Written by Ben Hunt from web design agency Scratchmedia. For more information about his agency visit scratchmedia.co.uk

 

Splitting the experience

It's often a good idea to "split the experience" - providing different views and options for new site visitors and for more experienced users.

However, designers and developers often don't take advantage of this simple concept.

New users and returning users have different needs

Web sites need to cater for visitors at every stage, from the vital first impression through to the regular return visit.

First impressions are critical because, if the initial experience isn't right, there won't be any more experiences.

First-time visitors

First-time visitors need to know straightaway:

  • What the "deal" is (what the site's for)
  • What you can do, get, achieve there
  • The benefits of this company/product/service compared to its competitors
  • How to start

Return visitors

But return visits are also very important. When you use a web site on several occasions, you don't need to be reminded what the site's for, you should know the basics of what you can use the site for, and you should already be sold on the benefits.

Repeat users have very different needs:

  • Updates on what's new or changed
  • Quick access to the tools they use most
  • They're more likely to want more advanced tools (like advanced search or time-saving shortcuts)

Why do we design sites as though everyone's the same?

It's probably because we're not used to thinking that we can create different views. I think that, once we consider when and how to split the experience, the opportunities should become quite obvious.

The majority of web sites are dynamically generated using scripting languages like PHP, ColdFusion, RubyOnRails, ASP etc. But it's also possible to show & hide different pieces of content using client-side JavaScript. (May do a tutorial on this if anyone's interested..)

This means that most of us can easily create alternative views for different groups of users.

Examples of splitting the experience

  • If I've done searches on your site before, give me shortcuts to do those searches again.
  • Show new users plenty of inline help by default, but switch it off for repeat visitors.
  • If I've visited before, but haven't been by for a while, offer me a refresher guide.

How to split the experience

Let's think what information and techniques we can use to differentiate users with different levels of experience.

  • Use the presence of a simple cookie to identify whether a user has (probably) visited your site before.
  • Store additional cookie information to record users' achievements. e.g. Record once they've completed a certain process ("graduated").