Webtips: Gauging The Annoyance Factor

It should go without saying that functionality issues that hamper usability are a major stumbling block for users, and will discourage them from coming back to the site in the future. The big things are easier to catch, of course, but it might be the small things in the long run – the annoying little bugs – that drive users away as well.

I’m sure you’ve all experienced the annoyance factor before. You find an online antique store that has vintage rocking chair you’ve been after for so long, and in your dizzy elation, you choose “Kansas” instead of “Kentucky” from the drop down list of states when entering your shipping address.

Some of your better online retailers would recognize this kind of error immediately by checking the state against the zip code, and wouldn’t allow you to continue with your order until you corrected it. Others, however, aren’t as quick on the draw. Consequently, said rocking chair makes its way to Jayhawk country rather than your living room.

Because of the debacle, that store has now lost all hope of your future business.

Okay, so that might be an extreme example. The truth, however, isn’t as far away as you might think, at least according to Jakob Nielsen. In his