The Australian Museum web team recently discussed some potential tweaks to the What’s on page. During the discussion, the web manager, Lynda Kelly, asked the key question – “Is there a real problem here”.
This question made us all stop and think about our reasons for adjusting page components.
Here are some simple questions to ask before deciding to adjust a page component:
- What is the issue?
- Is it a real issue or just a “desire to change”
- Do we have evidence that there is an issue? (stats, user feedback etc)
- Is there a compelling business/user case to change the issue?
- Is the issue easy/hard to address
- Can the issue be isolated and user-tested before changing
- Can the issue be user-tested after the change to measure improvements, success?
What criteria do you use to determine if an aspect of your site’s layout needs changing?