subject: Intuitive Usability in Website Design - Five Stages of User Experience [print this page] When designing a website, it is imperative to take yourself out of the design standpoint and view your website from the users eyes. This is the only way to reach success. If one is working on a website for an extended period of time, it becomes difficult for that person to judge the effectiveness of the design after looking at it for so long. It's no mystery why many businesses hire usability experts to test out their site. Is the desired message delivered, is the call to action obvious enough, are users finding the parts of the website that are intended to be found are just a factors that usability experts can give information on.
Understanding the five stages of user experience will aid you in your website design. It will allow you to account for all stages from the beginning of the design, versus designing it in one fashion only to find out that users are getting lost at some point in the usage lifecycle.
Stage 1: Unaware
From the start, generally speaking most people don't know your website exists but they are familiar with the frustrating aspects of other websites. Solving the common troubles many have with certain website portals and explaining the reasoning behind it is an imperative step in holding your audience.
Stage 2. Interested
At this point, your website is getting some notariety. Perhaps a friend referred them or they read someones blog and it sparked an interest. At this point they are open to more information. They also may have inquiries and they are all ears (or eyes in this case). It is at this pivotal point that you must address their questions to get them to sign up.
Stage 3. FIrst Time Use
Users at this point are seeing your website for the first time. As they experience it for the first time, they are determining if it has value in the long term. Is it simple to understand? Does the website deliver what was originally offered? Basically, the user is deciding if this website is really intended for them.
First-time use is an important step for inticing the user to return. If the user doesn't find the purpose or develop a need at this stage, they may never come back.
Stage 4. Regular Use
People at this stage are using your website on a regular basis. This is the point in which your website has won it's audience. Users are spending significant time at the site, realizing what it offers and finding much value in it. It is at this point where news of your website spreads by word of mouth. A great implementation to gain knowledge of a sites pluses or downfalls is to have a user forum. There you can learn what is working and what isn't by the users themselves.
Stage 5. Passionate Use
The point in which someone develops sort of an addiction or loyalty to a site is when the website achieves considerable success. Amazon, Craigslist and Ebay are all samples of this level of achievement. Their users are passionate about using them and will frequently refer others to "share the love".
Usability panels are a commonality in todays site design. This article can be of aid whether you are designing a web portal, a social web site, or a sell page.
Intuitive Usability in Website Design - Five Stages of User Experience
