capstone
TRANSCRIPT
Beyond Usability: Minimal Web Design for E-Commerce Websites
Capstone Seminar
for
Master of Science
Information and Communication Technology
Alex Thompson
University of Denver University College
May 22, 2016
Faculty: Janice Minder, EdD
Director: Thomas Tierney, PhD
Dean: Michael J. McGuire, MLS
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Abstract
E-commerce businesses with websites that lack usability and overstimulate users with
an excess of content are facing dire financial implications. On the contrary, companies that
adopt a usability strategy see an immediate return on investment and increase in profits. Many
factors meet user needs and make a website highly usable, though ease of use has proven to be
the most important. By utilizing a minimal web design framework based on ease of use, e-
commerce businesses can increase conversion rates and turn first-time users into loyal future
customers.
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Table of Contents
Background……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1
Approach…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………5
Solution…………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………..17
Discussion…………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………….20
Recommendations…………………………………………………………………..………………………………………………27
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………29
References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30
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Background
Imagine you are trying to search for something on the web. You go to Yahoo, and on the
homepage, it is an absolute bombardment of content. There are news stories, videos,
advertisements, a list of trending topics, etc. The layout does not seem to follow recognizable
website conventions and it is difficult to locate the search bar, the reason for going to Yahoo in
the first place. Now go to Google and take a look what is on that website. You see a search bar
and almost nothing else. Why are you going to these websites? To search for something online,
nothing more. Google allows you to complete your desired task. Yahoo makes it much more
difficult.
E-commerce is exactly the same - A user goes to a shopping website to purchase a
product or service online. The user has a task to complete, just like searching on Google. Yet
some e-commerce websites make completing a task incredibly difficult due to an excess of
content. Unnecessary advertisements, an endless list of products, poor design layout,
unconventional organization, etc. are all to blame for making a website unusable. If a customer
cannot complete a purchase due to poor web design, the company does not profit. Therefore,
the easier it is for a user to complete a task, the more successful the website will be.
Krug poses the succinct question, “Why design a website if users are not able to use it?”
(Krug 2014). This is the essence of usability, defined by Nielsen as “quality attribute relating to
how easy something is to use, how quickly people can learn to use something, how efficient
they are while using it, how memorable it is, how error-prone it is, and how much users like
using it” (Nielsen 2006). Distante defines usability as “the degree to which a product or system
can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and
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satisfaction in a specified context of use” (Distante 2014). As Galitz states, usability is much
more than just aesthetic appeal (Galitz 2007). Usability is as old as human factors research, in
the idea of making a product or service easier to use. Yet usability in modern technology is most
pertinent in terms of web design, and for e-commerce businesses, financial implications are at
stake.
Conversion rate is the most important metric for measuring success in e-commerce. It is
defined as the amount of users on a website that complete a task, such as purchasing a product
or service on an e-commerce website (Ayanso 2009). Conversion rate could simply be seen as
the percentage of users who become customers (Nielsen 2008). Some of the top e-commerce
businesses have a remarkably low average conversion rate of just 4.9 percent (Ayanso 2009). As
low as that may be, conversion rate is essential to measure how successful an e-commerce
website is with customers. Researchers such as Nielsen use conversion rate as a means of
quantifying the return on investment of usability to prove its importance with e-commerce
businesses.
Usability is vital to the success of an e-commerce website. Business value means
improving efficiency, ease of use, and the intuitiveness of applications (Earley 2014). Even
though the ROI has been proven time and time again, e-commerce businesses are ignoring
usability and focusing on content alone. Despite the benefits of users being empowered with
access to a wealth of information, content overload is quickly becoming a substantial risk for e-
commerce businesses (Bauer 2012). Just like Yahoo versus Google, more content means a less
usable interface that makes it more difficult for a user to complete their task. Though
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technology continues to progress and the e-commerce industry sees massive growth year after
year, simplicity has its merit.
Minimal web design is a new idea that is a subset of usability, specifically ease of use.
The principles of minimal web design are accomplished by reducing the website layout to the
most important elements (Chapman 2010). This is the “less is more” philosophy that allows
users to complete their task uninhibited by an excess of content that only distracts from the
task at hand. Minimal web design focuses on what users want most of all, which is ease of use.
Numerous studies have shown that an easy to use interface is far more important than the
aesthetic appeal. By designing a website for the user, an e-commerce business will have more
loyal customers returning to purchase more products and services. “If a product works, you’ll
use it. If it doesn’t work, you won’t use it…because you usually have to buy something in order
to use it, usability suddenly becomes an integral part of online business” (Reiss 2012).
