Summary

• Results of usability tests of 20 location finder designs: what worked; what didn't
• The recommended task flow for location finding for different types of organizations
• 56 detailed design guidelines for improving the design of location finders

The findings are based on usability testing of 20 corporate websites across two rounds of research. Study 1: Andersen, the American Automobile Association (AAA), Bank of America, BMW, Caterpillar, Charles Schwab & Co., The Dow Chemical Company, Toys R Us, Verizon, and Wells Fargo. Study 2: Ace Hardware, Apple, Applebee's, AT&T, BJ’s Wholesale, FedEx Kinko's, PetSmart, Sovereign Bank, Target, and the U.S. Postal Service.

The number of locations represented by each website ranged from a few hundred to several thousand.

Several forms of locators were represented, including:

• store finders
• office finders
• dealer finders
• ATM finders

On average, the sites in Study 2 followed 58% of the design guidelines indentified by the research. In other words, the average site has the potential to almost double the usability of its location finder by paying closer attention to these usability results. (Your site can—and should—probably improve too.)

Richly illustrated with 113 color screenshots of locator designs that worked well or that caused problems in user testing.

> Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox with a summary of the findings
> Sample Chapter (thumbnail view)

This document is a part of Nielsen Norman Group's series of design guidelines for e-commerce user experience. Save 58% by buying all 13 reports on a single CD-ROM.

Best Practices

• Many locations that provide similar services
• Different types of products or services provided at different locations
• Only a few locations, or if the locations are in geographically distinct areas
• Only one physical store or office

Table of Contents

143-page report with 113 color screenshots

1. Executive Summary
   • User Research
   • Trends in Locator Usability
   • Search as Locator Entry
   • Many New Guidelines
2. Study Overview
   • Introduction
   • Purpose of Study
   • General Procedure
   • Websites Studied
   • Mapping and Directions Platforms
   • Determining the Integration Level
   • Tips for Evaluating Third-Party Directions/Mapping Platforms
3. Success Rates and User Experience
   • User Experience
   • Finding the Locator Tool
   • Finding a Location
   • Getting Directions
4. Most People Gravitate to Google to Find Store Locations
   • Most people Used a Search Engine
   • People Search for Store names and Often Include Specific Details
   • People Prefer links to a locator or Specific Location
5. Location Information Provided Across Websites
   • Websites are Providing More Information
   • Pay More Attention to Presentation and Accuracy
6. Deciding Between Interactive Locator Tool or Location List
7. Locator Design Guidelines Compliance
8. Locator Design Guidelines
   • Locator Links
     • From Web Search
     • From the Homepage
     • From Within the Site
     • Naming and Presentation
   • Finding a Location
     • Entering an Address to Find a Location
     • Selecting Location Options
     • Location Search Page Layout
     • Locations Directory
   • Location Listings
     • Location Parameters Display
     • Ordering of Location Results
     • Locations Listing Details
     • Location Listing Page Layout
     • Location Listing Information Pop-Up Windows
     • Location Details Page
   • Directions and Maps
     • Task Flow to Directions and Maps
     • Address Entry to Get Directions from a Specific Location
     • Options for Directions
     • Step-by-Step Directions
     • Maps
     • Printing and E-mailing Directions
     • Mapping and Directions Integration
9. Methodology
   • Overview
   • Participants
   • Website Selection Criteria
   • Website Order
   • Task Procedure

Comparing the Editions

If you already own the 1st edition of this report, should you buy the 2nd edition? Yes, because the number of usability guidelines has grown substantially. Considering the lost business potential if just a handful of customers can't find your stores or offices, it's well worth checking your site for the new guidelines.

Comparison of the editions:

Who Should Read This Report?

• Anybody who is responsible for the design or implementation of a locator, whether for retailer or for any other website that needs to drive (real) traffic to offices, dealers, or other physical locations
• Intranet designers in companies with multiple locations: we often see that employees have difficulties getting directions to other company facilities from the intranet

Running a similar series of usability studies yourself to collect comparative design lessons from a large number of websites would cost about $100,000 — you get the research findings at 0.1% of the cost.

Please help us continue publishing low-price reports by buying a site license if you have colleagues who will read the report. If you only need it for yourself, then that's obviously what the single-user license is for. If somebody "gives" you a copy, then please buy a download anyway to keep prices down in the future.

Single-user license: $98 Site license: $198 (allows you to place the document on your intranet and make unlimited copies within your company)