Long Live Infinite Scroll!
I fell in like with infinite scroll ever since Bing added this nifty feature to it’s image search. Google soon followed suit and added this feature to their image search. Infinite scroll allows a user to scroll down a seemingly endless webpage without having to click on a pesky page link once. As one scrolls new images load quickly enough not to disrupt the scrolling experience.
Google Infinite Scrolling Feature
So I asked myself, ”Why doesn’t Google add infinite scroll to their web search results?”
I doubt it’s because of performance since Google seems to be able to load hundreds of image thumbnails lightning quick. My hunch tells me it’s for one main reason: monetization. Additional page views equals more text ads shown and ultimately more clicks from users.
Here’s a solution to how Google could implement infinite scroll on their web search AND integrate monetizing ads.
Infinite Scroll on Search
Benefits:
- More user-friendly and more click-efficient
- Lets users see more results and likely explore past the first page
- With more choices users will be able to find better and more relevant content
- The Top 10 results won’t maintain their advantage just because they got there earlier on or have best SEO. Better content will rise quicker.
- Long Tail benefits for Content producers.
- Google will benefit because users will have more Ad impressions (2x-3x) on a given search.
- Seeing more ads a user may potentially click on an ad they find more relevant
This is just one humble UX designer’s hypothesis. I hope Google catches on and starts their A/B testing soon.
Did you know GoDaddy.com was almost called BigDaddy? It would have been if that domain name wasn’t taken. GoDaddy is the largest hosting company on the web, best known for their racy and suggestive commercials. The CEO Bob Parsons seems like the crazy uncle you always wanted. You know…the crazy uncle who swears a bit too much, drive fast cars and is always surrounded by young attractive women.
Hey Bob, it’s time for GoDaddy to get a massive redesign. This will be the SuperBowl of UX rewinds.
GoDaddy.com Before (Click to Zoom)
GoDaddy.com After: (Click to Zoom)
- Use the design grid. The current Godaddy.com site is devoid of design with a grid. Images and text seem to float arbitrarily.
- Separating product info from the commericals, blogs and other stuff. If I need distractions I’ll go to YouTube. The new GoDaddy Design still tries to keep the personality of the original design but separates the essential product info from the other stuff.
- Selective use of images. Images are good for emphasizing elements but they should be used selectively. If overused images will take away from the overall design.
- It’s ok to have white space. White/Negative space gives design room to breathe. Notice the header area and the right column have much more negative space.
Tell me what you think about this GoDaddy.com ux design rewind…
Redesigning Google may seem like an exercise in futility. Google’s spartan design has changed ever so slightly since it’s launch in 1998. But what if Google’s design could be improved upon? This would improve the search experience at the magnitude of the billions each day and bring about world peace. Instead of following Bing by adding more feature’s like custom backgrounds what if Google simplified their layout even more.
Google Homepage Before:
Google Homepage After:
- Search nav moved closer to search bar - Moving the different search tabs (images, video, maps, etc) closer to the search bar gives easier access to the bar
- Update Style – The link styles and buttons look outdated. Do the text links really need underlines? A rounded search box adds a bit more sexiness, as does the gradient.
- Business and About links moved to the top left
Google Search Results Before:
Google Search Results After:
- Simplify left nav - Google’s useful time filters and other filtering options get lost under all those other options. I would suggest removing the redundant links (Image, Video, etc)
David Pogue is like the Ryan Seacrest of the Tech world. His ubiquity spans from New York Times columns to tech correspondent for CBS to author of the “Missing Manual Books”. Pogue also somehow finds times to create funny tech review videos and do speaking gigs. Here at UX Rewind we found this renaissance man’s Achille’s heel—- His personal website. DavidPogue.com seems like a website that took a time machine back to the early 90′s and got stuck. This website design should have died with Netscape and Grunge. Wait is Grunge back in?
DavidPogue.com Before:
DavidPogue.com After:
- Emphasis the current – In the old version a lot of space is used to answer “Who is David Pogue?” In the UX Rewind version that bio info gets moved to the right column as secondary information. The main focus is David Pogue’s Latest and Greatest blog posts and videos.
- Take a ride on the Carousel – The Javascript carousel is a perfect way to promote Pogue’s books. It puts them front and center but also doesn’t detract from the rest of the website.
- 2 Column Layout – The old site has a skinny right column and switches from 2 to 3 columns. I’m widening the right column so I can add more content. Also let’s stick to just 2 familiar 2 column blog layout.
- Color and Typography Makeover – The deep reds and patterned blues look so serious are crying out for an update. Also the new fonts are friendlier.