Clearly a significant issue with web design in e-commerce is ignoring the importance of
usability. Businesses create designs that are based on aesthetics, code, or marketable content.
These approaches ignore the user, which is the most important aspect of effective web design.
A consumer is interacting with an e-commerce website to complete a task, and the more
complicated the website, the harder that becomes. For an e-commerce website to thrive, a
focus must be made on usability, not content and complexity. Simple and highly usable
interfaces have proven to be the most effective, more so than websites overfilled with content,
flashy visuals, or elaborate code. This paper will explore the question: Can a minimal design
framework instead of an excess of content lead to a higher conversion rate among college
students and therefore increase business profits?
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Approach
E-commerce websites were the focus of the study in order to quantify the benefits of
minimal web design. Conversion rate was used as a method of measurement to validate the
benefit of minimal and usable designs. The impact of ignoring usability was presented in
financial reports of businesses. Many studies exist that quantify the ROI of usability or the
financial implications of ignoring UX as a design framework. These studies provided supporting
evidence in the argument of how important usability and minimal web design can be for e-
commerce businesses in particular.
Successful usability cases and studies showing what users look for in a web site were
analyzed. College students were used as a target population for e-commerce customers and
specific e-commerce studies with college students were discussed. This target demographic is a
good benchmark for a typical e-commerce customer. No ideal web user or customer exists, so
narrowing down to a population that is very involved online provided strong evidence for the
importance of usability.
This lead to an analysis of user behavior, desires, and a successful benchmark for
usability in e-commerce website. A large amount of research has been done in a variety of
fields to analyze what makes users stay on a website, return for multiple visits, complete a task,
purchase a product, etc. A presentation of mobile first design lead to an in depth analysis of
minimal web design and the benefits of businesses using a simple design framework. Because
there is not a large body of research on minimal web design yet, specifics of simple design were
extracted from usability research.
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Literature Review
Web design has a direct correlation with financial success for e-commerce businesses,
with many financial metrics proving the importance of usability. There are many factors that
make a website unusable and frustrating to users versus a website that is persuasive and leads
to user loyalty. For enterprises that depend on online customers, the user is by far the most
important part of their business. Though an ideal user does not exists, usability studies have
shown college students to be a good demographic for research. This provides insight into the
important question as to what the user really wants on an e-commerce website. The answer
appears to be ease of use, and more specifically, minimal web design for a highly efficient and
profitable e-commerce website.
Usability from a Business Perspective
From a business perspective, usability is tied directly to business success, and the return
on investment (ROI) can be seen with a number of companies. Staples saw 67% more repeat
customers, a 31-45% decrease in drop off rates, an 80% increase in traffic, and an increase in
revenue of 491% following the implementation of a usability strategy (HTI 2016). IBM claimed
to have an increase in online store traffic by 120% and an increase in sales of 400% a month
after a usability redesign (Marcus 2004). Home Portfolio saw an increase in traffic by 129% the
same week the new usability design went live (Marcus 2004).
Nielsen has released numerous reports on the ROI of usability for businesses, with the
most recent report stating that after a company redesigns for usability, the average
improvement is 83% (Nielsen 2008). Metrics for measurement include conversion rates, traffic
numbers, user performance, and target feature usage (Nielsen 2008). ROI is typically measured
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internally with such factors as increased sales, decreased customer support, early life cycle
changes, and lower training costs (Marcus 2004). By implementing a usability plan, a company
can feasibly double its conversion rate after a redesign, with statistics based on 42 redesign
projects (Nielsen 2008). Yet as important as conversion rate is in measuring e-commerce
success, it is only one metric of many, and the entire customer experience must be measured to
understand the business viability of making a site usable (Earley 2014).
Ignoring usability can have lasting financial implications for e-commerce businesses. In
one year alone, three billion dollars were lost due to poor web design, as e-commerce
businesses were not recognizing the significance of user experience with their website layout
(Winn 2002). A significant 23% of online transactions are not finalized due to poor site
functionality blocking customers from completing their task (Ayanso 2009). If a design is
confusing or vague to the user, it in turn leads to a loss of customers, which then leads to loss
of profits (Winn 2002). Users tend to have a negative response to websites with confusing
interfaces or an excess of content (Chen 2014). Understanding what makes a web design
effective for users is of utmost importance in terms of company success with an e-commerce
business (Sigman 2013). From a business standpoint, previous metrics show that usability is no
longer a question, but a must for companies looking to increase profits.
