Interaction Design flaws - Tomshardware.com's language selection screen
One of the fundamentals in UI design is "Don't make the user think". The more he thinks, the more he gets confused. To explain this, let us take the Language selection screen in Tomshardware.com website.
Recently Toms Hardware, included an option to choose languages. And a new visitor will be greeted with a "Select a Language" screen. This happens only when the visitor visits the site for the first time. Once a language is selected, a permanent cookie will be set and the UI will not appear again.
The Interaction flaw : A new visitor may not know which one to click, whether to click the "Continue" button or any one of the links given below. The first line says "Toms Hardware English Website [Continue]". Also, the options "British" and "US English" appears again in the below given options making the user to think "which one should i click?"
So what could be the fix to this issue? The goal is to make the user select his language. So let us make it simple for him. Remove the "Continue" button and re-phrase the "Select another language" to "Select your language". This will reduce the amount of time taken spent at this screen.
Extension - Practical Issues : Many users has the habit of cleaning their browser cache once in a week or some specific period of time. So a "Select Language" screen popping up once in a week or some time later, is a real nuisance rather than a convenience. To fix this, the language selection screen should be removed. Let the user select his language on top of the web page. Track the IP address and locate the visitor's geography and open the relevant site. This is the optimal user experience.
Recently Toms Hardware, included an option to choose languages. And a new visitor will be greeted with a "Select a Language" screen. This happens only when the visitor visits the site for the first time. Once a language is selected, a permanent cookie will be set and the UI will not appear again.
The Interaction flaw : A new visitor may not know which one to click, whether to click the "Continue" button or any one of the links given below. The first line says "Toms Hardware English Website [Continue]". Also, the options "British" and "US English" appears again in the below given options making the user to think "which one should i click?"
So what could be the fix to this issue? The goal is to make the user select his language. So let us make it simple for him. Remove the "Continue" button and re-phrase the "Select another language" to "Select your language". This will reduce the amount of time taken spent at this screen.
Extension - Practical Issues : Many users has the habit of cleaning their browser cache once in a week or some specific period of time. So a "Select Language" screen popping up once in a week or some time later, is a real nuisance rather than a convenience. To fix this, the language selection screen should be removed. Let the user select his language on top of the web page. Track the IP address and locate the visitor's geography and open the relevant site. This is the optimal user experience.
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