Sam’s random musings

lAsk 37signals: What is the best way to get customers who signup to actually use a product?:

This reminds me of the old “hosting a party” metaphor for web apps. Just because you’ve invited someone over to your house/app, doesn’t mean your hosting duties are over. You still need to welcome your guests, show them around, offer some introductions, and make sure they get into the flow.

That’s why the blank slate, the first screen people see, is so key. If it’s unwelcoming, people may not stick around.

This is a big deal for services/sites that have self sign, or have anykind of unguided experience. It is said that a ui should be self teaching, but have you ever seen one. The on the web we are so free to make unique user experiences that are not tied to interface guidelines or even native control widgets. In this is a great danger there are advantages to things like the Apple Human Interface Guidelines as limiting and restrictive as they may seem. To be able to leverage the vast experiences that your user has had (remember that a user is a human not a thing) has immense value. It speaks to using native widgets (or at least try to give the same sense of purpose as the native widget)

But let it be said that what you do for your user on their first experience in your app will reap great rewards (I mean $$) if you leave your user hanging they will not ‘hang’ out and find all your cool stuff. Assume that your mental model of how the app will be experienced is wrong, show them they way.

(Via Signal vs. Noise.)