Tumblr.com, launched in 2007, aims to provide a really simple and quick way to blog, and connect with other bloggers. We ran the site through our initial test to see if it reaches that goal. This is what the site looked like at the time of the test:

What Does This Website Do?

1. This website seems to host people’s blogs on various subjects. Click on any “bubble” on the homepage to view a blog.
   
2. It provides a simple way to blog.
   
3. On Tumblr, anyone can post anything, pictures, opinions, reviews, etc. The posting can be customized any way one wants.
   
4. This website allows users to create an account and blog with ease. It seems to have templates or a simple way to customize.
   
5. It allows you to host a blog and enables you to talk to friends and meet new people. It lets you share art, photography, music and humor.
   
6. Provides a place for individuals to post blogs.
   
7. This website appears to be a user-based blog page. I associated it with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace etc.
   
8. It is a blogging platform. A easier way to blog.
   
9. The site is a blog for just about anything or any topic for anybody.
   
10. This website is like Blogspot where you can sign up for a webpage and post your blog.

Everyone knows right away it’s a blogging platform, but that’s not surprising considering the size of the font that greets you on the page. It’s eye catching, short and simple.

What did they really like about Tumblr.com?

Best Current Feature

1. I like reading blogs and the homepage provides easy access to a wide variety. The simple, uncluttered layout/design of the page is unassuming and is a nice change from the busy designs of other pages.
   
2. The simplicity of the interface is the best feature.
   
3. The postings placed right upfront on this web page makes this site look friendly and inviting. I feel welcome to become a member and make postings of my own right away.
   
4. The site looks interesting and inviting. The directory allows users to quickly locate blogs of interest. Help page seems to be pretty thorough.
   
5. The well constructed directory and search engine. The fact that you can talk to friends and meet new people.
   
6. It appears to be user-friendly and accessible. It also appears to actually have users.
   
7. The directory tab on the web page is excellent. To be very specific, the categorization according to country is very useful.
   
8. The popular blogs from the Tumblr network shown on the main page is the best current feature.
   
9. The variety of submissions helps make the site match various interests. Some of the submissions were funny.
   
10. iChat. That feature is not available on Blogspot.

The things they like are the two tasks Tumblr needs to execute well; the simplicity in the design, and the categorized directory of blogs from interesting people. That’s good news.

What are the some of the suggestions people have for improving the site?

1-Thing to Improve

1. It could have a breakdown of blogs by category–fashion, poetry, art, cars, etc. This would make it easier to find a blog that one would be interested in.
   
2. Have more information about how it works on the home page, instead of so many blog entries that most users probably won’t care about.
   
3. There doesn’t seem to be a simple way of navigating back to the homepage from a blog. (I wound up hitting the back button.) As a first time visitor, I really had to dig around to find “about” info. Would be cool to have that link at the top. I don’t sign up for things until I know a bit about them.
   
4. The one thing that could possibly make the site more interesting is if the background were to contain some images or colors or something along those lines. The dark blue makes the site look a bit bland or ordinary.
   
5. I don’t like the way the blogs are listed working down the page. There is no rhyme or reason to the list. I’m sure these are not the only blogs available. But no themes, categories, or other manner of organization.
   
6. The website needs a little more explicit information on how it is actually supposed to be used. What sets it apart from any other website that provides a user-based forum and if this is not it’s purpose, what is?
   
7. The design and the layout of the web page is quite simple/ordinary. A better layout and a better design would make this web page look more pleasant.
   
8. Give a better description of the process and what Tumblr is on the main page so that users will be drawn in.
   
9. It would be nice because of the various topics submitted or being talked about to have a grouping by subject. Doing this would allow a person to pick the blogs that interest them.
   
10. I don’t like the home page. I don’t like how there’s random blogs that doesn’t make any sense.

So, it looks like the design might be too simple and plain for some people, while others aren’t immediately sure how to sign up or what to do if they did sign up. A couple people pointed out a lack of categorization of the blogs, but this has been done on the Directory page, so I don’t consider that indicative of the website design or layout.

There are some good suggestions in there that could improve Tumblr’s first impression and usability, and the solutions would be very easy. Implementing some of these changes and then running a new test through 3rd Party Feedback could provide input on the success of those changes.

Brewhouse.net is the site designed to promote Fitger’s Brewhouse Brewery & Grille in Duluth, Minnesota. We’ve run this site through the initial feedback test to see if visitors thought it accomplished what it was meant to. This is what the site looked like at the time of the test:

What Does This Website Do?

1. The website is an interactive advertisement for Fitger’s Brewhouse Brewery and Grille. There are links to the menu and local brewery. Very interesting web page with all kinds of information about Fitger’s Brewhouse. Looks like a really fun place to grab a beer and some food!
   
2. This website gives information about the “Fitger’s Brewhouse”; what beer they brew, their menu, as well as the activities associated with their brewpub.
   
3. This gives the details of the place where someone can enjoy handcrafted beer, good food and entertainment. It also provides the working hours information along with a link to contact them over phone, e-mail. It also has the address and the link for bookings.
   
4. The website is the homepage and advertising center for ‘The Brewhouse’. It has information about products, bands performing, the venue, and upcoming events.
   
5. This website has been designed for the BrewHouse Brewery and Grille. The website lists Music Events that are happening around town and it also displays a variety of beers for tasting.
   
6. This website informs the potential customer about events and food & drinks served. I love the graphics and the colors of your website.
   
