2. Overview The current user satisfaction curve
for navigating to eBay messages
need improvement. The overall ex-
perience can be improved by mak-
the home page, My eBay, and mes-
sage pages.
The Ghosts in the Machine shows My eBay and Messages ing user interface improvements to
Home Page My eBay Inbox Message
Positive Experience
Customer Expectations
Negative Experience
(An)Drew John Phillips
3. Key Elements Because eBay is one of the world’s
great economic forces, creating
cess to the internet to sell or find
rare items, the design must be in-
must communicate to the customer
quickly through its layout and navi-
Design Philosophy the opportunity for anyone with ac- tuitive across cultures. The design gation options.
Features at a Glance Give ‘em What They Want
Features should communicate with users how to click through at no more It is possible to provide information quickly and concisely without simply
than a glance. Scrolling is acceptable, but layouts should encourage more stacking different data points on top of each other. If information is divided
than just scrolling to find more information. They should inspire clicks. vertically as well as horizontally, users can find their info faster.
Give it to ‘em Fast Read Their Minds
It is possible to give users the navigation and enrollment features quickly Know what users want before they do. Designers have the luxury of know-
without overwhelming them with widgets. eBay needs to be accessible to ing what information is available to users before users themselves do.
everyone, not just people who are good at navigating websites. Take advantage of this knowledge to surprise and delight.
(An)Drew John Phillips
4. Home Page eBay’s home page provides a good
jumping off point for new and expe-
eBay can enhance the experience
of both user types by increasing
product highlights, and enabling
faster sign-ups for new users.
Good, not great rienced eBay users alike. However, visibility of crucial links, expanding
My eBay
Add a “My eBay” link to the navigation bar to
increase visibility. “My eBay” is a staple to any
regular “eBayer.”
Register from Home Page
Why not let users begin the registration process
on the home page? Registration is a simple proc-
Features ess that can be completed within three pages.
There are three feature tables on the eBay
home page. They provide an opportunity to
advertise relavent product according to seasons
and trends.
(An)Drew John Phillips
5. My eBay The My eBay section features a
series of stacked horizontal cat-
egories. A nice touch is the ability
to customize the order in which the
categories appear. The layout fails
to summarize the user’s experience
at a quick glance. Horizontal stack-
ing forces the user to scroll through
the categories.
Scrolling & searching
Summary List
The list view provides information organized
in an intuitive format. This can create exces-
sive scrolling, as the different areas can feature
several items of information that push other
sections below the page break.
Tabbed Browsing
Tabs provide another navigation option for us-
ers. Current tabs are not intuitive to where users
typically find different category pages.
Left Navigation
This is intuitive placement. However it is redun-
dant to the information currently displayed on the
Summary Page. Changing the horizontal listing in
the body of the page allows room for niavigation
to other category pages.
(An)Drew John Phillips
6. Inbox eBay’s inbox provides a quick view
of current messages, differentiates
es, allows users to sort their mes-
sages, and has most features that
execution is clean and intuitive. It
even allows users to sort by item;
Pretty Good between read and unread messag- users expect from an inbox. The an excellent feature for eBay.
(An)Drew John Phillips
7. Message While the navigation on the right
hand side of the message is remi-
ices, the message execution lacks
the navigation options that users
option to go to the next or previ-
ous message and internal links fre-
Facilitate Navigation
niscent of other popular email serv- have come to expect. There is no quenly do not work.
Message Options
The message view provides some of the stand-
ard options available in most email services.
One important piece is missing: the ability to
move to the previous or next message.
Left Navigation
This feature is adequate and meets expectations.
This area will remain somewhat similar, with a
few added features, including navigation to other
sections of My eBay.
Message Links
Links within messages themselves do not work.
This is a must fix.
(An)Drew John Phillips
8. Navigation eBay is part of some people’s eve-
ry day life, just as much as a car,
similar navigation layout to things
they interact with everyday will help
move more seemlessly from one
compartment of their life to another.
Moving through life or the music they listen to. Using create harmony for users as they
(An)Drew John Phillips
9. Home Page Amazon, Overstock.com, and
Backcountry.com, inspired the re-
these sites as it is eBay’s users that
are the vendors. eBay doesn’t carry
private lable brands. eBay needs to
feature similar navigation, with po-
Inspirations design. However, eBay differs from any inventory, there are no eBay tential sellers in mind.
(An)Drew John Phillips
10. Home Page A more centralized feature, high-
lighting specific categories, gives
ferent shopping options available. It
keeps the browser’s eyes focused
design moves the eye from upper
right to lower left, away from other
Quicker Browsing the browser a quick view of the dif- on a central location. The current key navigation widgets.
