Slip into the role of the user with expert evaluations

Successful websites convince their users with good usability. Easy usability and good preparation of information are the basic requirements for a high conversion rate. In order to optimize the usability of a website, the direct feedback of the users is very valuable. But does it always have to be a classic user experience test in the laboratory? No. On the basis of web standards, 50% of the usage hurdles can be uncovered - even without involving the users. An expert evaluation can do this. 

Expert evaluation of 3 online shops for bicycles

Within the framework of an internal study by Facit Digital, 3 online shops for bicycles (www.bruegelmann.de, www.fahrrad-xxl.de, www.lucky-bike.de) were subjected to an expert evaluation. Our experts put themselves in the role of a user who wants to buy an electric mountain bike of the Cube brand. All sub-pages that the customer typically passes through during his user journey were examined, from the start page to the product detail page to the address entry in the checkout process. We were able to uncover general usage hurdles and derive concrete optimization suggestions. 

From a company perspective, we were able to identify the following potential for improvement, for example: 

• The teasers had no visible call-to-action. However, this is important in order to provide users with access to various offers or to lead them to other areas. 
• Often no further product recommendations were shown in the shopping cart. If the user's interest is aroused, this increases the shopping cart value. When selecting products, however, it must be ensured that only really relevant products are displayed.

From the user's perspective, the online shops showed weaknesses in the following areas, among others: 

• On the product detail page sometimes only one picture was shown. Since users cannot simply pick up the product when shopping online, it is more difficult for them to identify certain details that may influence their purchase decision. Therefore, several product images should be displayed, which also show the most important details of the product.
• When checking out as a guest, you have to enter various personal details once, such as your address. The forms should be as easy as possible for users to fill out. This was often made more difficult by the fact that there was a large number of input fields that were not grouped together in a meaningful way or that non-relevant fields, e.g. for business customers, were always displayed.

The interplay of individual and standardised evaluation, from the user and company perspective, enables us to develop differentiated and targeted recommendations for action within the framework of expert evaluation.