Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Pay-Per-BookingUsability Test ResultsConducted by Jayne SchurickUsability Consultantjschurick@gmail.com(408)353-1293
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Objectives
•Determine whether users can complete the sign-up process and understand the next stepsonce they’re done.
•Determine how satisfied they are with the overall user experience, specifically complexity andthe amount of time it takes.
•Identify usability issues with the sign-up process.
•If they use a competitor for pay-for-booking, how this experience compares.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Test Format and Participants
•Remote test using WebEx to allow experts to view and control the computer displaying theprototype
•Conducted March 11-12, 2013
•5 owners:
–4 advertises on HA and VRBO, 1 advertises on VRBO only
–1 also advertises on Flipkey
–All annual subscribers, not interested in pay-per-booking and don’t use it on competitorsites
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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General Issues and Comments
•The participants tested were all current owners who have a subscription and don’t have aneed for pay-per-booking.
•All had been through HA’s sign-up process, which this process parallels, and so were basicallyfamiliar with the steps and flow. HA should really consider conducting a test with owners whoare new to the website, and who even need to make a decision between a subscription andpay-per-booking.
•That said, all of the participants understood the use case of a pay-per-booking model,especially for events or infrequent rentals.
•One participant noted (but it’s a very valid point) that the overall flow seems backwards: HAshould sell the listing first, and then have users sign up and pay. “I don’t pay before I find adress.” There might be higher conversion if users expend some energy to create a listing, andthen have an opportunity to view their listing and visualize its potential. Right now, they haveto pay a lot of money and go on blind faith that it will be worth it.
•As with most (all?) pages on homeaway.com, much of the content doesn’t have sufficientcontrast to meet minimum accessibility standards.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Landing Page
•Even though this page wasn’t officially part of thetest, there was some feedback that might be usefulto Marketing:
–The destination search bar is distracting and notrelevant to the purpose of this page.
–“Advertise for free” isn’t accurate; owners stillhave to pay, it’s just a different model.
•With respect to page design, the links (buttons?,tabs?) don’t stand out; many participants didn’t seethem and later on mentioned wanting details abouthow pay-per-booking works and how much it costs.
•It’s also not clear how these links work – do theyfunction as links and bring up a new page, or do theyfunction as tabs and just change the content in themiddle? If they are tabs, it would be helpful if theylooked more connected to the content, anddisconnected from the form on the right.
•One participant, a UX designer, thought the title“Start your listing today” was premature andunnecessary. She also suggested not showing themap in the picture.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Account Information
•One participant noted that “pay-per-booking” was anew term being introduced after she had been soldon “advertise for free.” These didn’t jive.
•On this and all pages that have help balloons thatrefer to the entire page or section, the arrow shouldpoint to the title (Contact Information, MailingAddress). Some participants thought it was pointingto an individual field.
•It’s not clear that users can quit the process andreturn later to pick up where they left off. Thereneeds to be a “save” function on every page:
–Place a “Save for later” link between Back andNext.
–Add a “Save” link and rename the button to “Saveand Continue.”
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Security Questions
•The page name/breadcrumb “Security Questions”doesn’t encompass creating a password. There wereseveral suggestions:
–Include password creation on the previous page,“Account Information.”
–Include both password creation and the securityquestions on the “Account Information” page, andeliminate the page/step entirely.
–Rename this page to “Password and Security” orjust “Security.”
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Listing Builder Hub Step 1
•Participants understood this page and that theyreturned to it after completing each section (hub andspoke).
•Most participants felt that they did not need to see alist of what they would need to create their listing(photos and banking information (which is actuallymentioned in step 2)).
•Most participants did not know that they could leavethe process and come back at a later time to finish. Inaddition to making this explicit on each page, thereneeds to be a distinction on the hub about whichsteps are complete and available to edit vs. whichhave missing required content. For example, usersshouldn’t have to guess which sections they need toedit in order to complete their listing. (Or will thesesections be shown with a “Setup” button?)
•If users leave the process with missing data in steps1, 2 and 4, will steps 2 and 4 be grayed out (but notstep 3) so that the working order is preserved? Whatif, upon returning, they want to work on step 2 butnot step 1? Will they have to walk through that first?