7. It is the website for a brewhouse. It serves to tell patrons of the bar’s music schedule, drinks, and menu.
   
8. It is a brewery and grill restaurant business web site.
   
9. This website provides an event calendar as well as menu information for a brewhouse. It clearly describes the brew that are on tap and available for purchase. It provides general contact information and the hours of operation.
   
10. It’s a page allowing people to vote for their favorite type of beer at a microbrewery. it also allows them to sign up for an RSS feed with news from the brewpub.

None of the reviewers were confused about what the site is promoting, which is a good sign. If you don’t capture your intended audience within the first few moments, you’ll lose them. Locals who comes across this site while searching for a place to grab a beer, and maybe catch a live band, will know they’re in the right place right away.

Now let’s see what the reviewers really like about it.

Best Current Feature

1. I really enjoy the pop-up and movement of the different web site tabs. I don’t know the technical terms for what they are called but it makes navigating through the page a lot more fun and interesting for the user opposed to clicking through a web page that does nothing. I think this keeps the browsers attention and gives them more reason to look around, if for no other reason than to cure the curiosity.
   
2. Fitger’s history page is quite interesting.And the sliding/switching over of pages was nicely done.
   
3. The best feature is the music schedule. I like how it slides.
   
4. I LOVE the flash animations, they are great. The page is very interactive, which kept me viewing the page longer. The site is clean, organized, and flows very well.
   
5. I consider the Music Schedule area on the homepage to be the best current feature on this webpage because it will give the visitors to the site something interesting to know about the town besides what the BrewHouse has to offer.
   
6. One of the best features of your website is that it is action oriented. You feel like you are being entertained and informed at the same time.
   
7. I think the animation is really good, and I like the toned-down colors. There is also a lot of valuable information contained on the main page alone.
   
8. Flat out the flash presentation is awesome. The interactive pop up tabs, the look and feel of the site are extremely inviting and very professional. Nice color scheme, great background textures. Also seems there is the most important info out in the open with no interaction needed.
   
9. Though everything in this site is really good, but for me the music part of the site is considered to be the best current feature of this webpage.
   
10. I like that it is compact and to the point. Doesn’t spread out over the page. The colors are good and go with the theme.

Two things immediately stick out to the reviewers: the flash animation and the music event information. They love the flash menus because they feel interactive, and it allows the design to remain centered, compact and organized. 

There are some risks to keep in mind when designing an all-flash site. There’s the possibility of limiting your site’s visibility within search engines, so while it might be more interesting, it could be reaching a smaller audience. Additionally, there’s load time to consider for viewers on slower connections or older browsers. If you don’t offer an HTML version of your site, you could be losing visitors.

What did the reviewers think could be improved?

1-Thing to Improve

1. The two pop-ups on either side of the main page are a little low for my liking. If they were elevated to a point where more of the words were shown (especially on the left) it would be less frustrating. People want good visual effects and ease. Nothing too challenging or frustrating.
   
2. Below the street address I would add the city so if you find the side randomly you can quickly locate it physically.
   
3. May be it could have had a provision for customers to review the place.
   
4. I would like the site to be a little brighter.
   
5. I would like the hours, contact info, and location to be more noticeable.The “weekly” events tab could stick out more as well.
   
6. This webpage seems to be unfinished so in order to make the webpage better, it would be a good idea to catch up and fill in information where it is needed.
   
7. Overall this is an awesome website design. The only thing I would add would possibly be pictures of the food along with the description.
   
8. I’m not a huge fan of the links all being at the top…maybe make them a little easier to find?
   
9. In my opinion you need a basic HTML version of the site also. You need to be able to select it upon going to the site. I did not see that. I have great bandwidth so the site loaded almost instant, but it seems it could really slow somebody down to the point of leaving before loading. Otherwise the site is fantastic. Throw in a mutable background soundtrack and you are golden.
   
10. The weekly events tab text is hard to see, as it is obscured.

They seemed to pick up on a few of the things I noticed upon visiting. The location of the brewery isn’t immediately clear, one of the animated link tabs on the bottom of the page drops down lower than my task bar when moused over, and there isn’t an HTML version of the site to select from the front page. Flash can be very eye catching and appealing, but many people prefer HTML sites and like to have the option.

Flash sites are currently unusable by mobile users, including iPhone, Treo, and Blackberry visitors. Providing a usable interface for that crowd could get more people in the door who are already out and about.

The overall impression seems to be a positive one, with some room for improvement. Addressing the areas for improvement, then re-testing the site on 3rdPartyFeedback.com would help confirm the value of changes.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created a page centered around the H1N1 Flu, otherwise known as Swine Flu. We’ve run this portion of the CDC website through our introductory test to see how people feel about it.

What Does This Site Do?

1. This site explains CDC’s actions concerning H1N1 flu, what individuals can do to stay healthy, and where the flu has been found in the US to date. There are links that provide additional information depending on who you are and how you may be infected.
2. The website CDC as its title suggests is a site dedicated for Disease Control and Prevention. The site is primarily meant as a resource center for credible health information. The contents on the site can be used as a guidance for professionals and ordinary folk alike.
3. This website is for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) the specific page has to do with the H1N1 flu or also known as the swine flu. It gives info on the virus and info on the spread of the infection.
4. It provides information and resources about the H1N1 flu (Swine flu).
5. This website provides an excellent source for all your health related inquiries. This website provides the latest health information and the widespread infections in the world.
6. It’s a site about health, diseases, precautions. It also keeps the public updated about latest health concerns. Its basically for people of US by the US government.
7. Keeps you informed about the H1N1 (also known as Swine Flu) virus.
8. This webpage provides information about the swine flu, such as number of cases and deaths per state. Good, descriptive information about swine flu is provided as well as informational updates. It also provides tips on staying healthy.
9. The general public can look at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website covering health issues to get updates, data, and guidance. Health professions can also download specific guidelines related to the treatment/prevention of certain outbreaks.
10. This website provides the most currently known facts about the new H1N1, or “Swine”, flu virus.

