Ratings and reviews can generate quite a lot of money. Who hasn’t asked a friend, peer, or family member their opinion on products or services, especially on something you’re about to purchase? A simple, “it did the job” or “it’s worth the money” is enough to convince most people to complete their purchase. How these […]

Moving Beyond Conversion Rates: Part 1: Avoid Ratios for Metrics Part 2: Not All Visitors Make Great Customers (this) Part 3: Visitors Are Not All The Same Part 4: Campaigns Are Where Conversion Rates Shine Part 5: Measuring Money Left On The Table A few years back, the executives at the electronics retailer Best Buy […]

Content is everywhere. With the amount of content users are confronted with everyday it can be challenging to garner their attention. Compounding this problem is the fact that designers and developers are often tasked with writing content that end users see. This can be an intimidating prospect if you’re unaccustomed to crafting copy.

How likely am I to recommend United Airlines to someone else? If asked this question, I’d answer that it’s pretty likely, especially if that person lives here in the greater Boston area. Of all the major airlines, United has the best service out of Boston. The only other options if you need to travel all […]

Following the brilliance of Day 1 of the UIE Web App Masters Tour, we had a another awesome day of great presentations. Pam Rodriguez and Luke Wroblewski did a nice job of posting their notes. Thanks guys! Steve Portigal on Design Fieldwork: Uncovering Innovation from the Outside In – Pam’s notes, Luke’s notes. Kate Brigham […]

Web applications live in this strange world, half application, half web site. Something as simple as making a command look like a command, becomes difficult quickly. Do you make it a button? Should it be a link? Visual design problems affect an application’s success in a variety of ways. In the mildest form, they slow […]

What is Seductive Interaction Design? More and more, we’re seeing web sites use rewards systems, competitions, and fun progress indicators to get people engaged. Interactions such as these trigger different elements of human behavior and encourage your visitors to engage with your web site more. They differentiate the casual glance from a longer involvement with […]

Here’s one way to try to get married: Go to a singles’ bar, walk up to every eligible candidate, stick out your hand, and ask, “Will you marry me?” Visit enough bars, talk to enough potential spouses, and, eventually, someone will say yes. At least that’s the theory behind the method. Interestingly, many web-based applications […]

In our next UIE Virtual Seminar, Wednesday, September 9 (09/09/09!), Bill DeRouchey shows you examples of how to tackle this question – What is the essence of your product? Interaction with a product is more than how it’s used or how it behaves. It’s about a connection between two sides. One side is the customer, […]

On Tuesday, April 14, we’ve got one of our most popular presentations from the last UI Conference, and one of our most popular presenters in Scott Berkun. Scott will ask the following: How often do you celebrate failures? Yes, you heard that right. Most shun failure, but in the right environment, you can get past […]