The Importance of Usability
For a business to see financial success and a good return on investment from
implementing a redesign project, importance must be placed on usability. As Reiss simply
states, “Good usability is also good business” (Reiss 2012). The ROI for an e-commerce business
is directly tied to the usability of the website (Krug 2014). Usability is an inexpensive investment
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that is worthy of an e-commerce business undertaking versus the consequences of ignoring the
importance of designing for the user (Nielsen 2006). Users’ expectations for higher levels of
quality with technology means e-commerce businesses must overinvest in usability where they
have traditionally underinvested (Earley 2014).
Another consideration for investing in usability is the highly competitive nature of the e-
commerce business market. Due to the nature of the e-commerce market, enterprises must
understand the importance of gaining customer loyalty and what business decisions keep
customers returning to the website (Tahal 2014). Loyalty also serves a purpose with users
directly, as users tend to return to highly usable sites and also get better at completing tasks on
sites that are visited more often (Nielsen 2006). Overall, designing and testing for usability can
increase profits, support business goals, and lead a company above the competition (Nielsen
2006). The importance of usability for e-commerce businesses cannot be understated due to
the pronounced return on an initially minimal investment.
What Makes Websites Unusable?
A poorly designed website means a loss of customers and ultimately a loss of profits
(Krug 2014). Designers and business leaders are usually decision makers on website layout,
interactivity, and aesthetics, however they do not necessarily think like users (Krug 2014). This
leads to websites being built to appease those involved with the company and ignoring the
users that will be interacting with the website. Aspects that make a design unusable include
hiding important information, making the user follow the designer’s interface, inquiring for
non-pertinent information, adding unnecessary distractions, and making a site look outdated
and unprofessional (Krug 2014). The longer a customer has to wait to complete a task, the
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greater their chance of moving to another competing website instead (Ryerkerk 2015).
Depending on the first impression of a website, a user will decide if they want to remain on the
website or move on to the competition (Soiraya 2008). As Distante explains, “usability is not a
choice for e-commerce businesses, but instead a requirement to beat the competition and
prevent customers from turning to the many other choices they have available” (Distante
2014).
Nielsen and Loranger scale the severity of usability problems based on how frequently
users encounter the problem, how much impact the problem will have on the user, and how
persistent the problem can be for those interacting with the website (Nielsen 2006). High
severity problems prevent users from using the website, directly lead to a loss for the business,
and with a case in 2005, a poor UI on a hospital order entry system lead to patients receiving
incorrect medication doses (Nielsen 2006). Non severe usability problems were referred to as
user failure due to a user not being able to complete a task successfully, which included
problems with search, information architecture, content, product information, and workflow
(Nielsen 2006). An e-commerce company ignoring usability can have a lasting negative impact
on not only the user, but the business as a whole.
What Makes Websites Usable?
Though no set design framework exists for usability, a number of principles for making a
website usable have been proven. As Galitz states, a successful web design depends on the web
designer adhering to the established principles of usability (Galitz 2007). Krug focuses on
limiting the cognitive load on the users, arguing that users’ tasks should be made easy and
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obvious to complete (Krug 2014). The user experience should be effortless, with information
the user wants being provided efficiently and unambiguously (Krug 2014).
Galitz covers many principles of user interface design in respect to usability (Galitz
2007):
Accessibility of information to all users.
Compatibility with users for completing tasks and meeting needs.
Simplicity to make a website easier and more efficient.
Aesthetically pleasing design layout for visual clarity.
Control and configuration by the user, not the system.
Consistency for ease of learning, efficiency, and familiarity.
A study was created by Winn that looked at what persuasive elements of an e-
commerce website affected users the most, based on Aristotle’s Means of Persuasion (Winn
2002):
Logos (logic): Price, Variety, Responsiveness, Effort.
Pathos (emotions): Playfulness, Tangibility, Empathy.
Ethos (creditability): Quality, Compatibility, Assurance, Reliability.
A wide range of “triggers” were found in the study that lead to influencing users and
meeting their needs, most notably being ease of use, a familiar design, reliability of the brand,
and user-friendly navigation (Winn 2002). The conclusion from the study “encourages designers
to build on widely accepted good practices of e-commerce web design to minimize shoppers’
efforts and maximize their satisfaction” (Winn 2002). This reveals that customers want an easy
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and user friendly experience online, which means success in e-commerce starts and ends with
the user.
