PRWD

These are my slides from my talk at Norther User Experience in Manchester on 6th February 2012. They include extensive notes which can be seen if you view the presentation slides on Slideshare.

I must say this was one of my most enjoyable presentations I have delivered, and if you would like to know more about the group please visit the Northern User Experience website.

After being on the advisory board and speaking at what was the most engaging, informative and inspiring conferences I have attended – Conversion Conference London, I’m delighted to share the slides from my session.

Some of worlds most authoratitive figures spoke at the conference, including Bryan Eisenburg and Rory Sutherland. Take a look at the full list of speakers.

In summary I my talk focused on 3 key principles for improving usability, persuasion and conversion on e-commerce sites:

• Provide transparency
• Build trust and confidence
• Remove barriers to entry

View the presentation on Slideshare in order to see my notes on each slide.

I’ve recently had the pleasure of speaking at the Internet Retailing Conference 2011 in London in one of the 8 workshops that took place.

I was invited to speak by one of our partners, remote usability testing service WhatUsersDo. I chose to speak about remote and moderated usability testing. Below the slides is a list of useful links providing tips and best practice about usability testing, whether moderated or remote.

My slides below look in particular at:

• how important is usability testing?
• a comparison of moderated & remote usability testing
• what business questions can usability testing answer?
• plus in the workshop I carried out a moderated test session with one of the attendees

Useful links on usability testing

• 67 questions usability testing can answer
• User Testing 101 – Good, Better, Best Approaches
• 5 Tips When Conducting User Research
• Lab Based User Testing – Objectives, Methodology, Deliverables
• The business benefits of user testing
• 9 women x 9 hours = 9 usability insights
• Conversion rate optimisation tips and best practice articles
• How Appliances Online increased sales by 9.5% through usability testing
• How Speedy gained strategic business insights through usability testing
• MMU’s fully featured usability testing lab in Manchester

I’ve recently presented alongside the BBC at Content Creator Sessions – Usability and the User Experience.

Below are my slides from my session, titled ‘Moderated Usability Testing – uncovering so much more than just usability insights’.

In addition, an article I have written on Econsultancy provides further insights relating to this presentation – 67 questions usability testing can answer.

View a wide range of best practice tips and articles relating to user and usability testing.

Below are my slides from my presentation at FutureCommerce 2011, a full day conference run by How-do in Manchester. I must say it was probably the most engaging, comprehensive and insightful conference I have taken part in, and it was a real pleasure to speak alongside IBM, Microsoft and Apple.

In summary the 8 essential usability and conversion optimisation tips featured in this presentation are as follows. Included in this presentation are a number of questions which people who work on websites can ask themselves about their own site.

1. Provide transparency
2. Answer visitor questions
3. Remove barriers to entry
4. Focus the user on what you want them to do
5. Listen to what your customers and prospects have to say
6. Stick to best practice in most cases
7. Use advanced traffic and visitor segmentation
8. Aim to embed a testing & optimisation culture within the business

View all my usability & conversion optimisation articles, best practice, case studies & presentations

’8 Essential Usability & Conversion Optimisation Tips’

We were were delighted to be asked by Lakeland to provide user testing as part of their new e-commerce re-platforming project. I must say that it has been a real pleasure working with Tony Preedy and the team and I’m looking forward to providing more user insights for Lakeland going forward.

Their new site launched recently and we have just published a press release following our involvement to date. The press release is below, and you may also want to read this on Econsultancy and How Do.

Lakeland appoint PRWD to deliver live customer insights to help launch their new e-commerce platform

Through a series of live user testing sessions PRWD have delivered customer insights to help launch Lakeland’s new e-commerce platform. During the design and development process PRWD were asked to run moderated, lab based user testing sessions with customers which enabled Lakeland to determine how their new user experience could be further improved, as well as identifying potential issues for visitors to the new website that need to be addressed prior to launch.

Lakeland’s new e-commerce platform uses some of the industries leading technologies and applications, and it was vital that the website delivered an experience where visitors can browse and shop intuitively, leading to improved online conversion rates.

Tony Preedy, Marketing Director at Lakeland, says:

“At Lakeland we’re committed to listening carefully to what our customers want, and tailoring our business to their needs. So when it came to launching our new website it was vital we included their feedback on our ideas during the build of the new site.