People understand the purpose of the site, but the flu has been very public, so it’s not surprising.

What is This Website’s Best Feature?

1. The chart really stands out. It provides information immediately. For example, you can quickly scan and see just how many cases are in your state.
2. The contents are not only useful for the professionals but are equally useful for the man on the street. The subject is presented in a simple and easy to read format which can be understood even by a layman. Clinical guidance together with treatment, travel, laboratory and emergency personal guidance are the strong points of the site.
3. Easy to read and understand information is given in layman terms and is divided so that one can find information at a glance.
4. RSS is used by many people. Twitter is comparatively new but many people especially youngsters use Twitter. I think its good that the site also has Twitter.
5. The best feature is probably the Flu Chart by the States. It is the 1st thing you see when you get to the website which is what people want.
6. I like the chart that displays cases and deaths per state. The chart will allow people to see how much the area they live in is being impacted. The chart is just the right size to grab your attention and make an impact.
7. The menu down the left side of the page makes the page user-friendly. The links are comprehensive so someone can quickly find what they want.
8. My favorite feature was the chart of cases per state. I liked this because it really showed where the danger zones of the country are.
9. Information is easy to access and laid out in a logical fashion. The appearance of the webpage is plain and dignified in keeping with the seriousness of the subject, which inspires confidence in the validity of the info.
10. I think that the best part of this webpage is that they tell us about the precautions and measures to be taken from preventing ourselves from the swine flu.

The big hit appears to be the chart showing the cases per state, which is also not that surprising. But it’s front and center, so they definitely know what people want to see right away.

What is 1 Thing This Site Could Do Better?

1. The information on protecting yourself is not front and center and that is just as important as the chart. The information on what CDC is doing to respond is not as important, yet it is the first thing that grabs your attention.
2. The site needs to be made more attractive. Color combination of headlines and fonts may be changed to make the site really attractive.
3. Only one thing comes to mind that in my opinion would make the page more appealing is perhaps some contrast in color. Have the boxed info stand out a little more with a contrasting color.
4. Provide a little perspective about this flu. For example, 35,000 people died from the regular flu last year. People should be more concerned about washing their hands during the regular flu season.
5. I did not like the links provided to various alphabets. They take a very long time in opening. Instead a link to separate page can be provided in which all the information is arranged alphabetically.
6. I would recommend making the title “Swine Flu” a little bigger font.  That is the term everyone is hearing about and is concerned about, so it should be more prominent.  The medical name is important as well, but Swine Flu needs to be a little bigger and bolder.
7. I’d like to look up my geographical area to find out if/what anything is going on that I need to worry about.  There could be a map of the US where I could link on the Southeast, or I could put in my zip code.
8. Well, I’ve always been a fan of the CDC’s layout.  It’s always been informative to me whenever I needed, however I think they could add in some user-interactive content for people who aren’t medically inclined and need extra immersion into the material.
9. As a near-sighted person I like when the default type is a little larger but I can adjust it so this is a small matter.
10. I think the symptoms of the flu should be mentioned there. Also the emergency contact number should also be provided there.

The suggestions vary, but a few of them indicate people would like to have more basic, high level information about the flu right out on the front page, without having to dig for what they consider to be most important; symptoms, emergency contact information, how to prevent it.

According to the Chief Marketing Officer for Dairy Queen, one of the challenges the restaurant chain faces offline is that they’re turnaround is slow compared to that of competitors. This makes it a tough choice for people during lunch where time is tight.

However, it’s not just the stores that are slow (see screenshot of the slow loading Flash animation). Their website is too.

Below is feedback from 10 visitors to DairyQueen.com who seem to like the site overall but consistently complain that the site is much too slow – even on fact Internet connections.

What does this website do?

1. The website is about Dairy Queen. Where you can learn more about their menu items, featured items and find the closest Dairy Queen to you. You can also shop for Dairy Queen gift cards or buy a Dairy Queen inspired shirt. If you ever dreamed about owning a Dairy Queen, you can find out information about owning your own store.
2. Provides you with information about dairy queen.
3. It is a company based website for Dairy Queen. It was made to update you on everything related to DQ. You can use this website to find everything from menu items to updates on recalls.
4. The web site tells you about Dairy Queen, their products, etc.
5. Introduces you to the Dairy Queen product line and online games.
6. This website is a fun and interactive way to view what Dairy Queen has to offer you; whether that is hot eats and cool treats starting your own franchise.
7. This website allows you to explore various parts fo the Dairy Queen chain: looking at the menu, finding a location, play games, etc.
8. It promotes everything related to Dairy Queen from the food products to franchise opportunities, etc.
9. Based on the first few minutes spent on the web page, it seems to be the official website for promoting Dairy Queen products and company.
10. This is the official website of the Dairy Queen company, which operates the ice cream restaurant chain of the same name.

Great. It’s very clear what the website does.

What is the site’s best feature?

