The internet has been around for almost 50 years and since its beginnings as a text-based system, it’s become an essential tool for nearly 2 billion people worldwide.
The early 90s presented us with one of the first “modern” browsers: Mosaic. It was extremely mundane, but it allowed everyday users like us to access and experience the web without all the technical expertise that it previously required. As technology evolved over the next decade-and-a-half, both computer and connectivity speeds increased. The results? Websites started growing from simple text-based pages to more presentable layouts with colors and images (i.e. AOL member pages and Geocities sites).
As with most things, our experience and knowledge increased proportionately as we spent more and more time online. The unfamiliar became familiar and the unknown became known. As we grew more comfortable with the internet, web designers and development teams began to push the boundaries and started to create more engaging and visually stunning websites.
With the introduction of anything new, the addition of more visual websites set back user experience (UX) until web users gained more familiarity. This was okay back when the internet was new, but it wasn’t so much useful as it was “neat” and “interesting” and “cool.”
Having adapted to the new methods and ideas, we eventually regained our footing and created more visually-infused sites. However, the more familiar and comfortable we get, the less likely we are to accept a new method or change. We’re stubborn creatures, after all.
In the past decade or so, the internet has become less of a playground and more of a tool. We pay bills online, we look for babysitters, jobs, vehicles, and stuff to buy through various sites. Time is of the essence and the quicker we can accomplish our tasks, the more time we all have to do other things (i.e. spending time with our family, playing Call of Duty).
In theory, it’s always great to push the boundaries of technology – after all, that’s how things evolve. But web designers, developers, agencies and information architects alike should be careful how far they push these boundaries and how much they change. Users are sensitive and impatient creatures by nature and we don’t like to wait too long. We also certainly don’t like to view a site design that doesn’t work with how we think it should (i.e. navigation bars situated at the bottom of a page have proven to be less user friendly).
In other words, the line in that second chart (above) might not swing back into the positive.
Ultimately, user experience isn’t the only visual aspect a user sees when visiting a site. It’s also the emotional and mental experience of browsing through the page. A “cool” looking website may end up being frustrating to navigate or a really simple website might be exceedingly easy to use, but could provide too few of sentences to be worth visiting. Balance must be sought.
However, finding balance isn’t as easy as it seems and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Whether you’re a designer, developer or information architect, we should all strive for a balanced user experience – one that is exciting, satisfying, time-saving and intuitive.
Above all, user experience is key in building websites that make the web an easier place to browse.
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About the Author
 Chris RodriguezCreative Services |
Filed under: Interactive |
Tags: Interactive, interface design, usability, user experience, UX, Websites |