The Importance of the User
A successful e-commerce design framework begins and ends with the user. The content,
the aesthetics, the advertisements, etc. are not nearly as important as the customers
interacting with the website. As Lee explains, “…in e-commerce, the ‘user’ is the most
important factor for a company’s higher profits. Accordingly, users should be the priority in
designing web sites” (Lee 2010). The user is not only important to the design and layout of a
website, but to the company profits overall. A positive online shopping experience on an e-
commerce website means long term customer loyalty with the business (Kujala 2011). A
customer is far more likely to return to a website if they had a positive initial experience, which
means more products being purchased over the long term. E-commerce businesses are
beginning to understand the importance of the user and how much a user-friendly design leads
to financial success with the enterprise (Sigman 2013).
The reason designers and business leaders do not know how to design for a user is
because the real website user is much different than the perceived one. In reality, website users
are incredibly impatient, as detailed in numerous studies by Nielsen (2006):
1:49 minutes spent on website before abandoning.
3:49 minutes spent on the website for task completion.
30 seconds on average spent on the homepage.
52 seconds on average spent on a first visit to an interior page.
27 seconds on average for a user browsing an interior page.
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Despite the best efforts of designers and business leaders to provide a wealth of content
for the customers, in reality, users are notorious for simply scanning, scrolling, and quickly
browsing pages (Krug 2014). Users scan far more than they read, especially on the home page
(Nielsen 2006). Krug uses the term “satisficing,” a combination of satisfying and sufficing, to
describe the user habit of scanning quickly to the first reasonable option instead of weighing in
on all the available options (Krug 2014). Because the recovery from error is as easy as simply
hitting the back button, carefully evaluation is a waste of time, and because guess is enjoyable,
users prefer to scan and “satisfice” when using a website (Krug 2014). Though actual user
behavior is somewhat eccentric, it cannot be ignored by web designers and business leaders
working to create a successful online interface.
College Students: An Ideal E-Commerce User?
There is no “one size fits all” user in the web design industry; all users have unique
needs, desires, and skill sets. In studying e-commerce, a complication arises with the plethora
of different users and their dissimilar levels of articulacy with technology. Therefore, an
essential piece of usability research is selecting the correct demographic for a user group
(Earley 2014). For the purpose of usability research, college students prove to be a strong target
demographic, both graduate and undergraduate between 20 and 29 years of age. College
students tend to be well versed in e-commerce and overall adept with technology and
interacting with different websites.
Tahal ran a study on customer loyalty and specifically chose college students due to
their dominance as e-commerce customers (Tahal 2014). Customer loyalty is a strong target for
success with e-commerce websites, yet loyalty programs are not always executed with the
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customer in mind (Tahal 2014). The results of the study showed that many customer loyalty
programs greatly differed from what the college age users indicated were important in gaining
their trust with the website (Tahal 2014). By not developing with a user-centric model, e-
commerce businesses face the risk of losing future loyal customers, specifically important users
such as college students.
Another study by Ziadat examined how college students make purchasing decisions on
e-commerce websites, specifically focusing on their attitudes toward online shopping and
purchasing (Ziadat 2013). The study concentrated on the participant’s attitudes with e-
commerce, the ease of use in interacting with the interface, the perceived usefulness of the
website, the level of trust in completing tasks, and their awareness of advertising and
marketing (Ziadat 2013). The results of the study showed that trust, usefulness, ease of use,
and awareness all greatly affected how the 2-30 year old demographic made purchasing
decisions, proving that important usability factors greatly impact e-commerce success with
college students (Ziadat 2013).
Another study ran by Sigman used the created “Digital Discernment Tool” to teach
students how to analyze the web design of e-commerce websites (Sigman 2013). The results of
the study proved that college students could very carefully analyze the usability of a website,
but looking at factors such as usability, design, navigability, and content (Sigman 2013). In
addition, student also developed an acute awareness of what factors made an e-commerce
website successful, which all were related to usability (Sigman 2013). Ariga performed a similar
study requiring students to analyze a tourism website, the results of which showed students
able to judiciously isolate and analyze an e-commerce website based on 70 different web
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design criteria such as: site structure, accessibility, appeal, design, and organization (Ariga
2006). Clearly the wealth of research done on usability has focused on college students for
good reason and has revealed the importance of the demographic to e-commerce businesses.
What Does the User Want?
