I’ve recently experienced a strange causewave of “experts in the field” who put on a good show. They really do, and to most, it would be darn near impossible to spot the truth in the mix because everywhere one looks, there are articles which are parroted across the internet which say the very same thing. This sort of supports everything these people state.
But what about experience? I mean real experience?
I’d like to spend a moment to dispel a few myths, from my experience.
A word of caution – this is just me and the work that I’ve done in the past 2-4 years. It is very subjective to the markets that my work has been done for and may not apply to everything. The word of the day is “circumstantial”
Myth #1:
People don’t have the patience to look at more than the 2nd slide on a carousel
Wireframe of a rotating carousel
I once advocated against this very thing. Carousels. Everyone seems to have them and it makes good sense to believe in the reported findings of “the studies”. These are places which are often used with heavy jargon and marketing terms. But – in my experience – people have more patience than you’d think when they’re done correctly.
Working with and helping companies across many different types of industries (we’re talking B2B, B2C, internal company, Marketing aid, Enterprise solutions companies, Pharma, Entertainment, and Food), it’s all in the delivery. Genuine and targeted. It comes down to knowing the user, but let’s get back to that myth!
Motion is a strong attraction. When done right, it inspires that little part in all of us who like to have fun. We might pretend we don’t on occasion, but it’s part of all of us. It’s the thing that happens (or should) with an end result of learning something. We are attracted to fun, so carousel away!
Just do it right.
Myth #2
Wireframes aren’t the time for details
Simple mobile wireframe
WHAT?! Say… WHAT?!
I really just want to walk away from this one, but I have to address it. The wireframes, after getting to know the users and their goals, are quite possibly the #1 starting point for full on conversation where we talk about the real nuts and bolts.
I often come in, a client has a bunch of goals and really cool information that you’d never realize takes place or even “is how it is” until they speak it, but how the heck to marry up the cool oddball information with the goals? Sometimes, being too close to a situation makes it near to impossible to see commonalities well enough to take “this bit of information” and using it in the right way to achieve whatever the goal is – and it all comes back to the end user. My work can sometimes be very high level and bucket-full, but most of the time, we get really specific in details and content.
Why do I get so darned detailed?
Well, there are a few reasons.
- Context: My wireframes drive conversation. It takes the goals of the users and pairs them up with the goals of a company and their budgetary constraints. It goes from “I have a dream” to “here’s how we can get there”. Using real content with real detail enables the conversations to feel real and achievable and drives excitement. The impossible seems absolutely possible.
- Working with the real artists, our designers: With the wireframes, the design team doesn’t have to guess. It’s like the difference between giving them a whole wall and giving a canvas. A whole wall is intimidating, but a canvas? Well – the designer is ALL OVER THAT, and suddenly there is a beautiful painting that is on the easel drying. In the same way, I can put out real content in real detail and talk about why it makes sense for the users and the business, and the design team is able to get creative without having to hiccup and pause a million times to ideate, and when we work with someone who already has design guidelines and/or a color pallet in mind, a lot of the designers I work with are able to “see” the end-result when looking at the grey scales of my work.
- Blueprints for the developers: When the “real deal” is in wireframes, with real data and context, along with interaction models and even suggestions for technology use – and heaven forbid, their actual input during the wireframing process (does that really happen? If not – it should!), then not only do the wireframes represent the end goal, but they represent something that is achievable. Sometimes, the simplest of changes in interactions could mean the difference between 1 minute of dev time and 5 days of dev time.
- Content content content: I work with our content strategists and copywriters. They hate Lorem ipsum. Why? Because it doesn’t represent nor guide real copy. What the heck is supposed to live where there is Lorem ipsum? When there is real content, even just example content, it can drive their work more quickly and make their work run smoothly. People seem to like being given context and guidance. Now, if you’re wanting to create a buffer of time – then go ahead and take out the detail.
Myth #3
Sitemaps always come first. Always.
This is a big one. Like huge.
get past the distraction
Have you ever had one of those moments where you wanted to be concentrating and focusing on something, but you kept having this nagging thought interrupt you over and over again? This happens to a lot of people – oh crap, I need to go pick up some milk and I’m almost out of coffee filters – and it’s a common wall that stops progress and focus. Sitemaps are very abstract compared to wireframes, and if there is something that needs a solution, that wireframe can be just the ticket to freeing everyone’s mind from the thing which is nagging them. Creation of a wireframe or two can also help drive the conversation and comprehension when moving to sitemap work and conversations.
Sadly, that wireframe isn’t likely to stop the perpetual shopping list. They’re not magic!
Myth #4
That content needs to be above the fold
What fold?
“The fold”? Is that some sort of cult with high standards, standards which your content should surpass?
This is a big topic, and for once, its massive publication and republication is accurate – but! That doesn’t mean that the most important elements are ok to live anywhere. I find most often that companies bury the most important information at the bottom and often even further than just “the bottom”. The attempt to smash as much content in the top space as possible makes people’s brains melt out of their ears and prevents people from being able to “get the message” – ANY message.
Get skinny on your content, get strategic. Find the golden nuggets that drive differentiation. These are often found hidden.
Instead of writing it all out here, I’m going to just direct you to my podcast. I interviewed an SEO expert who was in support of “the fold”, or so he thought!
UX:This – Episode 8 – SEO vs. The Below the Fold Myth <— That’s the podcast right there!
Conclusion
As usual, don’t believe everything you read. There is likely some truth to what is being said, but quite often, something republished a few hundred times can be taken too much like “the way of things”. As in life, all things are varying shades of grey. Every market has its own needs. In all things, it comes back to knowing the users and creating stuff that they’ll actually want.