1. The best feature on the website is the blizzard fan club, a place where you can sign up to receive emails about the featured flavor of the month and to get some great coupon deals.
2. Ability to locate the closest location as well as be able to review the menu.
3. The fact that they had the link that let everyone know that they were not involved with the peanut butter recall was my favorite feature.
4. The pictures of the food.
5. The “Birds Eye View” feature is very cool.
6. The simple easy layout and fun interactive graphics are the best things on this page. Nothing is too complicated to find and the site is fun to navigate!
7. The interactive nature of the webstie makes it interesting to explore.
8. The nutrition calculator. I like when food places offer this on the menu. Having it online is the next best thing, I guess.
9. I think the best feature of this site is the nutritional calculator. This allows you to plan your meal ahead of time. Especially helpful for those following a diet plan.
10. The best current feature on the Dairy Queen site is the DQ Store Locator, which allows users to find a restaurant near them, and even print out a map and directions to it from wherever they are.

People love the information they find on the site.

What is 1-thing this site could do better?

1. One thing that could make this web page better would be for Dairy Queen to actually list their menu items and prices.
2. Something other than a black screen as it loads. It takes WAY too long to load.
3. I would put specials and coupons like a web-based only offer. That would get more people using you site!!!

4. The animation loads kind of slow on a 1MB DSL connection. Make this load faster.
5. When I load the page the lady talking seems to freeze and just doesn’t seem right. When I click on her to try to get her to talk again it’s like she isn’t even on the screen as I end up clicking on the hamburger flipping activity which is “behind” her.
6. I would like to hear a sound based description of what I’m hovering over.
7. Have pull down tabs at the top of the page where for the 4 categories at the top to see what they feature.
8. I would like to be able to turn the sound off if I don’t want to hear the music and sound effects while navigating.
9. Get rid of the very slow loading and seemingly pointless smiling mouth introduction.
10. I think that the pictures and animations could be better optimized because it takes ages for each page to load. I have a quite good connection (2Mbs) but it doesn’t help a lot.

Oh my. This is a problem. A slow loading website frustrates people, and takes away the eager anticipation they had of looking up the location of their nearest DQ. Hopefully, DQ’s customers are patient enough to put up with the delays. However, a better solution would be to solve the load time issue.

Mahalo.com launched in May 2007 as a human edited search engine where actual humans hand-edited search results for popular search terms. The site then back-filled remaining results with Google powered search results.

As is often the case with start-ups, the product has evolved over the past 19 months. Today, the site offers a mix of features rather than a singular focus. Is that good or bad? That’s for Mahalo.com to decide.

Below is feedback from ten of 3rd Party Feedback’s reviewers based on what the site looked like yesterday.

Mahalo.com – January 17, 2009

Let’s see what they had to say:

What Does This Website Do?

1. It’s a site for questions & answers. Members ask questions other answer. You get points which is great, you start with 50 points. There is also a live blog.
2. A search engine with local (Mahalo) results & Google results. Includes news service and “answers” service.
3. This website seems to be a comprehensive source of news and information and also provides answers to queries. I have also heard that this site functions as a search engine, though this was not readily apparent.
4. This is a website that offers stories and blogs for everything that is news and entertainment.
5. Offers various news stories in a “Yahoo style” kind of way.
6. Mahalo provides news, blogs updates, and answers to questions.
7. Gives up-to-date news, celebrity gossip etc. Has running blog with continuous story feeds. Has ask a question section where you can pay to have questions answered. And has feature stories section
8. Its a current news page with a live blog sections.
9. Its a news website, and post live blogs
10. The website has news information, how to information, answers to questions, and much more.

What’s interesting to me about the above feedback is the inconsistency of the results. People have different ideas what problem Mahalo.com is designed to solve. This isn’t necessarily a problem as long as people visiting the site find something of value. However, it could be a problem if the lack of focus confuses people, thus causing them to lunge for their browser’s back button.

Best Current Feature

1. The answer and questions feature is definitely the best feature.
2. The current news viewer mid-page is really nice. Javascript is the way to go. The headlines are current & accurate. Dependable!
3. The “Mahalo News” feature is well-designed and easy to navigate and browse.
4. I think the best feature on the page is the tabs at the top, for the biggest top stories available. It’s easy to find and I like the format of it.
5. The “Mahalo answers” feature is mildly interesting. Otherwise the offerings are average. Nothing else stands out.
6. The running blog is neat,something new constantly.
7. It has up to date news
8. I liked the news information on the homepage. I also liked the design of the homepage.’
9. I like the colors and the design of the website.
10. I personally like the LiveBlog, it’s neat to have news coming in like that on an immediate basis, I like that a lot. I don’t like having to search for my news and having all the current stuff there in one convenient place is great.

The freshness of news on the homepage is a definite standout. That’s good news is that’s the primary goal of the site. Originally, I believe the goal was to create a powerful search experience that allowed the company to serve up high margin pay per click ads against those search results. If that’s where the real money is, the news content may be a distraction. On the other hand, if the news aggregation feature keeps people coming back to the site, it may be the draw that leads to more searches.

1-Thing to Improve

1. A description of some sort. It’s just a blob-page that once you click around you find out what it is. Not a description I guess as much as an “introduction” or something like that.
2. This website could be improved by making clear its function. It would be more valuable to me if I knew exactly how it is “there to help” and what makes it unique.
3. I would change the way the Live Blog looks. It’s too big and bulky looking.
4. Find a feature or offering that really stands out. Perhaps a way to personalize the information.
5. When clicking on the tabs, there is no back button. This is somewhat annoying.
6. Have you considered a travel section?
7. I found the Ask a Question section to be the most valuable, but it is hidden lower in the page. With so many news sections, it kinds of gets lost.
8. A little too much going on. Was interested in the Mahalo answers, read FAQ’s but it is still confusing. Maybe not have all of the website features going on at once on the homepage?
9. Have an ‘About’ button on the top so people know what the page’s purpose is and who puts it out, there’s so much information on the page that it took a while to figure out what thewebpage does.
10. The pictures need to be bigger. There is too much text and not enough pictures

In aggregate, it sounds like the biggest problem new users of the site have is figuring out what the site is about. Why is Mahalo.com a good choice for news? For answers? For search? CNN and Google are both a click away, so why should someone invest their precious time on Mahalo.com?

