people interact with your sites can lead to stunning revelations, and can have a huge impact on your bottom line as the tale of the $300 million dollar button shows.

fulfill task Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

For example, testing on our own site showed a number of people went to the pricing page, and then looked to sign up. By adding a link back to sign up from the pricing page, our sign ups went up appreciably. Every way in which your optimise your site can make a difference to your users, and in turn to you and your site. It’s all about maximizing your potential.

These sorts of questions can also help you learn about and understand conventions that people are used to following – examples are clicking your logo to return to your home page, the meanings of different colours, the locations of search boxes and so on. You can even lay out a grid and just ask people to click to try to form ideas on a blank slate about what is or isn’t going to work. Maybe people who visit knitting websites like search boxes on the bottom left hand side? Who knows until you test.

What service do we provide?

I recently did a quick test asking people after a quick look at a screenshot of our homepage, did they know what service we provided. Based on the feedback we received we made a few small tweaks to the content of the home page and developed a much clearer message – again leading to more sign ups.

service Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

People need to know who you are and what you do to be interested, and short attention spans being what they are, people aren’t generally going to sift through loads of information when thinking of choosing your service. Is the message on your site clear? Are there any changes you should make? Why not do a quick test and find out.

Which design do you prefer?

AKA preference testing. When you have one or more alternatives and you want to compare, you can always see how your views compare with the wisdom of the crowds. Asking these kinds of questions also enables you to elicit feedback on why people like certain designs, certain features, certain layouts and so on. You can pick the best elements of a number of designs and mix and mash until you find the perfect combination.

Some Useful Examples

It’s easy enough to give some example questions, but it’s much easier to see their use when you can see them in action. Below we’ve got a selection of different tests with different kinds of results, and the useful results that can capture:

Test: Gmail vs. Hotmail vs. Yahoo mail

This project features a combination of testing types (more apparent in the results) testing a number of different things; the grids are really useful for studying people’s preconceptions and learned behaviours. The written questions are a quick visual way to gather feedback; for example the obvious preference for threaded email and text ads, and the rest of the questions are really useful for understanding people’s interactions with the site. Success rates (i.e. clicking in the right place) and average click times can really show up which interfaces work the best. All really useful information.

Gmail vs Hotmail vs Yahoo mail: Test | Results
gmail Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

Preference Test: Colours and Psychology

This test uses preference testing to understand people’s learned behaviours and interpretations of colour. There were many insightful comments on this test regarding the cultural implications of colour, as well as accessibility issues for colour blind users. Are these things you need to be considering for your site or users? These kinds of tests will tell you.

Colours and Psychology: Test | Results
colour Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

A/B Test: Bing vs. Google

This A/B test is really useful for showing up some of the differences between two different designs or layouts, even for two completely different designs (hey, don’t you want to know how you stack up against your competition?).

This test also showed up quite well the most important parts of the interface for each site – search bars being a prominent feature, but the Bing artwork obviously draws a lot of attention, as does the Google logo – useful information if you’ve got elements you need to stand out.

What you can see from all of these tests is the huge array of information you can gather – information that can have a big impact on the usability and user experience of your site. Even shaving a few seconds of a simple task can make a big difference to your users. Even making your call to action button a little more obvious, or learning to follow conventions can make a big difference to your bottom line.

Bing vs Google: Test | Results

bing Usability Testing: What You need to Know?

So When to test? Now.

Steve Krug recommends testing once a month. This helps you gather fresh information, and to keep pace with the evolving web. Even if you re-run the same test you may well end up with different results and discover small changes that you need to make. Supposing each change only makes a small difference to your website, they will start to add up; 1% for a tweak here, 5% for a change there – think if after a year, just through small usability changes your revenue increased 30% to 40%, that would be well and truly worthwhile.

The point is that it’s never a bad time to start testing, and even making a few small changes can make a big difference. Even if your testing shows your site is working perfectly, that’s great, valuable information to know, and something your core stakeholders will be very happy to see.