The importance of the user has been proven, but the question still remains: What does
the user want? Despite the many different types of users purchasing products on e-commerce
websites, all users want ease of user overall. A simple and intuitive interface means a user can
save both time and energy when completing a task (Chen 2014). The most important features
for users are navigational layout, appearance, and content location (Soiraya 2009). As Lee
explains, “…a successful and preferable web site generally refers to one with high usability,
which is user-friendly and user-centered in interface and functional aspects” (Lee 2010). Web
design practices simply must focus on what the user wants. In line with usability is enjoyability,
creating a lasting and positive experience for the user (Kujala 2010). A user should have fun and
enjoy the experience of interacting with a website (Krug 2014). Every evaluation of a website is
based on what memories the user can remember from their interaction with the website, so
lasting positive experiences mean happy customers and a successful e-commerce website
(Kujala 2010).
An excess of content is the opposite of ease of use, contrary to real user desires and
salient usability factors. As users quickly scroll through a page, they ignore information that is
not pertinent, such as advertisements, and instead focus on their initial task (Chen 2014). For a
user trying to complete a task, advertisements are a mere distraction, especially on a mobile
interface with limited screen “real estate.” Jeong analyzed the web design of mobile newspaper
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websites in respect to the amount of space used for content (Jeong 2012). The results of the
study showed that many companies waste an inordinate amount of the limited space on
advertisements alone (Jeong 2012). Advertisements not only prevent the user from easily
completing their tasks, but they take up valuable space on mobile platforms, which are quickly
becoming the future focus for web designers. To create a successful mobile or online interface,
web designers and business leaders must look at what users want first and foremost.
Mobile First as a Benchmark for Usability
Mobile design provides a strong benchmark for e-commerce websites to design for the
user. Due to the small screen size of mobile devices, designing for a limited amount of space
means carefully layout out content (Jeong 2012). Designing for mobile forces the web designer
to optimize information as much as possible due to the limited amount of space in respect to
content provided (Chen 2014). Mobile design must be simplified as much as possible and only
provide the minimal amount of content to the user. The design framework is known as “mobile
first” and is being used by more and more businesses to first create a simple and minimal
design before complicating the interface further (Venkatesh 2014). Mobile first works well
because user behavior on mobile platforms is very similar to standard web browsing (Einav
2014). The idea of omnichannel marketing was developed for that very reason, as a way of
understanding how customers may start on one device, such as mobile, then move to another,
such as web browsing (Earley 2014). Mobile design in its essence must focus on the user first
and analyze how the user completes tasks (Venkatesh 2014). Overall, mobile first could be seen
as a benchmark for usability because mobile design focuses on task completion, ease of use,
and simplicity.
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Minimal Web Design: Beyond Usability
Minimal web design is ease of use, going beyond usability and providing users with the
most simple and intuitive design possible. A correlational study was done on usability with e-
commerce websites, specifically focusing on task completion time, user preference,
navigational organization, and aesthetic layout (Lee 2010). The results showed users had a
positive association with task completion time, user preference, and navigational layout,
however not with aesthetic layout as hypothesized (Lee 2010). The results of the study revealed
that usability can be defined as a website where a user can easily complete tasks, recognize a
predictable layout, navigate throughout with ease, yet does not necessarily have to be visually
appealing.
A similar study was performed using the developed “UX Curve” as a means of analyzing
user experience by plotting website interactions over time (Kujala 2011). The results of the
study showed customers had positive responses on utility, ease of use, and degree of usage, yet
again, few positive reactions about aesthetic attractiveness (Kujala 2011). The outcomes
showed that the visual appeal of the website was not as important as how easy it was to use
and complete desired tasks. The “UX Curve” study was important in proving that a good
usability design could lead to financial success for an e-commerce business because of the
positive experiences and feelings of loyalty with the users (Kujala 2011). In addition, Kramer ran
a usability study on the IUPUI image collection and found that the users who liked the site
design specifically approved of the “minimalist” and “uncluttered” layout (Kramer 2005). Clearly
minimal web design goes beyond usability and delivers exactly what the user wants when
shopping online.
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From a business standpoint, usability means success. Numerous metrics have proven
the power of usability and the incredible return on investment. Usability is imperative to the
business because the user is the main driver of financial growth. E-commerce companies that
ignore usability are losing to the competition while others that put the user need and behaviors
first are seeing success. A wealth of research has been done, especially with college students,
on what makes a website usable, which continues to prove ease of use as being one of the most
important factors. By focusing on mobile design and using the mindset of simplicity and ease,
minimal web design focuses on the most important aspects of usability, creating a design
framework that is proven with users and with businesses.
