Patterns of Use
[ Posted by Dan on November 14, 2002 | 0 Comments ]

<incoherent blathering>
When building a web site and working with a client, I often refer to patterns of use regarding how the current site (if any) is being used or how the upcoming site will be used. I often make the point that the user will find the easiest way they can to get maximum value out of the site. So why not make that pattern of use as easy as possible and adopt that system?

I have found that the pattern of use for this site has little to do with referrers from other sites, or browsing from page to page. I've provided links going forward and backwards from each page, and have put in links to categories of posts, but those links seem to be rarely used.

Most often, readers are using bookmarks to go to the home page or are using RSS aggregators to read the site. If this were a commercial site that earned cash from adverts, would I adopt the patterns of use that are evident from server logs? Probably not, and this shows a fundamental disconnect between how the business wants you to use the system and how the user wants to extract maximum value from it.
</incoherent blathering>

 

Comment posting has been turned off because I don't have enough time and will to deal with the constant comment spamming. I'm very sorry and will fix this sometime soon (soon = before 2004 ends).