Why not get started today and help make the web a more usable place, one website at a time? As I’ve quoted time and time again, ‘build it and they will come; build it well and they will come back’. With an ever-increasing focus on usability, the web will become a more enjoyable place for all, and I think that’s a very grand goal to aim at.

Further resources

Do you have any usability testing experience you’d like to share? What kind of questions do you think are important to ask? Or do you have questions on how to get started testing your own sites? Be sure to let us know in the comments.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Hongkiat.com: 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Hongkiat.com: 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy


85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Posted: 25 May 2011 05:53 AM PDT

I must confess that I’m an Angry Birds addict. Yes, by just throwing 5 very angry birds with different ability to grunting villainous pigs that smile to me when I failed, it could keep me high and busy for whole day. I think that’s also why this mobile game has hit 12 million purchases in Apple’s app store.

angry birds merchandise 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

But seriously, how can we just satisfy with untouchable angry birds! They are just too cute to become a toy or gift to please both children and adults. And that’s why I’m writing this post, to introduce you very cool Angry Birds merchandise which include plush toys, clothes, iPhone case and even cake topper, anything you can imagine!

You can also take this post as an inspiration on how digital product can turn into physical product with various form, but if you are an Angry Birds addict, what are you waiting for? Grab your own Angry Birds to claim that you’re a true addict!

Plush Toys

How do you show off your love to Angry Birds without having an official Angry Birds plush toy? We introduce these plush toys one by one so you can view them in detail and consider each of them seriously, or just grab them all. If you found plush toy is hard to sleep with, you can probably consider about plush pillow too.

Plush Red Bird

plush red bird 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Plush Blue Bird

plush blue bird 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Plush Yellow Bird

plush yellow bird 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Plush Black Bird

plush black bird 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Plush White Bird

plush white bird 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Plush Piglet

plush piglet 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Plush Grandpa Pig

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Plush Helmet Pig

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Plush King Pig

plush king pig 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird Plush Pillow

red bird plush pillow 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Yellow Bird Plush Pillow

yellow bird plush pillow 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Casing

If you’re playing Angry Birds I’m pretty much sure that you’re either iPhone or iPad user, so check out this section. We not only feature official Angry Birds iPhone and iPad case, but also showcase some creative handmade products to make your Angry Birds iDevice looks very different with typical one.

Red Bird iPhone 4 Case

red bird iphone4 case 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Yellow Bird iPhone 4 Case

yellow bird iphone4 case 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Black Bird iPhone 4 Case

black bird iphone4 case 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Pig King iPhone 4 Case

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Red Bird iPad 2 Case

red bird ipad2 case 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Pig King Vs Red Bird iPad 2 Case

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Angry Birds Family iPad 2 Case

angry birds family ipad2 case 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Blue Bird iPad Case Pouch

blue bird ipad case pouch 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Angry Birds iPad Sleeve

angry birds ipad sleeve 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird iPod Case Purse

red bird ipod case 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Yellow Bird iPod Case Purse

yellow bird ipod case 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird Cloth Felt Case

red bird cloth felt case 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Blue Bird Case Cover

blue bird case cover 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Decal Skin

Still not satisfied with Angry Birds case installed on your iDevice’s back? Here are Decal Skins that spam your entire iDevice’s back, front and even wallpaper with Angry Bird’s face. If you are a laptop user who’s not that hardcore, you can just choose a decal skin to decorate your laptop’s back.

Red Bird iPad Skin

red bird ipad skin 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Yellow Bird iPad Skin

yellow bird ipad skin 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Pig iPad Skin

pig ipad skin 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird iPhone Skin

red bird iphone skin 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Yellow Bird iPhone Skin

yellow bird iphone skin 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Angry Birds Laptop Skin

angry birds laptop skin 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Accessories

Your collection cannot be counted as complete without owning the smallest merchandise of Angry Birds: accessories. Here we showcase various kinds of Angry Birds accessories such as backpack clip, handmade keychain, pinback button and even bottle cap necklace.