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Solution
The problem with e-commerce businesses is an excess of content and ignoring user
needs and behaviors when designing online shopping websites. The solution as seen through
the research is a minimal design interface that focuses on ease of use. By creating an intuitive
and efficient website that caters to the needs of users, e-commerce businesses will see an
increase of conversion rates. More returning and loyal customers will lead to higher profits for
the business overall.
Businesses are hesitant to invest in usability, despite the research that has proven time
and time again that the return on investment is incredibly high. E-commerce enterprises find
that the amount invested in usability is nominal in respect to the high profits enjoyed after
implementing a new usability design. Customer loyalty is directly tied to conversion rate, and
satisfied customers will return to continue buying products and services on the website. Yet
even large companies continue to leave design decisions in the hands of those that are not
versed in user needs, such as business leaders and graphic-oriented web designers. E-
commerce companies will simply not see as much financial success if usability is ignored and
face the risk of being overtaken by competing businesses that do understand why the user is
the key to financial success.
Poorly designed websites come in many shapes and sizes, but overall ignore the users
interacting with the website. A user on an e-commerce website has a task to complete, and the
harder it is for them to complete their task, the higher the risk of the user becoming a customer
with a competing company. On the contrary, well designed websites take the user experience
into account by reducing the cognitive load on the user and making navigation and task
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completion as effortless and unambiguous as possible. By making a website easier and more
efficient to use, customers have more control of the interface and more success in purchasing
products.
The user is the most important factor in business success, albeit their unconventional
habits when interacting with a website. Users are incredibly impatient, and tend to spend as
little time as possible on websites in a hurry to complete their desired tasks. Designers can still
make websites attainable to the impatient user by allow them to be “satisficed” with an easy to
use design. Though there is no ideal user, college students shown to be a strong demographic in
researching usability, especially in respect to e-commerce. The study of users is difficult due to
their wide range of abilities and experience, however college student have proven to be highly
trainable in the field of usability.
What users want is a usable interface when shopping online to make the experience as
easy and quick as possible. Despite the wide range of users in e-commerce, ease of use
continues to be a dominant need for those purchasing products online. An excess of content is
merely a distraction to the user, especially advertisements, which have a tendency to do more
harm than good by taking up far too much space on a screen. The idea of content being king
does not apply to web design, because the usability of the interface is what the user wants
most of all.
By looking at mobile and the need to optimize information for a limited screen size, a
framework begins to develop for simplicity. Starting with the bare minimum and the idea of less
is more goes beyond usability. It is ease of use, the design aspect users want most. It is minimal
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web design, the combatant to excess of content in e-commerce. It is user experience on a
whole new level, creating a design for the user first. It is the answer to financial success with e-
commerce business as those users return as loyal customers, the conversion rate increases, and
profits soar due to eliminating complexity and championing simplicity. Minimal web design is
the answer; less really is more.
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Discussion
Minimal web design is an ideal solution to e-commerce businesses wanting to increase
conversion rates and profits by appeasing user needs. The solution must be examined more
thoroughly to gain an understanding of how a minimal web design framework could be
implemented. In addition, the validity of the solution must also be challenged due to the fact
that minimal web design is not a widely researched topic despite the growing prevalence of
usability.
Usability ROI Proof
All of the research showed a positive correlation between implementing a usability plan
and financial success. There are many different means of quantifying the return on investment
for usability, yet no study was found that showed a loss in profits after investing in usability.
Many of the research found incredible increases in sales almost immediately after a user-
focused redesign of a website. The research spanned companies of all sizes from around the
globe, and the same outcome was revealed again and again. Usability is worth the investment.
Businesses have the financials as proof.
Krug argues that usability is incredibly simple to implement, and even when factoring in
testing, still a small investment overall for the business (Krug 2014). Reiss explains that usability
testing was once perceived as being an expensive and time-consuming undertaking for
businesses, yet currently is as easy as following some “best practices” to revamp a website
(Reiss 2012). The bulk of Nielsen’s research focuses on exactly how much return on investment
can be expected based on the amount invested, specifically in terms of conversion rate (Nielsen
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2008). The bottom line of Nielsen’s research is that usability testing can be done with a nominal
investment and almost always is worthwhile to the business, versus the consequences of
ignoring usability (Nielsen 2006).
