22 Things You Don't Know About Your Customers / Visitors / Members

[Zetan]

While browsing StumbleUpon, I found this.. It's quite an interesting read, I've quoted the first 5. Follow the read more link to.. err.. go to the actual artical and Read More.

There are things you don't know about your customers. It's not you, it's them. But you need to figure it out. Here are some hard lessons I've learned over the years - they apply to usability, pet peeves and other fun stuff. Learn these and you'll have more, happier customers/visitors/readers/fans:

1. Reading onscreen is hard, for everyone
The most basic principle of usability: It's hard for folks to read online. Much harder than reading in print. Remember this. Burn it into your brain. Small typefaces, weird page layouts and odd color schemes may seem great, but they're bound to hurt your business in the long run.

2. They like short paragraphs.
Oldest rule of marketing, from way back when we printed on paper and used mail and stuff: Write no more than 4-5 lines in a paragraph. Read My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising (Advertising Age Classics Library) to learn just how little the rules have changed.

3. They like short lines
Reading onscreen is hard. The typical person can best read 10-20 words per line. No more. If you're using microscopic fonts to fit every word possible on a line, change your ways.

4. They like wide line spacing and nice margins
Also know as 'leading', wide line spacing makes text easier to read. Margins shorten the lines so that you get fewer words per line (see above).

Folks actually read faster when line spacing is really tight, but they retain and comprehend less. A fantastic piece of research by the University of Wichita proves it.

5. They like dark text on a light background
We are trained to read dark text on a light background. It's what we're used to. So this:

The quick brown fox sprayed the lazy dog with mace.

Is easier to read than this:

The quick brown fox sprayed the lazy dog with mace.

The dark background really jumps out at you, but make it into a whole page and it starts to give you a headache.

Do you hate your audience? No? Then go with dark text on a light background.



[Read More]

Not directed at anyone in particular. Just sharing. 

[Crip]

Lots of times i use in style.css : these two for  certain areas of a theme Font-type depending .....

1.
letter-spacing: 1px; <= not much but easier to read =>

2.
word-spacing: 1px; <= not much but easier to read =>

.....Those 2 can also be - negative ..

[JPDeni]

My biggest problem with websites is #5 above. I hate sites with light type against a dark background and I will leave a site that has that kind of color scheme on text of any length, no matter what the content of the site is. (Headings and labels are fine.)

[Zetan]

I can agree with #5 also. I have a light on dark website as default. recently I added two light versions of both themes currently in the theme changer, here's one:

http://www.slayingsteel.com/index.php?theme=40

Still works in progress, but since my site has ground to a halt, I haven't had the incentive to continue them. Font size changers are also helpful.

[JPDeni]

I like that theme, Z-man. Gray (or grey ) is very easy on the eyes.

I have plans to have a light-on-dark color scheme available on my site for those that want it, but the default will always be dark-on-light.

[Zetan]

Thanks Deni!  Actually, I've just set that light theme as site default.. Just to see how people react to it. I've used it a few times myself and I do like it.. Took a while to get it the way I wanted, editing Bikken's original template. I think I'll work on it some more over the weekend.

[Crip]

I use this one as my default , light on dark ...  my eyes are not good but I can read everything on here :

http://www.jpr62.com/cre/index.php?action=forum

[JPDeni]

The actual text on that one is dark-on-light, Jeff. That's fine. Little stuff being light-on-dark, like buttons or headings or anything that's just a few words is no problem. It's when it's several paragraphs that it becomes a problem. To my aging eyes, the letters sort of morph into each other and the whole thing takes on a mottled in-between color. I could probably work it out if I needed to, but there's no point in going through the effort.

[Crip]

So i got that backwards ,.. figures Lol..

[Freddy]

I kind of like dark themes with light text.  I don't know why really.  I always liked gaming sites that have a dark background, I think it's the overall effect though, when done right with colourful graphics accompanying it, then they can look quite nice.

I have a site that is grey behind with light writing, sometimes people complain and even I am tiring of it now - I think I might go to dark on white with that one.

The thing about dark sites is I think they kind of close you in a little more, everything seems a bit more concentrated if that makes sense.  And with a gaming site a lot of what you are after is atmosphere, so that's my theory as to why they work in that situation.

Interesting stuff, thanks for posting