Switching Users to the New Yahoo! Finance Charts Beta
April 3rd, 2007
Yahoo! Finance is introducing a new charting function. The new function, written in Flash, replaces the old static charts which required a page refresh every time you changed the time frame, such as going from 1 day to 3 months.
The new RIA chart capabilities are slick. You can find the price at a specific date, compare the performance to other stocks and indexes, and add the investment directly to your portfolio. Now I can easily see how every purchase I make instantly causes the market to plunge.
Yahoo! Finance is frequented by a regular user base who is looking for the market information quickly. This audience, focused on getting a quick snapshot on the market’s performance, isn’t interested in change.
Had Yahoo!’s designers suddenly changed to the new design without warning, users would most certainly have revolted. Instead, the designers are embarking on a campaign to persuade users to embrace the change.
They still default to the original chart page, with a nice ad suggesting people try the new functionality.
Clicking on the ad delivers the enhanced chart viewer and sets a cookie stating the user’s preference.
Users not happy with the new functionality still have the option to switch back to the “Classic Charts”.
Using the site’s analytics, the Yahoo! Finance designers can track how many users take advantage of the new functionality or revert to the original design, giving them additional data on the adoption rate of their new design. (Of course, analytics can’t tell them why users are reverting back. They’ll have to conduct usability tests to get that information.)