This feedback, gathered for us by PRWD via a series of usability tests, was extremely valuable and actionable and the resulting site has been received very positively”

Paul Rouke, Head of Usability at PRWD, comments:

“We worked closely with the Lakeland team to plan and deliver live user testing sessions which would provide the right type of insights to help make the website more usable before launching.

Lakeland are one of those retailers who recognise the importance of using user testing to gain invaluable insights from current and potential customers, especially when embarking on such a big project. We were very proud to be tasked with delivering these insights, and as with everyone involved we are delighted with the user experience that the new Lakeland website provides visitors. It has certainly elevated Lakeland’s e-commerce platform into one of the market leaders from my retail experience.”

[ENDS]
For more information contact:
Paul Rouke at PRWD
Tel: 0161 228 0585
Email: paulrouke@prwd.co.uk

Notes to editors

PRWD was established in 2006 and they specialise in web usability and conversion rate optimisation. PRWD is run by usability specialist Paul Rouke, who has worked with blue chip retailers for over 12 years. PRWD clients include Speedo, Lakeland, Pentland Brands, The Scout Association, Lakeside Hotel, Isabella Oliver, Econsultancy and Speedy Hire.

Website: http://www.prwd.co.uk

Lakeland are one of the UK’s home shopping pioneers with nearly half a century of experience under their belts. Lakeland offer an unrivalled collection of creative kitchenware, practical ideas for the home and garden, and inspiring gifts from all over the world. Their buyers search for innovative products that make life easier, before putting them through a rigorous selection and testing process to ensure they meet Lakeland’s exacting standards.

The new Lakeland website launched on 29th March 2011.

Website: http://www.lakeland.co.uk

Useful Links

• User Testing 101 – Good, Better, Best Approaches – View article
• Lab Based User Testing – Objectives, Methodology, Deliverables – View Article
• MMU’s User Testing Lab – View Article
• The business benefits of user testing – View Article
• 9 women x 9 hours = 9 usability insights – View Article
• Shopping basket best practice from ASOS – View Article

We’re delighted to be speaking alongside one of our partner companies Sigma at an upcoming event. Full event details below:

• Title: Usability: What’s The Use?
• Hosted by: The Department of Information and Communications MMU
• When: Wednesday 4th May 2011, 12:00pm – 14:00pm
• Where: Manchester Metropolitan University, Sandra Burslem Building Room 2.10, Oxford Road, M15 6BH
• How to book: Book online on our Eventbrite page

Event Overview

For websites, good usability is a matter of survival. If a website is difficult to use, people leave. If the homepage fails to clearly state what a company offers and what users can do on the site, people leave. If users get lost on a website, they leave. For intranets and applications the question is one of productivity. In many organisations employees waste inordinate amounts of time searching for and assimilating the information they need to do their jobs. This lost time has a real, tangible value so ROI for designing internal systems with User Experience in mind, and spending some time testing and improving the usability of the system, is pretty compelling.

As people with a strong User Experience focus we don’t need to be convinced of the value of good usability, but for many companies who are thinking of revamping their site, intranet or portal it isn’t quite so clear cut.

Areas Explored

In this seminar we will explore:

• How good user experience can make a real impact on the effectiveness of your site
• Hints and tips on user-centered design for websites and applications
• Why user testing is important?
• The direct link between usability and revenue generation in eCommerce websites
• Some case studies of real projects where user experience has been key to success
• Design principles for mobile websites and app interfaces

Speakers

PRWD

PRWD provide a range of usability and conversion optimisation services for websites, intranets and business systems, and is run by usability expert Paul Rouke.

Sigma

Sigma is a leading specialist in user-centred design, information management, web technologies and strategic IT consulting.

Usability resources

We’ve got a wide variety of usability articles, case studies and presentation slides available online if you would like to learn more on usability for both lead generation and e-commerce websites.

Following on from my article I published on Econsultancy ‘Shopping Basket Best Practice from ASOS’ (link under the slides), I was delighted to be asked to be the first person to present at the very first Conversion Thursday Manchester on Thursday 24th February 2011.

The meet-up was superb with some of the great and the good of the analytics and conversion industry attending. Below are my presentation slides.

Useful Links

• Shopping basket best practice from ASOS
• ASOS
• over 15 articles on e-commerce usability best practice
• Conversion Thursday Manchester (and the event Twitter tag #CTMan)
• E-commerce user testing service
• E-commerce usability & best practice training

Thursday 24th April marks the 1st Conversion Thursday event to be run in Manchester, and I am delighted to be the first person providing a presentation. My talk is titled “Increasing basket to checkout conversions: the ASOS way“.

