April 18, 2007
posted in Design, Future Of Web Design 2007, Web
Designing for web apps
Ryan Singer (37 signals)
George Oates (flickr)
Denise Wilton (moo)
10 tips for better signup forms (Ryan Singer)
1) Making stuff up is hard - username and password
- easy questions first as it builds momentum
2) Rockstar2084 is taken… use AJAX to do live checking on usernames
3) Forgot password stuff etc. Design form with least amount of info possible to encourage signup
4) Words are your friends - make it friendly
5) Check form validation and make it easy to enter information in any format, don’t be prescriptive
6) Muse me - examples beneath form fields can be really enticing
7) Tell me what I’m getting
Error handling - don’t use BIG RED BLOCKS AND CAPITALS
9) Welcome - signup is a whole process, needs to be as comfortable as possible - first time someone visits we should have a special state to say thanks for signing up.
10) Just give me the keys - keep signup email really simple, move ‘getting started’ guide to the app.
Big ideas:
- think about momentum
- signup doesn’t stop at submit
- people don’t care about using your tool - they care about kicking ass in their own work
- think about users!!
Designing a web app with character (Denise Wilton)
Why character?
Why do people love flickr?
Not just because it’s usable, but because it’s nice to them - it has character, personality
Who are you?
Mind your language. Make sure all informative text is in ‘character’
Say what you’re saying - typeface says a lot about you
No matter how simple stuff is - break it down into easy steps because newbies will find all applications daunting to start with.
Use conventions - don’t be afraid of these
Character should come second to functionality/usability
Once design is finished - wait until things have been coded because things will need tweaking afterwards
Remember who you are
They think it’s all over - don’t launch a site and go away - bug fixing is inevitable, don’t feel afraid to change stuff. People engaging and sending email is a good thing.
[pretty presentation!]
8 tips for nurturing your people (George Oates)
You better than My
1) Gates
Sitemaps begone - branching to a myriad of different outcomes
Adding a picture to favourites / adding a friend - these things help users to put down roots
Important to make these functions as easy and intuitive as possible
2) Pretty URLs
URL as a command line
Use them as a method in design when thinking about new functionality
3) Design for zero data
Make pages inviting when eg people don’t have groups yet
Make suggestions
4) Sensible defaults
Flickr is complex - lots of settings which people don’t touch
Twitter assumes you want to make your twitters private, but this is changeable - and use directional copy around setting changes
5) Accept different languages
6) Show activity
http://www.vimeo.com - flickr for video sharing?
‘NOW’ box - new uploads etc
7) Exploration
Weekly charts of top tracks - good to see when new things happen (friends’ photos on flickr)
Neutral point of view
‘Empty vessel’ - don’t get too involved or arbitrate users
Community guidelines - nicely written (http://www.flickr.com/guidelines.gne)
Foundation!
9) Profit!
Q&A
1) Make it easy for users to cancel their accounts - linkedin is difficult and no fun ,strange crossover between social network and business network
2) Delicious - not great design, but does work. It would be nice if it were a little more personal - needs to build more of an emotional connection with the user? Twitter - very personalisable, good antithesis. Do you need to have an emotional connection with your web apps? Passion is important and connection does build that. On the other hand, where things are strictly functional/vital you don’t want to be passionate about it - eg water/electricity
3) ZOHO writer (online word processor)Â - email ID on signup form is ambiguous
4) Google analytics - navigation is really difficult. Analogy - interface wearing as you use it - links get darker when you use them more frequently etc. BBC already implemented this on homepage
How to keep inspired to create usable stuff - George Oates think usability is overrated, content will sometimes override that if it’s good enough. Ryan Singer says - scratch your own itch. If something bugs you, build something new for it. Make something better.
From the floor: What’s the absolute start point?
Denise: decide what it is you want your user to do. Eg design amazing cards with no design skills. Think about how you want your user to feel - this will inform lots of other stuff eg typography, shapes etc.
From the floor: Favourite instances of web app appealing to personality?
George: when someone you don’t know leaves a comment on one of your photos - enthralling
Denise: hello in a different language is a lovely thing - though George notes some users thought this was an error
Ryan: include avatars - good way to personalise
