Improving the user experience and increasing the usability of the poster- sitexxxl.ru service led to a net profit growth of 133%.

For a large number of domestic e-commerce sites and online stores, profit growth is possible without additional costs for advertising and promotion, by improving the user qualities of the site. How this was done using the example of the posterxxl.ru service you will learn from this article.
results
PosterXXL is an online printing service for posters, posters and large photos with delivery all over Russia. In March 2009,
1point specialists conducted a usability audit. The result of the audit was a report with a list of detected problems and recommendations for their elimination. At the time of the audit service has been working for over a year. According to the management service has the potential to grow. This was the main reason for attracting a usability specialist to the project. The results of the work done can be seen by comparing the key performance indicators (KPI) for two identical periods: from March to December 2008 and the same period of 2009. Monthly spending on contextual advertising and search engine promotion remained unchanged. Despite the increase in the number of orders placed over the phone, only orders placed through the website were analyzed. The embodiment of interface solutions involved web studio "
Sibiriks "
If the results presented in the
report at the User Experience 2009 conference (from March to September) can be called positive, then the results from March to December can be called more than excellent.
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Net profit growth of 133%

Increase conversion by 198%

Loyalty growth (repeat sales) by 191%

Instruments
With what tools were KPIs measured, interface solutions checked and user behavior analyzed?
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free, powerful web analytics tool. Google Analytics is able to answer most questions from an online store owner, marketer, or usability specialist. It provides quantitative information about the most popular entry and exit points, site visits, visitor loyalty, time spent on the site, popular requests, referral sources to your site, and much more. For e-commerce sites there are special opportunities to transfer order parameters to Google Analytics, and thus link web analytics with products and profits.
Webvisor
WebVisor - domestic service for recording and analyzing the actions of visitors. Allows you to get high-quality data on the activity of visitors to the site. Each session of the user WebVisor records as a separate video. You will be able to see with your own eyes how users make mistakes when filling out a form, looking for a button or link on a page that you think is in a prominent place.
For e-commerce sites, WebVisor can be an affordable alternative to usability testing for the following reasons:
- The cost of using the tool is an order of magnitude lower, not only full-time, but also remote usability testing.
- Users are in a natural context and act on the scenario that they consider natural.
Some lack of feedback can also be compensated. For example, we can not, looking at the video, ask: "What difficulties do you experience filling this form?", We also do not know anything about the field and the age of the visitor. You saw that the user started filling out a form, entered your email or phone, but could not go further and left the site. You can write or call the number you see. If you manage to interest the interlocutor, he will be happy to tell you what difficulties he encountered on the site.

Both for Google Analytics and WebVisor for PosterXXL service 4 goals were tracked: they went to the contact page, uploaded an image (went to the basket), went to the first page of the order, made a purchase (went to the thanks page). Videos were watched daily. With the help of the filter, only those videos were watched, in the sessions of which there were: goals achieved, high activity or number of pages viewed.
Pages and individual elements, where in the record it was clear that the user makes mistakes, were subjected to additional evaluation. Analyzing the numbers in Google Analytics, it was determined whether this is a single case or whether this behavior is typical for a group of users.
Management program

