This week we’ve run YellowPages.com through the initial feedback test to see what users think of its usability. This is what the site looked like at the time of the test:
Yellow Pages Local Directory

What Does This Website Do?

  1. This is an internet “telephone book”. Maps and directions are also available.
  2. I think the website is a directory of information that one may wish to search for for business listings or persons. A person looking at the website can find specific information like a person’s/businesses’ phone number and address. There are also business reviews.
  3. It allows you to look for businesses in the different cities of the country. It makes it especially easy since you can search by the type of business or the name of it.
  4. It is a website designed to do what a yellow phone book does.
  5. Online yellowpages to help you find phone numbers and addresses for businesses and people.
  6. It is a directory. It allows me to look up for people, addresses, phone numbers and businesses. It is basically a one stop site to search for anything.
  7. It is the website for the yellowpages, an online phone book.
  8. It is a yellow pages.com site to find businesses, find people, get directions
  9. This appears to be a yellow pages search page. It’s already set to my home town with names of “popular businesses” on the right hand side.
  10. Business & phone number look up.

Yellow Pages is a very well known and recognizable brand, and one can imagine the purpose of the website without ever visiting it, so this wasn’t a difficult question to answer. What do the reviewers like about the site?

Best Current Feature

  1. The AT&T wi-fi hotspot feature appears to be very useful for those using that carrier.
  2. I think the best feature at the moment would probably the be WiFi Hot Spot listings.
  3. The list of popular businesses to the right.
  4. The bright yellow that surrounds the search engine. It’s eye catching and instantly grabs a person’s attention.
  5. The yellow color of the heading along with the center image.
  6. The best feature for me is the Mobile and More feature. A lot of people like to text and this will be helpful for people who are on the go. Information will be just a text away.
  7. The prominent search bar location–easy to use the web page’s primary feature.
  8. The cool spots picture in the middle of the page is an extra benefit. I also like the popular businesses on the right side of page.
  9. I like the link to area AT&T Wi-fi spots. Also, I like the reviews of area places.
  10. I like the black with the yellow. Most website don’t seem to like to use black, yet I find it makes things stand out more. I like that it isn’t for just business or people, it’s for both. Maps & Directions are great as well. It’s one stop look-up.

The reviewers like the directory of WiFi hotspots, and the color scheme used on the site. Additionally, the primary feature of the site is popular; the directory of local businesses. This is good. You want your visitors to be drawn to your primary function and find it easy and inviting to use.

What features would the reviewers like added or improved upon?

1 Thing to Improve

  1. More major city links on the home page would be useful.
  2. I think it would be better if there were more reviews and that the listings could be arranged by highest ratings.
  3. Have the design of the page have a little less white showing. With the dark colors of black and yellow, it only makes the white seem brighter then it is and it tends to hurt my eyes when that happens.
  4. Fewer advertisements.
  5. Remove the ads and Cool Spots, etc. from the middle of the page and replace with an easy way to browse to find categories of businesses.
  6. A more interactive site. I would like the site to have a 3D feature on maps and directions. It would be very useful when visiting an unfamiliar area.
  7. The “popular searches” could be made more prominent.
  8. I would like to see popular businesses more central in the page.
  9. The ‘Cool Spots’ could be targeted geographically, featuring spots in my state.
  10. A couple of the businesses listed on the right aren’t really in my area, they are much further out. Also, there are only 3 reviews on there so far, and there are hundreds of restaurants and bars in my area to be reviewed.

Most of the reviewers offer great suggestions that would improve their search results for local businesses, make the popular local businesses more prominent, and provide geo targeted results in the Cool Spots feature. Most people visiting Yellow Pages are looking for local business results, so tightening up and improving those results should be their top focus. Working these suggestions into the site and then retesting would show their value.