I’m struck by the lack of focus by most Web sites. Look at a page from a large online retailer and see how many calls to action there are on the page. All of them are competing for your attention—like a barker at the carnival, they shout at you while you nervously ignore them and walk on by. How likely is it that you’re going to take even one of the actions on that Web page? Not very! It’s like a chorus of people shouting at you, each one saying a different thing. You can’t make out any one voice very clearly.
In his book and lectures, “The Paradox of Choice,” Barry Schwartz demonstrates from many research studies that, given too many choices, a person will tend to make NO choice.
On the page shown above, the effect is somewhat mitigated by using various forms of visual emphasis—borders, background shading, size, placement, etc., to help give visual ‘weight’ to the various options to help the site visitor determine the more important options. Still, there are an awful lot of choices to force on the site visitor. They have to be really determined to identify what they want and navigate the main page to get to it. Why make it that difficult?
It behooves those of us that can make a difference in this regard to consider the user carefully when designing a Web page or landing page: What is the most important purpose of the page?
We should make sure that each page of the site has a specific purpose (otherwise why include it?), and an accompanying specific and relevant call to action. Once you start the user on the path you want them to be on, don’t distract them with many other calls to action. Get them to finish the current action first (like buying your product), then give them additional options.
All of this seems like it should be common sense, but not many Web sites give their site visitors clear and meaningful choices. What are you thoughts and experiences in this regard?
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