Let’s assume for a second that Mahalo’s biggest revenue comes from people running searches on the site. Having done that myself, I can say that the quality of Mahalo’s results are impressive. That being the case, streamlining the homepage to encourage searching could train people how to use the site in the most profitable way.

However, if the site is more of a wiki than a search engine – with 231,000 pages indexed in Google, that appears to be the case – then tactics that help increase the site’s link popularity may do more to improve the site’s revenue than actual on-site searching. Based on Mahalo’s founder Jason Calacanis‘ regular peppering of Twitter with current news link-drops to Mahalo pages, I have a feeling this is where the site is seeing the biggest success today:

I’m surprised Fondue and Taurus haven’t been more involved in plugging Mahalo from their twitter accounts.

Unsolicited Advice: If link building is the current strategic goal, make it easier, and encourage, people to link to Mahalo pages. For example, this page about John McEnroe doesn’t include any options for social bookmarking or reblogging. Even something near the footer that says, “Did you find this page valuable? Consider sharing it with your friends.” may help organically increase the site’s deep inbound links.

Visit Lake Street is a newly launched website designed to promote a vibrant inner-city business district that’s chock full of immigrant run businesses. I’ve run the site through the intro tests on 3rd Party Feedback to see what first time visitors to the site would think. Here is what the site looked like at the time of the tests:

I have a special interest in seeing this site succeed since I’m a Minneapolis resident who lives along Lake Street a few miles from this business district. Let’s take a look at what the reviewers had to say:

What Does This Website Do?

1. This website promotes a street with many restaraunts and businesses in Minneapolis. It is trying to promote tourism and explain the unique aspects of the place, and why it is worth visiting.
2. It is a site for Lake Street in Minneapolis Minn, it tells events and lodging info.
3. This is a visitor information site, describing the things to do on Lake Street. The businesses would like visitors to come to their shops and restaurants.
4. It is a tourism page for Lake Street in Minneapolis.
5. This website appears to be aimed to tourists who wish to know more about Lake Street in Minneapolis. It provides information on where to find a hotel, a place to eat, and other places of interest on Lake Street.
6. it is a website showcasing a certain area, Lake Street. It highlights many things to do there-shopping, dining, entertainment, nearby parkk and bike trail.
7. The purpose of the site is to promote businesses and events on Lake Street in Minneapolis.
8. This web site provides visitors’ information about the Lake Street district of Minneapolis, with historical information, events, activities, guides to hotels, restaurants, shops, and nightlife, and how to get around.
9. This website promotes the Lake Street area in Minneapolis, Minnesota, providing visitors with an overview of what to do, where to stay and where to eat while there.
10. This web site serves to encourage visit Lake Street by illustrating the attractions and activities available to them.

It sounds like people get the concept right away. That’s a very good sign. If people aren’t sure what your website’s purpose is, there is no reason for them to stick around. This leads to high bounce rates (visits where people hit the back button after landing on your site, thus generating a single page view during their short visit).

What Is the Site’s Best Current Feature?

1. My favorite part of the website was definitely the pictures, because they are intriguing and encouraging. However, as far as features go I like that the website has the option to view businesses by area or feature, which allows one to find exactly what they are looking for without being the least bit confusing.
2. I like the smiling older couple on the left. They have a very warm, friendly look about them.
3. The pictures are great – The food looks great (I must be hungry)
4. It is easy to navigate and looks professional.
5. I believe the best feature is the calendar on the right side of the page which is very useful for those seeking upcoming events on Lake Street.
6. The pictures of the people on the first page is very warm and welcoming and encouraged me to take a further look at what was being offered. The lay-out also was attractive and easy to navigate.
7. I think it’s great that it’s really easy to find the category of attraction I’m interested in. Each subcategory is just two clicks from the homepage.
8. The best feature is the organization. It is very logical, and seems to have pretty comprehensive information.
9. I like the lists of places to stay and dining, which look very helpful for visitors looking to go to Lake Street.
10. I think the variety of energetic-looking photos on the website help promote the energy and vitality of the Lake Street area. There is good diversity in the age, sex and race of the individuals in the photos, which illustrates that Lake Street has something for everyone.

Are pictures valuable for this type of website? Based on the recurring theme within the above feedback, it seems quite clear that they help tell the story of Lake Street. Pictures are often the biggest draw on a website, such as on Facebook, retail, and real estate sites.

What Is One Thing This Site Could Do Better?

