Amazon Flunks Usability 101? Say it ain't so...
December 17, 2007 by ian
Amazon needs to read GrokDotCom a little more. When creating links, use the words that call for action - the trigger words.
Amazon failed to do that here:
If you're going to sign in, which words would you click? 'Personalized recommendations'? Or 'sign in'?
Personally, I'd click 'sign in'. But Amazon linked from 'personalized recommendations'.
I actually spent a few minutes trying to figure out where to go to log in - I assumed that the personalized recommendations link described how those recos worked.
Restore my faith, oh great Lord Bezos. Fix your usability gaffe...
Join the Conversation:
steve says:
December 17, 2007 14:58
I have struggled with this too. It's been like this for a while.
Totally unclear.
Cam Beck says:
December 17, 2007 15:09
I'm not as sure Amazon is wrong. "Sign In" is an action with indeterminate benefit. The eye is naturally drawn to links when scanning, so highlighting the benefit seems to make more sense here.
Jim says:
December 17, 2007 15:19
... I'd guess for SEO to increase the value of the words "personalized recommendation"