Red Bird Backpack Clip

red bird backpack clip 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Blue Bird Backpack Clip

blue bird backpack clip 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Yellow Bird Backpack Clip

yellow bird backpack clip 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird Earrings

red bird earrings 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Yellow Bird Earrings

yellow bird earrings 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Pig Earrings

pig earrings 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird Key Chain

red bird keychain 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Blue Bird Key Chain

blue bird keychain 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Green Bird Key Chain

green bird keychain 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Angry Birds Keychain Set

angry birds keychain set 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Angry Bird Pinback Button Set

angry birds pinback button set 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Angry Birds Bottle Cap Necklace Set 1

angry birds bottle cap necklace1 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Angry Birds Bottle Cap Necklace Set 2

angry birds bottle cap necklace2 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird Wallet

red bird wallet 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Clothing

These Angry Birds clothes really got me with their creative and quality graphics. You can browse man and girl’s Angry Birds T-shirts with many themes below, and if you want your most body parts covered with Angry Birds, we got hat, shoes and even mask for you too.

Big Brother

big brother 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Drop Birds Not Bombs

drop birds not bomb 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Flipping The Bird

flipping the bird 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Help Me

help me 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Pig Face

pig face 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird T-Shirt

red bird tshirt 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Bird Faces

bird faces 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Chillin Like A Villain

chillin like a villain 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Piggies Why

piggies why 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Sling Shot

sling shot 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

The Nest

the nest 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Triple Threat

triple threat 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Drop It

drop it 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

I’m Hot With My Slingshot

hot with sling shot 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Official Angry Birds Addict

official angry birds addict 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Stop The Madness

stop the madness 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Vengeance

vengeance 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird Cosplay Hat

red bird cosplay hat 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Blue Bird Cosplay Hat

blue bird cosplay hat 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Yellow Bird Cosplay Hat

yellow bird cosplay hat 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Black Angry Bird Cosplay Hat

black bird cosplay hat 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Pig Cosplay Hat

pig cosplay hat 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Angry Birds Hat Set

angry birds hat set 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Angry Birds Mask Set

angry birds mask set 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Red Bird Converse

red bird converse 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Painting

In this section we just feature miniature Angry Birds painting, but I’m confident that you will be amazed with the quality and cuteness of these handmade paintings.

Miniature Red Bird Painting

miniature red bird painting 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Miniature Blue Bird Painting

miniature blue bird painting 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Miniature Yellow Bird Painting

miniature yellow bird painting 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Miniature Black Bird Painting

miniature black bird painting 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Miniature White Bird Painting

miniature white bird painting 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Miniature Green Bird Painting

miniature green bird painting 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Printed Card

Following the rule of any cute graphic can be integrated into a hot selling charming card, here are 3 printed products that have either red angry bird, yellow angry bird or pig king face on them for you.

Red Bird Card

red bird card 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Yellow Bird Card

yellow bird card 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Pig Card

pig card 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Poster

Had most Angry Birds merchandise but still like to see completely original design? These 4 Angry Birds game posters below are what you’re finding then. Best for wall decoration.

Angry Birds The Poster

angry birds the poster 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Game Poster Print 1

game poster print 1 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Game Poster Print 2

game poster print 2 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Attack

attack 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Board Game

The only board game made based on the Angry Birds design, probably an entertaining toy for children of any age.

Angry Birds: Knock On Wood

knock on wood 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Cake Topper

I am personally amazed with the quality of these self-produced cake toppers. Get them on any person’s birthday cake, then you will have a fun and pleasing birthday party.

Birds Set Topper

birds set topper 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Pigs Set Topper

pigs set topper 85 Cool Angry Birds Merchandise You Can Buy

Reflection

Honestly I’m just amazed with number and form these angry birds exist in merchandise market, they are really a money bomb for merchandise makers! With mini series from Angry Birds RIO keep coming this year, I believe there will be more new angry birds flocking into the market, so addicts, keep your eyes on them!

We sincerely hope you found your love in this post, and please share with us what will you do with these angry merchandise!