1. The only suggestion I have is that they could be more specific about the unique and amazing features. For instance they could say something like “a French boutique and a Mexican restaurant right next door!” Anything to be a little more descriptive about the area itself.
2. The blank space at top, to the left of search option isn’t so great and if it really has hundreds of great shops and interesting things to do there really should be more than three on the home page.
3. I’m not sure if Lake Street is an actual street or a shopping district. It would be helpful to mention Minneapolis on the banner part of the site. I had no idea what or where I was seeing when I first looked at the site. I thought Minneapolis was cold–is there anything to do on Lake Street in the winter?
4. Adding a seasonal weather map would allow tourist to know what to expect at different times of the year.
5. It would be better if Lake Street was more properly described on the front page instead of hunting for more information about it through the “About Lake Street” link.
6. Maybe an idea of the costs of events and hotel stays so someone on a budget could figure out what they could afford to do.
7. It would be great if each business listed in the business lists under each subcategory had a short description describing in detail what distinguishes it from similar businesses.
8. I’m always looking for nightlife, but this site doesn’t make it as easy as it could be. I’m two clicks deep before I see any club names, and then they’re just in alphabetical order. While I can look at places to eat based on very specific categories (e.g. Italian or Japanese) the nightlife is just one huge category with 350 total businesses in it. I see no way to sort it based on any criteria other than the name of the business and the general location. My main suggestion, then, is to add some sub-categories into nightlife!
9. I would like to see a map that situates Lake Street within the city of Minneapolis. I would also like to see a map that outlines the various areas of Lake Street (East Lake, West Lake, Midtown). I think these would provide a better orientation for out-of-town visitors. If there are such maps, then a more prominent link to them would be helpful, on the “About Lake Street” page and/or the “Getting Around” page.
10. I would like to see some “specials” or “coupons” from selected businesses or restaurants on Lake Street. That would draw more people in, especially in these tough economic times. Maybe something like “buy one dinner, get a second for 50% off” at a local restaurant, or “Redeem this coupon for a free ice cream cone when you buy one at regular price.”

A variety of excellent suggestions were provided by reviewers. Since the site does seem to be targeting tourists, addressing the weather question is a legitimate concern. Hopefully, the site will be expanded to provide more information than basic directory listings. People are asking for guidance on what’s worth visiting during the time they spend on Lake Street. The people behind this site clearly have more knowledge they could share with potential visitors, leading to more visits and richer experiences.

A few technical issues not mentioned by the reviewers that I consider important are site subscription options for the site’s content and calendar. This would make it easier for interested in the area to stay up to date on changes.

Overall, the site is off to a good start. Implementing some of the above suggestions should allow the site to continue to improve over time.

Apple.com is well known for creating incredible computers such as the one I’ve used to write this. While their products get high marks, what do people think of their website, Apple.com? According to Quantcast, Apple.com receives ~17.8 million visitors / month, so even small usability improvements could lead to big impacts on sales figures.

Apple.com on Jan 6, 2009

We’ve run Apple.com through our introductory tests to find out. The results are below:

What Does This Site Do?

1. This website sells, advertises, and supports Apple products.
2. Apps for the Mac. One for “life” and one for “work”. Also ads for other Mac products, especially that gorgeous laptop. Also a demo for the new battery.
3. The website is for music downloads. We can purchase our favorite music through this website.
4. It’s Apple, a well-known computer company that sells computers, software, and other gadgets.
5. This site sells Apple IPods, MAC notebooks and desktops, software exclusive to the Apple products, external hardrives, and accessories for Ipods, MAC notebooks and desktops. A customer can custom build a desktop or laptop and apply for financing.
6. This website provides information about Apple computer and their products.
7. It’s the main website for Apple, so, it advertises their various products and links to support info for customers.
8. It sells Apple computer products.
9. It is a site to buy apple products
10. This website is designed to advertise and tell you about all of Apple’s products. It also looks like it Promotes iTunes and song/other downloads. Also, this website is used to provide technical support for all of Apple’s products.

It sounds like people get what the site is all about. The site is a major sales channel for Apple, so it’s not surprising that they’ve invested in making sure the site clearly explains to users what they sell.

What is This Website’s Best Feature?

1. Ilife and Iwork box pictures.
2. The toolbar at the top makes it easy to find whatever you’re looking for.
3. Great graphics and a wonderfully clean page. One sees everything. Super.
4. the itune window is the best i think.
5. The current splash page when you first get to the site introducing a new product.
6. Well organized product categories at the top of the home page.
7. I like the overall design: it’s very clean, uncluttered, attractive, and easy to understand. I also like the bar at the top that makes all the features easy to access right away.
8. I think the graphics are the nicest feature on the site.
9. The ilife 09 guided tour
10. The store is my favorite part of the website. I love the way they have everything laid out, and the clean simple nature of the graphics makes it that much more appealing in my opinion. It makes it easier to focus on the products you want to look at.

It’s interesting that so many different features stood out to users as their favorite. This is very rare. Typically, sites do one thing well while missing in other areas. The features on Apple’s site is consistently good.

What is 1 Thing This Site Could Do Better?
1. Describe something more as to what these two do. It’s more like just an advertisement page, no explanation. Who has the time to keep reading.
2. It should describe itunes plus and what makes it better on the first page.
3. The iLife and iWork promos take up way too much of the homepage. I’d like to see more space dedicated to navigational links so you can see a larger overview of what’s available and get to what you want with fewer clicks.
4. Having the store button there is redundant for the site. It should be taken off and everything subcategorized so someone could just go to where they want to go. I think looking at Sonystyle.com would be a great template on how to organize the site better.
5. Less images on the page; they cause the website to load slowly.
6. Right now I have to scroll down to see everything even though I have a fairly big monitor, and I imagine it’s worse for those with smaller screen resolutions. I would scale down the large images in the main body of the page so that it only takes up one screen.
7. It needs a tab on the left to select options. Having it at the top of the page is not very instinctive. The store option needs to be bigger than the rest, also, since after all sales is the primary goal.
8. You can explain more what can be done with downloads. And for people not good with a computer explain that they can use DSL or Cable to download software and songs.
9. Add a find a retail store link at the top of the page to make it more easier to locate
10. I wish the website had more free things, I know that sounds silly considering they want you to BUY products, but if they gave me something for free it would draw me in to want to buy something. Also, more photos of the products would be good – I like to have a lot of photos to look at when I’m purchasing something. Also, I’d like to see more customer reviews on the products.

