I’ve decided to test one of the websites that I’ve had great experience with and I believe they’ve generally done a good job at structuring the information (which looks like a matrix and therefore complicated to structure). I’ve noticed that they’ve changed their website design since the last time I visited the site. Let’s see if it’s still very easy to perform a simple task.
User Persona
Woman, 35+;
Online savvy;
Loves having the ability to get things done online;
Lives in Switzerland, pays in CHF, prefers English or French (to German);
User Task
To find out how much sending a 1.5 kg parcel to Slovenia would cost.
Homepage
Upon landing on the homepage, I’m immediately drawn to the shortcuts under the search bar. I suppose these are top tasks that users come to complete and have therefore been highlighted (not bad!). A quick scan around the page makes me think there’s a bit of repetition above the fold (e.g. links to sending letter, parcels etc. are in the top menu, as well as in the purple box). Since I’m looking to find a price for sending a parcel, I will click on the first icon on the left, but let’s first just scroll down to see what else is on the homepage.
Under the purple box, there’s a grid of links. I first expected these to be links to categories, for which we can drill into in order to find answers, but when I read the titles, I realized it’s articles. A headline above this is needed, so I don’t have to read it to understand it (only to end up ignoring it, since it’s not what I’m looking for – time wasted). Ok, let’s move on to the subpage where we calculate prices.
I clicked on the “Prices for letters and parcels” so this page should be clear as day. But I do get options to choose from before I can see the prices, and it’s not about where I’m sending it, how heavy it is etc. I need to choose between calculation, assistance (for companies, apparently) and indecision (yes – the third option is if you’re not decided or not sure. How can I not be sure? I’ve clicked a very clear link to calculate the mailing prices.)
The top two grey sentences are actually links, which you wouldn’t know until you accidentally hover over. I thought these might be tabs but they should be more clearly separated and text should be shorter.
I click on the first box to continue.
We have arrived! I’m not sure about some options being already selected by default (Germany as recipient’s country, letter as type of mail). I tried typing in “Slovenia” in the list of countries and I can see that typing it in works, but “Slovénie” wasn’t found. I had to scroll down to select it (yes, it IS there).
After selecting the recipient’s country and the type of mail (parcel), I thought I was done (although puzzled why they wouldn’t require package weight!). It took me a few seconds to notice the bar under (which was originally empty and thus even less visible) and that I actually need to select an option to finalize the estimation. The field looks a little too faint – the question “How much does your parcel weigh?” is barely visible (can you see it?)!
The price automatically calculates when I choose the “under 2 kg” option, but there’s a “Next” button at the bottom. I’ve competed my task here but I’ll just go check what happens when I click Next.
I arrive at what looks like step 2 of this order, I’m not really sure where I’m going to end up.
I’m asked to choose the type of delivery (standard, express etc.). This affects the price, obviously, but I don’t see why this one dropdown field wasn’t already on the first step? It would cut down the process into a 1-step (plus confirmation page). It’s just one field! Also, remember I almost left the journey thinking I had the final price, but at that point I didn’t know that this “standard” delivery would take 5-7 business days.
Final step of the … order? It’s becoming clear to me that I can create an online order with a waybill and probably pay for it online. Which is a nice surprise, but since that wasn’t my task, I won’t be completing an order. But it’s good to know this is possible!
Conclusion
This was a pretty straightforward task, with some room for improvement but also some nice additions. I don’t have any big remarks, I give this experience a thumbs up 👍Keep in mind, though, that I’m only rating one specific task, and not the whole website’s usability based on all their typical audiences and user journeys.
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