Ux Research Vehicles ('Probes'): Bicycle Repair Website
This project applied a broad range of web design principles to create a 'live' website, which was then promoted using Google Adwords. Subsequent visitor behaviour was analysed using Google Analytics.
The benefit of this project was to create a research vehicle - a website that provides opportunities to study actual persuasion and user engagement on the Internet (not in a lab). The website was used by research presented at the world's biggest and most influential Ux conference - ACM CHI (2011). The website was also used to conduct research funded by Google (2012).
Figure 1. Home page, top10bikefixes.com
Yes!! the website is an online bicycle repair manual [well, cyclists love it], and it helps around 1,000 people every year learn how to fix their bike.
Details: Engagement Research, CHI 2011
The first version of the website (Figure 1) complied with all 70+ guidelines for writing on the web in Ginny Redish's book 'Letting Go of the Words'. Note the numbered sections that help user orientation, the summary paragraph at the top of the page to provide 'information scent', everpresent search and font resizing features to catch disappointed browsers etc. Compared to another version of the site, which had identical content, but which broke all those guidelines, visitors stayed 20% longer, and were 50% more likely to return.
Details: Google Research Award
A Google Research Award supported a research student. We put adverts on the site, and measured Click Through Rate. One study demonstrated 'Halo' effects in online advertising - when we increased the credibility of the site overall (by including a picture of the author, a street address, references to bike repair textbooks etc.), click rate through the adverts also increased, because visitor perceptions of the site overall 'rubbed-off' on particular elements, including the adverts.
Figure 2. The kind of advert tested - standard Sponsored Link, plus product image and store brand logo
This long-standing principle from print advertising (think celebrity endorsements), works on the Internet too!
