Usability is no longer enough when it comes to creating successful websites 28 September, 2008 By Vanessa Ho

"[Web] design was being done by technology folks who talked in computer jargon [and] didn't think about the user perspective and didn't understand what the user was doing and tortured people with technology. Then we began to apply usability engineering practices & that became an important differentiator and companies ruled because they made things useable but it has become a hygiene factor, where clients come to me and say they assume that they need to have usability," said Schaffer.

He added that what companies need to do is instead of making it easier to use their site, it is now all about getting them to want to use it.

To help companies achieve that, Schaffer and HFI has introduced PET Design or persuasion engineering.

"Whether a website is e-commerce, informational or transactional, their mandate is to establish deeper relationships with customers," stated Schaffer. "Understanding how and why people make online decisions that lead to conversion, and the subtle motivators and emotional triggers that influence how they react to website messages and content, is vital to maximizing the success of a site."

Schaffer explained that the future of design is about creating engagement and commitment to meet measurable business goals.

"This could be getting people to buy a product, sign-up for a newsletter, donate to a cause, ask their doctor about a drug, vote for a candidate or invest in your company. The interactive online environment offers far more opportunities to influence decision making than traditional advertising or marketing channels. Yet understanding people's subtle emotional triggers require a rigorous set of new techniques, the results of which can even conflict with classic usability best practices."

Some of these new techniques include the use of social group phenomenon such as what Tupperware uses. Schaffer said the company does a very effective job to get people to buy their product because people feel pressure by other people they like. He said the same can be done online using things like social engineering sites. As well, people are often persuaded to buy something if they have to fight for it such as wanting a piece of clothing because someone else wants it.

Schaffer cited the government of California and AAA as examples of organizations that have used PET Design. In fact, Schaffer noted that AAA doubled their amount of leads using persuasion engineering.

However, Schaffer added that websites still need good usability. "If people can't find something, they can't be persuaded by it."

HFI and Schaffer conduct weekly educational in-person courses on PET Design targeted at marketing personnel but there is also a webinar being held on September 24 that members of the public can take to learn more about PET Design. More information can be found on HFI's www.humanfactors.com website.