Web site user interface design and perceptual latency design

For the average user, speed does not mean performance . The user's perception of the speed of the site depends largely on their overall feelings, including how efficiently they can get what they need from the site and how responsive the site reflects.

When designing a Web site or Web application, keep in mind that users come to your site for a purpose. The quicker they can (the easier) they get, the better they are to visit. If users encounter a lot of difficulties in getting content, they will leave your site and go to other sites that will enable them to achieve their goals faster.

Save user time, make them feel less slow there is a lot of work to do, this article only involves prompting information.

Tip, consider three points:

2. is the site simple and intuitive enough for first-time visitors to be easy to get started?

   If not, take some time to design your first run experience (first-run-experience) hint.

   For example, your site is a powerful Web application with several features. Since designing an intuitive "out-of-the-box" (Out-of-the-box) experience for this type of application is not an easy task, users may need an introductory help.

   First-run experience simple for the user to explain what the product is and/or how to use its highlights. In the long run, spending a little time getting users to know some of the key points of the product in advance will save them a lot of time.

   Tip: Don't overdo it! Don't stop users from getting the actual content, which makes the first-run experience an extra step (a cumbersome multi-step process).

4. does the prompt information break or increase user action?

   Careful consideration of how to display information can increase the user's operating flow. There may be a more appropriate way to display the prompts without affecting the user's actions.

   Imagine a scene where the user completes an action that you think is perfect. You think you need to confirm two times (double-checking), in order to prevent the user from accidentally error. So you pop up with a hint "are you sure this is done?" ", which prevents a user from doing a large error, but for the user who is determined to perform this action, you add an additional action." Instead, you can run the operation immediately and add an undo function after the operation.

6. How to let users meditate while waiting (reassure)

   Face reality, sometimes users have to wait. However, you can do some work to make the inevitable waiting time better spent (bearable).

   If the user waits longer, use the progress bar. The progress bar does not just indicate the need to wait, but also how long it will take. If you want to be more specific, you can even display the completed data (for example, 40kb of 64KB). Try to avoid estimating the completion time, because there is nothing more depressing than seeing that the completion time is growing.

   You can use the loading indicator when the user waits a short time. The loading indicator is usually a small rotating variable (a spinning doo-dad of sorts), but it can also be a very simple text "loading".

   You might ask, why do you have to show these in a very short time? The loading indicator is feedback to the user: the user's operation has passed and the website is being executed. Without an indicator, the user is unsure whether to execute, and may attempt to try again.

Extended Reading

These recommendations are just the tip of the iceberg for users to keep in mind when designing. Here are some information about interactive design and Web design principles that you can get started with started:

• About Face by Cooper, Reimann, Cronin
• Bulletproof Web Design by Dan Cederholm
• Contextual design by Beyer and Holtzblatt
• Designing the User Interface by Ben Schneiderman and Catherine plaisant
• Interaction by Jenny Preece, et al
• The Elements of User experience by Jesse James Garrett