Interactive Web Design: The performance of spatial memory patterns on Web sites

Intermediary transaction http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/6858.html ">seo diagnose Taobao guest cloud host technology Hall

When people enter a new environment, they need to build a cognitive model of space, to have a sense of spatial memory. Similarly, when new users come to new, unfamiliar sites, users also want to have something like a site map. But if you want to make users more comfortable to use the site, so that users do not have to take into account to try, not afraid to get lost, we must establish a space for users to memory mode. It's like the compass in the desert, like the GPs in the car on the moor, what is the application of the space memory model on the site?

Complaints from users

"I swear, this button was here a minute ago." Where did it go? " ：

When people use things or documents, they often find them by remembering where they are, rather than their names. Many sites place their form buttons--OK, cancel, and so on--in a predetermined location, in part because of their spatial memory dependencies. In complex application systems, the following elements can also be found by the relative position of the memory: Tools on the toolbar, objects in the hierarchy, and so on. Therefore, you should be careful to use patterns such as responsive disclosure. Adding something to an interface usually doesn't cause trouble, but rearranging the controls disrupts the spatial memory and is difficult to find. This depends on the situation, if you are unsure of the words you can do some user testing. The relationship between spatial memory and habit is very close. As with habits, spatial memory is also a good reason to maintain consistency between applications and applications. People will expect to find similar functional performance in similar places. By the way, the top and bottom of the Site navigation menu list are very special areas, and from a cognitive standpoint, the top and bottom items get more attention and longer memory than the items in the middle of the menu. If they change, the user's re-building space memory is bound to affect, please be cautious.

User browsing History

Taobao.com:

Taobao list page in the right column, Taobao set up the user recently browsed the history of detail products. This design allows users to easily trace the products they have browsed and compare them.

Amazon.com:

The display order of the products starts with the product you visited last time (last time), and each item has a "Delete this product" option, similar to looking for merchandise on the shopping cart page. When a product is deleted, the page reloads and updates the list. If it is done with Ajax, this feature will be more efficient, but it is still a usability improvement.

In the right-hand column of the Amazon user's browsing history page, users will see a list of the search criteria and categories they have recently browsed: click on "X" next to each item, and in search terms and category history, users can delete any item of their own. This is a client-side feature, so the result is instantaneous: when they delete a product, the user does not have to wait for the entire page to reload. These custom (or edit) features ensure that the shopping experience does not bring a heavy burden to the user. If they receive recommendations that they are not satisfied with, users can modify them to improve future visits.

Through the above cases, we know that Taobao and Amazon have tried to take into account the user's most original needs: tracking and tracing the history of browsing, and they have given innovation, Taobao linked it with the comparison of products, Amazon has it and customizable history recommendation system. Users can easily find products that have been focused on and are not easily lost in complex websites. Also, allow users to build spatial memory patterns while giving them more usability value.

Undo,redo and return, forward

IE Browser:

Either undo and Redo in the software, or the return and forward button in IE browser. All are designed for users to quickly return to the familiar environment. Such a spatial memory model is so intimate that users of the site no longer have to worry about getting lost, even if the crumbs on this site are so bad! Unfortunately, the return, forward is linear sequential operation, for 1 to 3 steps of return, forward is still very convenient. But it's going to be a lot of trouble for more than 4 steps. So the breadcrumbs can bounce back a certain way at some point, which may be one of the reasons why so many big websites don't completely discard crumbs? There are other reasons why not repeat it here!

Other forms of spatial memory expression

Search box History input record:

Breadcrumbs:

Filter History:

These are just the tip of the iceberg in the spatial memory model. More space memory performance, as long as we are willing to observe the design around us, may find more interesting space memory.

Summary

When the site reconfiguration, home page revision needs to interactive designer out demo, remember to consider the user's space memory and operating habits. At the same time, to take into account the old user's operating habits and thinking mode, the user's operating environment is often in an "orderly chaos" state, looks messy, but users can quickly find what he wants.

Article Source: www.szmynet.com