On Apr 23, 2009, at 6:58 PM, Coryndon Luxmoore wrote:
> In my opinion, the typical implementations of these footers are
only used when something else about the scent of information on the
page has failed. It's the same for breadcrumbs and site maps.
I have never seen a site that has a 100% success rate with no
mistakes, misinterpretations, oversights, or backtracks by any user.
Given that even well designed and tested sites can still have users
stumble from time to time it seems courteous for a site to provide
appropriate and unobtrusive tools to help orient the user should an
exception occur for them.
Of course, there is no 100% success rate on anything.
However, making changes to a design has a cost. Fixing direct problems
will always pay off more than fixing symptoms.
> I'd love to see people telling us that they watched whenever
someone used these elements, then repaired the scent on the page so
that they were no longer necessary
Given that the tests were to uncover usability and navigation issues
we recommended fixes to both the main navigation and page content
where appropriate. However the detailed footer was kept by the client.
From the testing I would say the footers were seen as a helpful tool
by the users even when they were not struggling with the navigation.
However, the footer was not an explicit part of the testing protocol
so this test is certainly not conclusive.
Again, it's about the costs of design, implementation, and
maintenance. These elements don't come for free.
So, while people see them as helpful, the real question is if the
experience of the site is diminished when they are absent. If users
don't miss them, then why make the investment?
That's all I'm trying to say,
Jared
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