The management program allowed you to track net income, repeat sales, order information and customer data.
Interface Solutions
Consider what changes have occurred in the interfaces of the service.
Home page
It was. View larger image
It becameOn the home page:
- Added phone to the site header.
- Increased the button "Download" and removed the number around it. So visually reduced the number of steps required for ordering.
- Instead of a static picture, a promo block with rotation was added.
- One of the questions asked by users of the service by telephone and in the comment field to the order: “When will my order be ready?”. Therefore, it was decided to add an approximate date of the order to the main page.
- “Can I save?”, “How much more expensive or cheaper is printing on one material than on another?”, “What size should I print?”. To answer these questions and give the user the opportunity to evaluate various printing options (materials and cost), the “Compare Materials” link was placed on the form on the right.
- Changed the logos of payment systems. Logos of plastic cards (Visa and MasterCard), Yandex.Money, payments via Beeline sms, QIWI payment terminals, etc. were placed instead of the ROBOKASSA and ASSIST logos. This was done with the aim to show the user the possible methods of payment. For example, the Webmoney logo, in my opinion, better explains the ability to pay with virtual money than the logo of ROBOKASSA - the provider of this service. There is information that the logos of well-known companies increase the credibility of the site.
Persons attract the eye
It was
Intermediate option
Intermediate option
It becameAccording to research,
human faces attract the eye . This technique is actively used both in advertising and on websites. We changed the image on the main page so that the person looked at the form. The pretty looking girl, playfully looking at the form, took the place of an indifferent looking man somewhere up.
Description of materials
It wasTo view the description of materials in the old version of the site had to reload the page. In addition, the display of the material in the form on the right did not depend on the open description. If the user decided on what to print, he was still forced to choose this material in the form.
It becameWith the addition of AJAX, the dependency mechanism was implemented - the form for the selected material on the right changes along with its description without reloading the page (and vice versa). For some materials, printing is offered either on standard sizes (A0, A1 and others) or on those specified by the user. When switching, user-defined dimensions are preserved.
Price comparison
It wasEarlier, to find out how much printing would cost, a calculator was installed on the site. We enter the sizes, we receive cost of the press of the set size on different materials. After that, to place an order, the user had to select the material again and set the size.
It becameTo reduce the cognitive load in the new version, the calculator was replaced with an interactive table. The table displays both fixed prices for different materials and the ability to calculate the cost for the sizes specified by the user. If the user is satisfied with the price, then in just one click on the cell (the intersection of size and material), the system puts the desired settings in the form on the right.
Basket
It becameAdditional interactivity has been added to the cart. Now you can see how the loaded image fits into the selected format, how it looks with the applied effect (black and white or retro) or in a frame without reloading the page.
Size recommendation
It becameIn the previous version of the service, if an image was loaded with dimensions insufficient for high-quality printing, then when trying to place an order, a message was displayed indicating that such an operation was impossible. In the text of the message, the user was asked to choose the size himself (in fact, to go through different ones, until it fits). In the new version, if the quality of the loaded photo is not enough, then the system offers various options. The user has the opportunity to choose a format based on the quality he wants to receive.
Purchase. First step
It wasOne of the most common obstacles that store owners create on the way to online shopping is the registration form following the click on the “Order” button. The user is prompted to log in, even if he is on the site for the first time, then fill out a form with completely unnecessary questions, confirm email, etc. So it was in the first version of the service PosterXXL. Login, middle name, password and its confirmation - all these are extra fields on the form.
It becameThe new version has been implemented so-called.
"Lazy" registration . Those. in the form there were only really necessary for the purchase of the field. Nothing distracts the user from the purchase order procedure. The system itself generates and sends the password to the user-specified email. In the future, the user always has the opportunity to change the password.
UX and search engine optimization
It becameThe importance of SEO (search engine optimization) for e-commerce sites does not require additional discussion. However, the methods and solutions that are sometimes offered by SEO experts are suitable for robots, but cause questions from real visitors. One of the ways to promote PosterXXL service is promotion through articles. Therefore, a special section with articles appeared on the site. Using Google Analytics, we determined that users do not read published articles and leave the site. But some articles are very popular entry point to the site. The functionality has been added, allowing for each article to install such material in the form on the right, which is discussed in the article. Due to this, orders for material began to come from the page-article about him.
findings
To improve user experience and e-commerce site efficiency
- Get ready for change!
- Use available analysis tools.
- Attract outside experts who have a fresh perspective and experience in enhancing the usability of e-commerce sites.
- Make contact with your customers and listen to their opinions.
Source (
Oborot.ru ):
“Sales growth after increasing usability and improving the user experience of PosterXXL.ru service”