expensive shoe

Why Your Website User Experience (UX) May Be Unimportant

I buy expensive shoes. This is not because I have some sort of shoe fetish or something, but primarily because I supinate so badly that it causes pain in my hips. Supination is when your foot rolls to the outside when you walk.

A few years ago I discovered the Naot brand of footwear and these somewhat ugly shoes (in my opinion) literally changed my life. (please pardon the overused phrase, but it’s true). See? With the proper footbed inside, the foot is kept steady and cradled within the shoe, my gait straightened out, and that weird torque on my hips stopped. Literally, within 5 minutes walking in these shoes, my pain was better and after wearing them for a few years, I no longer have hip pain unless I wear some other footwear for too long.

Today it was time to buy some new Naots and I was super-happy to find the ones I wanted on sale on their website. (Naot sales are not common.)

So I joyfully clicked Add to Cart and decided to keep shopping to see what might be on sale for the upcoming summer.

Y’all, the popup that shows what I added to my cart pops up every time I click another option on the website. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME! I presume this is to remind me I have something in the cart, but news flash Naot – I DON’T NEED THAT MANY REMINDERS!

example of a store popup with shoes

This is the most annoying User Experience I have every encountered and I was tempted to “shut ‘er down” and go elsewhere. 

But those shoes… I really need that style, and they are on sale! And the Summer styles are on sale too. So I continue to shop (and curse each time that popup appears) because the PRODUCT perfectly meets my needs.

But beware, just because this ridiculously irritating User Experience works for Naot, does NOT mean it will work for you. If you present a popup over and over and over while someone is on your site (or your client’s site), some will stay but many will leave – UNLESS your product is so compelling that the UI is unimportant.

The lesson here? While a pleasing User Experience can be unimportant in SOME cases, it is typically VERY important for keeping folks on your site (or your client’s site). SO, be mindful of the User Experience. The best kind of testing before launching is to get a “real user” to try things out. They will see things you don’t and things you thought were a good idea might turn out not to be. 

And one final note to Naot from a “real user” (not that they are going to be reading my blog) but “STOP REMINDING ME THERE ARE ITEMS IN MY CART! Just because you are pricey and sought-after does NOT mean you should ignore this sort of thing!”

OK – Saturday Rant officially over!

Want to learn how to consistently get your projects completed on time and within budget?

Join the WP Project Manager’s Academy – a FREE membership program where you can learn everything you need to know to consistently get your projects completed on time, within budget, with features that meet the client’s business requirements WITHOUT sacrificing profit.

You might also want to Join our Facebook Group  where we have weekly live trainings on all things project and productivity management as well as a Friday chat session.