The Little Things Add Up
To perhaps no one’s surprise that knows me, I get a little (well-deserved) grief from my team about “keeping user patterns and design consistent.” I may focus on user experience so much so that if I happen to present an idea that’s not in line with another part of the site in question, Dave will say I’m not being “consistently consistent.” Heh.
My passion about products and design comes from knowing that if you are inconsistent, users bring up questions about your site, its ability to deliver, and sometimes the very trust you’ve tried to establish.
Case in point: several of our (unnamed) vendors can not handle external javascript files, and on the pages they help us power we can not give the user the same header/footer and behavior patterns we’ve established on every other page or section. Most users figure it out, but some actually wonder if they’re on a spam site or have accidentally left us.
We are working with these vendors on potential workarounds, and some may wonder if it’s worth the extra effort.
It’s my belief these little things do add up. Keeping the site easy to use brings users back and relates to keeping revenue opportunities higher. Plus, site maintenance is optimized with fewer one-offs.
Everyone wins.