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:

1. What is the issue?
2. Is it a real issue or just a “desire to change”
3. Do we have evidence that there is an issue? (stats, user feedback etc)
4. Is there a compelling business/user case to change the issue?
5. Is the issue easy/hard to address
6. Can the issue be isolated and user-tested before changing
7. 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?