Challenging Conversion Rate
The research has shown conversion rate to be a viable means of measuring usability
success and proving return on investment from a business standpoint. Nielsen has been
researching the subject of conversion rate and the ROI of usability since the proliferation of the
World Wide Web in 1994 (Nielsen 2006). However, some may contest how important
conversion rate really is to financial growth for an e-commerce business. Earley challenges that
conversion rate is merely the final metric in a long chain of events between when the customer
begins interacting with the interface and when the purchase is made (Earley 2014). Marcus
argues that ROI must be measured through a variety of factors other than conversion rate, both
internal and external, as a means of quantifying usability (Marcus 2004).
Combating such challenges to the conversion rate metric is proven through the
enormous amount of research gathered on the importance of customer loyalty. A user is
merely someone interacting with a website, whereas a customer is a user that has purchased a
product or service and returned continually. The loyalty of a customer is vital to the success of
an e-commerce business, especially in the incredibly fast-paced technology environment.
Moreover, due to the incredible competition of the e-commerce industry, a returning customer
directly tied to business growth and profits. The main argument of Tahal’s paper is how
Thompson 22
important returning customer loyalty is to e-commerce businesses due to the highly
competitive nature of the online shopping market (Tahal 2014).
Earley bases the argument on the point that there are so many factors between when a
customer first enters a website and then completes a purchase (Earley 2014). This is true,
however the idea of usability is allowing the customer to complete a task as easily and quickly
as possible. Krug’s main argument is that a web designer must assist the user in reducing their
cognitive load and “not make them think” (Krug 2014). Conversion rate then is an extremely
important metric, despite the plethora of contributing factors. Users are impatient, have an
endless amount of choices online, and are easily frustrated. Why not make the goal of allowing
them to complete their task, return again as loyal customers, and have an overall pleasant
shopping experience?
Why Minimal Web Design?
Minimal web design is the solution to the problem of excess of content in e-commerce
businesses because it is the essence of ease of use. The research has proven ease of use to be
the most important factor in usability among users, shown across a variety of studies. No
matter what product or service a user is trying to purchase online, the ease of the task
completion is more important than any other factor. Web designers do not think like users and
are not the ideal group for building usable websites. Marketers think advertisements are
financially imperative for e-commerce whereas the research has shown users view them merely
as a distraction. Graphic designers think a website must be aesthetically pleasing, though the
research has shown visuals are far less important to the user than ease of use and high
Thompson 23
functionality. Business leaders think company goals are the best means of developing a
website, instead of allowing usability to be the driver of business.
The question then for e-commerce enterprises remains, how can minimal web design be
executed? Many companies are already creating minimal web design without even realizing it
by applying the “mobile first” strategy of web development. Mobile is an exceptional platform
for minimal web design that immediately optimizes information based on the limited amount of
screen space available. E-commerce businesses no longer can choose to design for mobile, but
now must due to the explosive growth of mobile recently. Yet why stop there? Mobile e-
commerce websites that are responsive and utilize recognizable design factors are the perfect
basis for online websites as well. Why complicate the design interface with an excess of
content? If businesses keep the simple and intuitive interface used in the mobile design, the
online websites are highly usable and customer-centric.
Mobile web design is a good example of “best practices” and its importance in the web
design industry. Because no base framework exists for web design, usability is generally
implemented by best practices. Many of these practices then become recognizable across many
successful websites and become common website conventions that are followed among
designers in a variety of fields and industries. The more often these best practices are followed
and conventions are established, the more the user will become accustomed to certain layouts.
Such common design aspects as a navigation bar on the top of the page, a logo in the upper left
corner, a shopping cart in the upper right corner, company information in the footer, etc. are all
conventions established through best practices. Though an e-commerce designer cannot follow
Thompson 24
a specific framework for minimal web design, certain best practices can be implemented as a
means of creating a highly usable e-commerce website.
Implication Suggestions
Due to the lack of research on minimal web design specifically, an e-commerce business
would not have a web design framework to build upon for a focus on ease of use specifically.
Below are 10 specific implementation suggestions that take into account best practices,
established website conventions, design principles, and usability heuristics. This will provide
specific implementation suggestions based on the solution from the research that an e-
commerce web designer could immediately use to create a proven and highly usable minimal
web design.
1. Simplicity: The core of minimal web design is simplicity. A design would utilize the
available screen space conservatively, especially with mobile platforms. The interface
would be built behind the idea of starting small and only adding what is the most
essential portions.
2. Consistency: The entire website architecture is consistent throughout. The user expects
uniformity with internal pages and having the same design layout and aesthetics
throughout the website reduces the cognitive load on the user and provides a constant
and professional interface.
