Improving design using feedback
This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO
We get a lot of feedback on the site and we try to respond to each and every email. This can be a lot of work, but the benefits are clear. Communicating with our users helps us keep a pulse on things that they find confusing or difficult to use on the site. We take that knowledge and use it to improve site design.
I was just recalling a nice and clean example of this “cycle” that involved the Invitation Options page. When you create an invitation on MyPunchbowl, we offer some great options for customizing how your guests view and interact with the invitation. These options are controlled on the host’s Invitation Options page.
Here’s what the page used to look like (click to enlarge):
This design got the job done, but I fielded a lot of questions from users such as “Can I show who’s invited on my invitation?”, or “I don’t want guests to bring other people, is there a way to turn that off?”.
These things were in the interface, but people were missing it. So we came up with a better design (click to enlarge):
The questions all but stopped. Why is this design better?
- Sections - the settings are broken into major sections (Display, Guests, Reminders, etc). This makes it easier to digest the page as you glance over it.
- Wording - as opposed to a statement with a “true/false” checkbox we phrased the items as questions. This is more natural to read and easier to understand.
- Examples - see those “More Info” links on the right side? Those open a pop-up with an example picture of the setting. It always helps to see a picture, as most people are visual learners!
- Background - Dark text on a light background is easier to read, and I think you’ll agree this page looks nicer.
Hope you enjoyed this - keep the feedback coming!