- Lose the High School Yearbook Picture – ‘Nuff said
If you are a tech geek and like podcasts Twit.tv is the site for you. Leo LaPorte is the main radio celeb who seems to know everything you could possibly want to know about anything tech related. The content is great but the website needs a design rewind.
The Kitchen Sink
The main issue is that there is so much content and navigation that it’s overwhelming for the user.
Twit.Tv After:
- Less options = Less confusion I simplified the number of options in the left navigation which makes the nav more accessible
- 4 Column design reduced to 3 column
- Call-to-action The latest podcast is emphasized so that the user should want to click that first.
- Remove Mystery Meat Navigation In the original design there is a link at the top right that says “huh?”. Although I might be interested in clicking it as a user out of pure curiosity; I would most likely skip this mystery meat.
What Websites do you want to see UX Rewinds for? Post your requests as comments.
Here’s a few that come to mind:
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In 2004, Kevin Rose came up with the idea for Digg. It took him a few thousand to develop the website and secure the domain name. Digg rose to popularity within two years and became the poster child for web 2.0. All the news on Digg is user-submitted. Once a story is submitted other users can read the stories and “Digg” what they like. The front page of Digg shows the most popular stories as determined by the user community.
The current Digg Design (Before):
Here’s what the user sees:
The UX Rewind design (After):
- Tone down Ads but make more relevant – Digg has valuable data about what their users are interested. Digg should take a page from Facebook and serve more relevant ads to users. “Sponsored by” Digg stories are harder to ignore than a graphic banner ad.
- Less is More in the Top Nav – In the current design three rows of links and filters is just too overwhelming for the user. In the new design I reduce it to one row of nav links. I move the filters to above the news stories on the right side and hide away most of them.
- More Diggs – I moved the “Digg” button to the bottom right of the story excerpt. In this location it is harder to ignore. Also the user can “Digg” and close ads (a la Facebook).
I first heard about Blank Label in a New York Times article called Putting Customers in Charge of Design. I think they are on the verge of a breakthrough in terms of coming up with the next-gen e-commerce experience. The idea is simple, men can design custom “tailored” shirts with their shirt creator. A user can pick from a variety of fabrics, styles, collar types, pockets…you get the point.
I believe founders Fan Bi and Danny Wong absolutely picked the right demographic for their venture. I don’t speak for all guys but for me clothes shopping is more of a chore than a fun activity. If I need a dress shirt I don’t want to spend hours trying on different colors. I want to be in and out so I can spend more time at Best Buy. I started getting flights of fancy about never having to step inside a clothes store again! Maybe I’ll order all my clothes online from head to toe.
I was psyched to start creating my shirt, but then I started using the “shirt creator” and I hit a wall.
Blank Label Before:
I think they have the right idea keeping it very visual and graphic. It starts to get a bit overboard with big bright buttons everywhere. Also the buttons aren’t aligned to a design grid so the “NEXT STEP” button seems to be floating to the right arbitrarily.
The big buttons up top, the shirt, the cash register illustration, and the fabric swatches are all screaming visually for the users attention. With all these elements competing for attention it’s not obvious what the user should look at first.
A sense of consistency between different web pages is important for web navigation so the disappearance of the header and the different layout is a bit disconcerting.
Blank Label After:
My main goal of this redesign was to simplify the design but keep it looking hip and fresh.
- The logo is back at the top; on the right the step navigation is toned down but still obvious.
- The real star of the show is the shirt. So I give it more white space. Instead of the cash register I think the tag does the same job but it doesn’t distract the eye as much. Also a subtle graphic background adds some style.
- I shrunk down all the swatches so they all fit on the screen. It’s simple enough for the user to hover over each swatch to get a better look at the fabric type.
- The “Order” and “Share” actions are grouped moved to under the shirt design area.
Conclusion
I emailed the design to Blank Label and both Danny and Fan responded quickly. Danny called the new design “slick” and said he will send the new mock-up to their design team as inspiration for a design update. I’ll keep my eye on this website in the coming months to see if they reiterate on their design.
With UX Rewind I plan on taking off my gloves and really give my unfiltered critiques about the user experiences of websites. Although I agree that “Content is King” this paradigm is shifting to “Content and Experience are King and Queen”. Bad user experience design can turn away users because content can be found in so many other places.
At least once week I plan on doing a “UX Rewind” of a website. I’ll do an extreme website makeover and show what the website could have been. I encourage you to send your comments on my new designs and submit links to websites that might need some work.