3. Efficiency: Interactions with the website must be seamless. An interface must be devoid
of errors and bugs. A perfect organizational layout is useless if the user cannot access
Thompson 25
the website. With impatient users and a host of competition, an inefficient website
means a loss of business.
4. Flexibility: A website should be forgiving with users and allow them to recover from
errors quickly and easily. Testing is vital in identifying bugs before launching a redesign.
The interface should take advantage of technology in assisting users and reducing their
cognitive load by performing calculations, auto filling data, etc.
5. Predictability: Though no base web design exists, success in previous designs continues
to emerge in the form of website conventions. Having a predictable design means
adhering to website conventions and giving the user an interface where certain aspects
fit their expectations.
6. Responsiveness: A website should be responsive in order to support a variety of mobile
devices and screen sizes. The website should also be responsive with the user so as not
to leave the user confused and disconnected from the interface. Feedback provides the
user with assurance and comfort.
7. Compatibility: A design should be compatible with any platform. A user should not have
to choose one platform over the other because of the design. All information and
interactions should be equal across platforms and the user should be able to transfer
seamlessly between them.
8. Ease: User task completion is should be seamless and effortless. Users rank ease of use
the most important aspect of web design for good reason. A design should allow users
to complete their tasks as easily as possible. Any infringement on completing a task
could lead to the loss of a customer.
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9. Learnability: Loyalty is rewarded with an easy to learn interface. Users know website
conventions, however they still must learn a new design on an unfamiliar website. A
highly usable interface leads to a higher conversion rate, and therefore a returning
customer can enjoy a familiar design.
10. Control: The system allows the user to be in control. Beyond feedback and flexibility, a
user must feel like the interface is working for them instead of fighting to complete their
task. The more in control a user feels, the more comfortable they will be with the
interface and the completion of their tasks.
Whether a company should invest in usability is no longer a question. Previous research
has proven the financial return on usability is worthy of the initial investment. Challenging
metrics such as conversion rate only strengthen the argument that customer loyalty is
hugely important to the success of e-commerce businesses. Users continually stress the
importance of ease of use, which is the core of minimal web design. By providing 10
implication suggestions for a minimal web design framework, e-commerce businesses could
create highly successful and proven online interfaces that put customers first.
Thompson 27
Recommendations
Minimal web design is a new term and not widely recognized in the web design
industry. Whereas usability and user experience has grown in importance, especially with e-
commerce websites, simplicity is still seen only as a piece of usability, not a separate
framework. Moreover, mobile web design continues to grow in importance, though the
minimal aspects of the design type are not often cited as a basis for highly usable website
design. Though ease of use has emerged amongst plentiful usability research as a highly
important factor with users, it remains only a portion of usability as a whole.
Further research could be done to focus strictly on ease of use and a highly simple
intuitive web design interface. A recommended study would provide research subjects with two
e-commerce website mockups. The subjects will be tasked with completing a task such as
purchasing a product on the two websites. One website could have an excess of content
whereas the other could have a very simple interface. The observational study could then
collect data through surveys from the users describing their experiences interacting with the
two disparate website mockups. This could further solidify the argument that a simple interface
is better for users than an excess of content with e-commerce.
Additional research could be made for both academic and business purposes. How
simple could a design be? Many businesses may be wary of depleting their supply of content, so
research could be done to figure just how simple a website design can be. What’s the ROI of
minimal web design? There are a wealth of figures proving usability ROI, though the financial
return on a highly intuitive and simplified interface would be viable for a minimal web design
Thompson 28
argument. How well does a mobile design translate to a website? Mobile first is one way of
designing a website, but keeping the minimal aspects of a mobile design instead of adding too
much content could prove the success of simplicity. Undoubtedly more research could be done
on the relatively new topic of minimal web design that would benefit businesses and users.
Thompson 29
Conclusion
Minimal web design has proven to increase profitability for e-commerce businesses.
Companies that ignore usability and deliver an excess of content are hurting financially for a
reason. On the contrary, websites that are built on highly usable interfaces, designed for the
user, with ease of use as a main factor of development that meet the needs of the users are
beating the competition. This type of minimal web design is simple, optimized, intuitive, and
enjoyable for users. It allows users to complete their tasks and return to the e-commerce
websites as loyal customers. Minimal web design increases conversion rates and in turn
company profits. If a website cannot be used effectively, why even have one at all? Why have
an e-commerce business in the first place? For success in e-commerce, simplicity is far better
than complexity.
Thompson 30
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