Interesting feedback. Quite a few ideas came to light that may be worth considering. While Apple made a conscious decision to heavily promote some new product launches, leading to some negative feedback about overdoing that, they’re probably find with that. Making the store locator and online store links easier for users to find (and testing moving the navigation to locations other than the very top of the page) may help discover more intuitive layouts.

Cullect.com is a Minneapolis based start-up that provides an RSS reader with a bunch of interesting features including community collaboration, inline processing (ex. Blog or Twitter about what you’re reading from within the reader), and shared reading lists.

Cullect founder, Garrick Van Buren, ran the site’s homepage through 3rdPartyFeedback.com’s introductory tests then publicly posted the 3rd Party Feedback results on his site’s blog.

Here is what the site looked like at the time of the tests:

This is a good example of why aggregating feedback can be valuable. The results show that while most get what Cullect is about, it wasn’t clear to all visitors. Could this be improved? Probably.

Design opinions varied from positive feedback about the site’s minimalist presentation to complaints about the “lack of design.”

Based on the feedback Cullect.com received, I get that a good chunk of visitors to the homepage aren’t having an “Ah Ha!” moment where they think to themselves, “I get what this site does and how it can make my life better.” This may or may not be an issue for this type of site since it’s probably primarily winning new visitors through word of mouth.

Visit the Cullect Blog to see what reviewers thought of the site.

President-Elect, Barack Obama, has been running a transition website at the domain change.gov where he and his transition team publish announcements relevant to his upcoming term as President of the United States.

The Obama campaign has received high praise for connecting with a record number of campaign contributors both in terms of number of donors and money donated, so they clearly know a thing or two about how to build an effective website.

So how does change.gov stack up when tested by 3rdPartyFeedback.com reviewers? Here are the results of the 3-Pack Test:

Question: What does this website do?

It appears to be the web site for president elect Obama.

It looks like the official blog of the President of the United States.

This site is concerned with preparations for taking office of the Obama administration. It provides information about the issues that the administration is working on as well as a forum for Americans to voice their opinion on issues.

This website is for the news about the US president elect and we can post our own stories and thoughts about that. We can share our ideas to develop the country through this.

This is a website for the transition leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Obama.

Provides information on president elect Barack Obama, and allows people to ask questions concerning this topic.

This webpage provides information on the incoming presidential administration

This website is to provide the information, plans and goals of President-Elect Obama.

It’s the president-elect’s transition website. Basically, it’s whitehouse.gov that Obama can use before he has access to the real one.

This site is sharing policy developments with the public, and taking opinions of people. This site is aimed at getting feedback from the masses, and there are discussions on protecting US, reviving the economy, tackling medical issues etc.

It sounds like people generally understand the purpose of this site. That puts it ahead of the curve. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it is the official website of one of most famous people on the planet today.

Question: What is this website’s best feature?

The overall layout is excellent. It’s easy to read.

In theory, the mechanism that allows people to submit their stories is a nice idea. I can’t honestly submit this without pointing out that being a realist, I cringe at the concept in practice, though. You’d need an army of government workers to screen out the hostile/trolling/lobbyist submissions. I’m not sure I’d want my tax dollars to go toward that.

I consider the best current feature on this website to be “open for questions.” This is very useful for clarifying the administration’s current views and planned strategy for dealing with issues. It conveys an impression that the Obama administration intends to take into consideration the concerns of the governed.

The video of the weekly address. I didn’t even know this was available, and now I will be able to catch up.

The professional template and design, the top logo and header are very professional and eye catching

The blog by president elect Obama is the best feature. It allows the American people to feel connected to what is going on.

All the information about Mr. Obama’s agenda on different issues

The Agenda page because it gives the links of agenda topics. It’s well organized and easy to find information on the topics I am interested in.

It’s very authoritative. The color scheme, the fonts, the subtle/classy (NOT overbearing) use of animation all ooze power and confidence.

The best feature is the Agenda tab. You can learn about Obama and Biden’s plans for our country in any area you might be interested in. It is stated very simply for everyone to understand.

Opinions vary on what the site’s best feature is. The overall design gets high marks as well as the depth of information on agenda items and the relative newness of the information. A lot of work goes into keeping this site up to date and that seems to translate into a positive response from visitors.

Question: What is 1 thing this site could do better?

Have a clear mission statement explaining what the site does.

It looks way too much like PR spin for it to be believable. My first thought was that it is the product of a presidential marketing crew, and that makes me resistant to the whole idea. I don’t believe for a moment that this is actually the president’s blog. It has the look of a government site, but smells of propaganda.

The first thing I’d suggest is a name change. “change.gov” sounds like a campaign slogan. Once my elected president is in office I want him to stop campaigning and advertising himself and get down to work. I’d MUCH rather see a presidential blog that actually tells me what went on in the government this week, how he voted on various issues, and allowed me to track his record as a leader. That’s far more useful thing to me as a concerned, voting US citizen than a warm fuzzy feeling that the President is a friendly, chatty man.

I believe that the homepage should contain less information. It should communicate what the site offers, but it should move anything not essential to a first impression to other pages.

OK, maybe one thing: It would be good to have a link to the regional community groups. I want to join one of them, and I don’t think I can access them from this site. That would be the only thing! I like the site.