Changes
(1) Category Features: A centralized
2 location gives users a quick glimpse of
what is available.
5 (2) Sell Your Item(s): Just as there is a
text field available to search for items
quickly, a text field to start selling quick-
1 3
er will allow users who are less familiar
with the eBay selling process to get in
on the action.
(3) Sign Up Today: Adding the first
step of the sign-up process to the home
page eases the process for users who
want to start selling or buying.
(4) Deal of the Day: Moving the Deal
of the Day and Classifieds is an effec-
tive use of space, as both categories
are targeted to browsers. This will make
navigating easy for first time users and
provide effective graphic space for indi-
viduals browsing. A featured store link
will allow eBay to sell advertising space
to eBay stores. This is a win for stores
looking to boost bidders and for eBay as
another revenue stream.
(5) My eBay: Placing the My eBay link
on the top navigation bar puts a greater
emphasis on My eBay as a primary por-
4
tal for all eBay users.
(An)Drew John Phillips
11. Home page Features are inspired by the objects
that users interact with on a daily
viewed and easy to understand. It
also features a variety of categories
can also be customized according
to entrance paths or signed in user
Features basis. The arrangement is quickly to appeal to a wider audience, it information.
Deal of the Day, Classifieds, and Fea-
tured stores are located directly be-
low the featured categories as users
primarily visit eBay to browse catego-
ries, but the forementioned are added
benefits to their visit.
(An)Drew John Phillips
12. Home page Navigation across major online re-
tailers is fairly standard. Category
(or both) and search at the top of
the page. Doesn’t make sense to
especially if it is a good solution.
It provides a quick view of options
Navigation navigation along the top, or left side change what users are used to, and the ability to search.
(An)Drew John Phillips
13. My eBay My eBay should be easy to navi-
gate at a glance. By listing a Buy
activity in a central location, the us-
er’s eye will find what they are look-
If necessary, the user can click on
the item links to connect with the
Every eBayers Portal
and Sell summary with the user’s ing for quicker and in fewer steps. desired page.
Changes
(1) Buy and Sell Summary: Users can see their buying
and selling activity at a glance and click on links to indi-
vidual auction pages for more details.
(2) Account Navigation: Links to the different account
pages will always be available for the user. This allows
1 quick access from any point if the eBayer has to pay an
2
invoice, change address, or provide any other account
information.
(3) Recently Viewed: This section allows users to come
back on a later visit and check in on items that they may
have been interested in, but did not add to their watch list.
(4) eBay Seller Specials: eBay frequently has specials run-
ning for sellers. This section provides eBay an area to keep
sellers up to date, and provides users a central location to
view any incentives that apply to them.
(5) Standard Links: Placing links to buying, selling, ac-
count, and other importnat pages lower on the page al-
3 4
5
lows users constant access to information they are looking
for without scrolling all the way back up the page.
(6) Message Center: This is not a replacement for the in-
box. The message center will give users a quick view of
any recent messages from other buyers or from eBay. This
gives eBay and other users a place to alert the user of any-
6
thing urgent.
(An)Drew John Phillips
14. Message Let’s start with the basic expecta-
tions. Users don’t want to go back
gate between messages. As for ex-
ceeding expectations, let’s provide
is all about. Adding a link to the item
that users are exchanging messag-
Next Please to the inbox every time they navi- the option to see what the message es about can ease any transaction.
Changes
(1) Previous | Next: The ability to navigate between messages
without returning to the inbox is not a “surprise and delight” fea-
ture. It is expected. Placement in the upper and lower right corners
is intuitive, as the eye naturally tracks left to right. The text in the
message will naturally lead the user to those locations once they
complete reading the message.
1
(2) Related Messages: While other email services provide conver-
2
sation tracking, eBay users will find related messages, beyond the
current conversation, useful. If a seller is comparing messages from
different buyers, or if a buyer is comparing messages from sellers
that are selling similar products, they will find the related messag-
es to the right without having to place the messages into folders,
which is still an option.
(3) Related Items: Navigating to the item related to the message
will be easier, as there are not always links to the item page within
the text. It is also useful to see a summary of information related
to the sale of the item without having to go to the item page itself.
3
(An)Drew John Phillips
15. Summary A layout that can be taken in at a
glance, provides information that
pates user’s needs and wants will
increase the number of new sign-
products for sale, and increase
user engagement through the My
How it all turns out users want quickly, and antici- ups, the number of browsers for eBay portal.
(An)Drew John Phillips