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Listing Basics
•No issues.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
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Listing Basics
•Participants understood how to edit their addressand advertising region, although one was concernedabout allowing owners to choose their advertisingregion, saying some owners in her area select a moredesirable region and advertise a less expensivehome, which devalues the homes that are actually inthat region.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Listing Basics
•Participants liked seeing the number of charactersavailable for their description. They would also like itfor the headline.
•It seems that the headline field could be expanded toaccommodate the length of the headline.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
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Listing Basics
•No issues. The only suggestion made by a couple ofparticipants was to offer a way to reduce the size ofphotos that are too big.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Listing Builder Hub Step 2
•After completing step 2, one participant noted thatit’s not really about booking guests, it’s about guestpayments.
•At about this point in the process, participants werestarting to ask about the details of the program andhow much it costs. It seems that making thisinformation available would help to keep them onthis page.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Booking Guests
•No issues.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
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Listing Builder Hub Step 3
•At some point in the process, participants realizedthat there’s not an option to see the listing they arecreating as guests would see it. This would beextremely helpful by allowing users to visualize theirlisting and where they can make improvements.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Rates & Fees
•When asked what the most challenging step was inthe entire process, no one mentioned setting uprates. However, this appeared to present the mostusability challenges of all.
•First, it appeared that many users would simply entertheir event name into the “season name” text box.Most participants had to be coached to open thedrop-down and select “Event pricing.” Once they didthat, adding the rate was pretty clear.
•One participant noted that guests might want to adddays onto the beginning or end of the event to enjoyother activities in the area, and it this would takeadvance thought and planning to create this. Do youset up additional events, or do you set a standardprice and leave the dates negotiable?
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Rates & Fees
•This message looks like the user made an error (anddepending on the viewing angle, reinforced by a pinkbackground). The problem is that users should betold up front that they need to cover all dates, notfinish the task they set out to do and then discoverthere’s more. (An analogy is entering a password andthen finding out that it needs to be 8 characters withone number and a special character.)
•The only choices are to add standard pricing or blockthe dates, but conceivably users might want to addseasonal pricing or additional events.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
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Listing Builder Hub Step 4
•How would users edit their banking information instep 2?
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
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Policies
•Participants noted that 5 days is not an appropriate“moderate” cancellation policy. (This might just be aprototype issue.)
•Several participants wanted to specify their owncancellation policy. “Why should I have to choose oneset by HomeAway? It’s just data in a database.”
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Listing Builder Hub
•No issues.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
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Tour
•No issues….well, one participant questioned theheader font.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
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Recommendations
All pages
•If balloon help refers to the entire page or section, point the arrow at the page or section title.Alternatively remove the arrow; don’t point at anything.
•Add functionality to indicate that users can save their work and come back at a later time tofinish.
•Add functionality to allow users to view their listing as it is being created.
Landing page
•Remove the destination search bar.
•Provider appropriate and accurate message (e.g., advertising isn’t free). If this model isreferred to as pay-per-booking on other pages, introduce that term here.
•Provide some dimensionality and/or design to make the links (Overview, What It Costs, etc.)stand out and look more clickable.
•Design the page to use headings and color to focus the user on the most important messagesand call-to-action (the form). Currently there are too many things calling for attention.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Recommendations
Security Questions
•Rename the page to “Security” or consider making password creation and the securityquestions part of the Account Information step.
Hub
•Indicate which steps are complete and available for editing vs. which have missing requiredinformation.
•Plan for what is grayed out if users quit and then return to complete their listing. Ideally theyshouldn’t have to walk through incomplete steps in order to work on another step. On theother hand, the presentation of the page on initial and subsequent visits should be consistent.(Perhaps steps that have been visited and saved, plus the next logical step are not gray???)
•Offer prominent links to program details and what it costs.
•Rename “Booking Guests” to “Guest Payments.”
Listing Basics
•Expand the headline text box to accommodate all characters.
•Indicate the number of characters remaining for the headline.
Pay-Per-View Usability Test Results
Conducted 3/11-12, 2013
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Recommendations
Rates & Fees
•While this was the most challenging step, there are no recommendations because this flow isbeing tested in more detail.
Policies
•Allow users to specify their own cancellation policy.
Finally…
•In a larger design and usability effort, examine the overall flow of setting up an account andpaying before creating a listing.
•As part of a much larger effort, examine contrast and other barriers to accessibility on all HAwebsites and pages.