MediaPost’s “Online Publishing Insider” had a great post yesterday. They outlined a process on how to test and optimize a content-driven website for the best “stickiness.” Stickiness is the most popular philosophical metric for measuring interactivity. This is a great article to share because it brings up a great point to a post I wrote last month on building a successful e-commerce user experience. Although e-commerce would use a different metric for success (sales conversions), the approach for developing the experience is very similar. The point I want to bring up is MediaPost defined a quantitative approach based on statistical research procedures to complete each step. Where we described the approach as a more qualitative method for success.
There is definitely no right or wrong way to build a successful experience, but mere approaches like these to ensure a better chance for success. The right approach will be based on organization and if you are more quantitative or qualitative.
Quantitative Approach
Define Your Goals
Define Site Factors
Target Reader Segments
Run Your Test
Analyze Your Results
Qualitative Approach (Ninthlink)
Know your Customer
Define the Experience
Wire Frames
Creative Design
Maintain
Please share your opinions on what different variables influence your strategy for building successful online experiences.