The constant switching from “Open For Questions” to “Happy Holidays” to “Your Weekly Address” is distracting. Get rid of it. Make information about the inauguration celebration more prominent.

Having a history and more personal information about Obama.

Shorten the BLOG list for that day not the whole week. Make a link of weeks for easier access to these older BLOGS.

The headings right above the animation (Learn, Newsroom, Blog, American Moments, etc) are not clear. Why is “learn” separate from “agenda”; what if I want to learn about Obama’s agenda, where do I go? What on earth is an American moment? Why is “Blog” listed both as a heading and as a subheading to “Newsroom”? It’s very difficult to browse, although the search bar to some extent mitigates the problem if I know what I’m looking for.

The blog section on the left hand side seems a bit out of place. It seems like that should be kept under the news section and not right on the main page.

Even President-Elect Barack Obama’s website isn’t perfect. Based on the feedback received, it looks like the Obama transition team suffers from some of the same challenges many businesses face: putting visitors first. Some people were turned off by the site and felt that they were being sold. In those cases, the Obama transition team has failed to connect with their website’s visitors.

There appear to be some navigational issues as well. Will the Obama transition team address them, or just ride out the three remaining weeks of this website’s lifespan before Obama will transition to Whitehouse.gov?

Does this really work? Judge for yourself. Here is a screenshot of 3rdPartyFeedback.com’s homepage before it was run through a series of feedback tests.

The test results for our own site are published below.

What Does Your Website Do?

Real humans review your website and determine what works and what doesn’t, what needs to be changed and what can be improved. This will improve web usability, conversion rates, load times, leads, and visitor retention.

This website gives (at a cost) 3rd party opinions on what to do to make YOUR website better. For example, what needs clarification? What can be improved? Who is your competition on the web?

This webpage provides an evaluation of your website by people who will let you know what is good about your site, what is bad, and what changes should be made in order that you may pull in more visitors to your site.

This website giving feedback of the website from the real people. its giving the feedback for cost and collecting various information from different people about the website.

This website gives you 3rd part feedback on what is and is not working on your webpage. You receive different type of feedback for certain amounts of money, such as – what do you do, thing to improve, best current feature, and competitive websites.

Lets users give feedback on someone’s site or product so that whoever is developing knows what they’re doing wrong or right and what they could do better.

The business has independent viewers look over your website and give feedback as to what could be better or helped.

This website solicits opinions to help improve websites. They solicit opinions from real people so that a site knows if it is doing well or not.

This business gives you feedback on your business website — tells you what’s working and what needs to change

It a website that you pay to analyze your product (website, company, etc) and they give you constructive feedback on what’s good and what should be changed.

We’re pleased that our website does a good job explaining to visitors what we do. That’s not always the case, as you can see from some on our feedback examples page.

Best Current Feature

The best current feature is the examples. It lets people know what kinds of constructive feedback they can expect from using the service.

Test 4: Competitive Websites is the best feature because it helps your webpage stand out among the competition. Knowing what people like about other people’s websites helps you make yours better.

I like how you have the four test options in bolded print, making them easy to find and that you have the price of each test at the bottom of each description.

I like how it lists they different options and gives detailed information on the options.

Feedback from real people

The fact that all four options cost the same. It makes it seems like you’re not so pressured to get one or the other, or that one’s not necessarily any better than the other.

Currently, the best feature on this website is the listing of the 4 tests in a box like setting.

I like how easy it is to order the various tests.

Getting feedback from different people is the current and best feature.

They layout is simple and easy to find information. It is clear on a glance what the company does and how the site works.

Overall, people seem to find the premise of the site interesting. That’s a good sign. The best news here is that they didn’t find a “best feature” that actually isn’t, such as a “skip intro” button on a Flash website.

From here, I could get more specific by running additional tests that ask about specific features.

1-Thing to Improve

Change that fake picture at the top to something more realistic. Those generic pictures are such a turn off! Try to find something that is either real or something with no people at all! Just nothing with generic people. Other than that, looks great and is a great concept!

1. A simple matter of color to help guide the eye — possibly something as simple as a color highlight over the active link (or tabbed navigation.
2. More content — especially testimonials. As a business owner, I’m more likely to purchase from a company with a well-established reputation or with testimonials from other customers (best when customers allow a link to their own web sites to appear with the testimonial).
3. Either remove the link to the RSS feed or put some content there. Right now the only content there is the default WordPress “Hello World” post, which makes the site look very unprofessional when a user clicks the link.

This web page is a little bit boring to look at. I know that you are going for a certain demographic, but it might help to spruce it up a bit.

“Find out what isn’t clear to first time website visitors, what can be improved, and what they like about your current site, and who they consider to be your competition. ” Grammar – Get rid of the “and” before “what they like”.

The content section where the tests are listed could benefit from a stronger visual differentiation. The page contains a LOT of white space which makes it difficult to view over extended periods of time.

In all honestly? Fix the spelling mistakes. I’m a snob, so there’s no way I would use a business that isn’t able to run their data through spell check and get rid of the errors. I can see at least two, and that’s one too many for me to consider using something like this.

Picture of real people looks fake.

I think this website needs more copy to help with its SEO results (ie articles to boost page rank and add keywords) I also think that it needs more info as to how exactly this stuff will help, ie quality.

Give some proven results for the website. I mean give the example website and the corresponding feedback in home page. Give the cost and make it sound.

You should have examples of the feedback available on the website. For the different options a customer would benefit from seeing an example of feedback given to a particular site.

Excellent feedback that shows we not only have room for improvement, but what that improvement should be. We can now confidently make changes that will improve our future visitor’s experiences.