What is Conversion Thursday?

Conversion Thursday Manchester is an inspiring and exciting bi-monthly networking event that centres around online conversion and web optimisation. Conversion Thursday is already held in six cities across Europe, having begun in Barcelona. We hold the events at comfortable and relaxing venues that provide the perfect setting for debate and discussion of the important issues in online conversion and marketing.

The evening begins with a brief round-table discussion about recent events in the digital arena, then we have an interactive quiz (with prizes for the best team), before moving on to our main presentation of the evening. After the presentation, people are welcome to hang around for another drink and network with other attendees.

Who is it for?

Conversion Thursday is open to anyone interested in improving the web and increasing online business, including online marketeers, conversion and SEO/PPC experts, and web analysts. This free event is a fantastic opportunity to meet like-minded professionals, and build long-lasting relationships within the industry.

When and where?

On the 24th February we will be welcoming CT to the north-west of England, at the very first Conversion Thursday Manchester, sponsored by Applied Web Analytics and Elisa DBI.

The event will take place in Bar 38 in Manchester, between 5.30 and 9pm. Simply register online and you will be emailed with confirmation.

Drinks, on this occasion, are sponsored by Applied Web Analytics.

This post provides an up-to-date list of usability and conversion optimisation articles that I’ve published online, along with case studies and resources from usability presentations that I’ve delivered.

Articles – Lead Generation & E-commerce

• Booking.com: improving conversion with best practice persuasive design – View Article
• 67 questions usability testing can answer – View Article
• Answer user questions = increase conversions – View Article
• WTF does usability best practice actually mean? – View Article
• Why asking for more not less can increase enquiry form conversions – View Article
• The benefits of predictive/suggestive search for retailers – View Article
• User Testing 101 – Good, Better, Best Approaches – View article
• 5 Tips When Conducting User Research – View Article
• What Does User-Centered Design Mean? – View article
• User-Centered Design – in lamens terms – View video (3 mins)
• Lab Based User Testing – Objectives, Methodology, Deliverables – View Article
• MMU’s User Testing Lab – View Article
• Traffic segmentation: humble or sliced, which pie are you having? – View Article
• Take five seconds to test your call to action and USP – View Article
• Traffic Generation versus On-site Conversion Optimisation – View Article
• Best practice for multi-faceted navigation – View Article
• The business benefits of user testing – View Article

Articles – E-commerce Specific

• Persuasive checkout best practice from ASOS – View Article
• How ASOS, Lakeland and Speedo increase new customer conversion rate – View Article
• 9 women x 9 hours = 9 usability insights – View Article
• Tips to increasing e-commerce conversion rates – View Article
• Shopping basket best practice from ASOS – View Article
• Increasing new customer conversion rate – View Article
• Amazon relying on brand credibility instead of good usability – View Article
• Pureplay and high street fashion retailers – who values usability more? – View Article
• How to reduce checkout abandonment and increase customer registrations – View Article
• Are retailers following best practice to improve conversion rates? – View Article

Presentations and Slides

• E-commerce Best Practice Tips & Persuasion Techniques – View Slides
• Remote versus Moderated Usability Testing – View Slides
• 8 Essential Usability & Conversion Optimisation Tips – View Slides
• ASOS and their Bitchin’ Shopping Basket – View Slides
• Usability and User Experience 101 – View Slides
• Three steps to improving online performance – View Slides
• Usability: What’s The Use? – View Slides
• Usability – Whats The Use? – View Videos
• Website conversion optimisation masterclass – View Overview and Sample Slides

Conversion Rate Optimisation Case Studies

• Conversion Rate Improved by 86% Through Split Testing – view case study
• Speedo E-commerce Conversion Optimisation – view case study
• Isabella Oliver User Testing – view case study
• Online Sales Increased by 400% Through User-Centered Design – view case study
• Change of Marketing Message Improves On-site Conversion Rate by 215pc – view case study
• The Scouts – In-house E-commerce Usability and Best Practice Training – view case study

Tools

• Remote User Testing – What Users Do
• Five Second Test
• Remote Usability Testing – Loop 11
• 10 free usability testing tools (via Econsultancy)