If you’re trying to sell the advantages of usability (or “user-centred design” or “good customer experience” or whatever it’s called this week) then your own website should be the first place to start.
So why are the sites of so many UK-based usability companies badly written, full of invented jargon and reliant on meaningless corporate-speak?
Well, maybe it’s because they think that’s what their clients actually want to read…
For example:
Amberlight tell us “we are a London based Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Consultancy who provide usability, user-centred research and design services to clients and partners in the UK and internationally.”
Is there any grammatical reason for all those capital letters in the phrase “Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Consultancy”? No. But someone obviously thought it would look more impressive to potential clients that way. Like offering “design services” instead of just “design”.
Of course, if you are going to flag up your Big Idea like that, you should really make sure you know what you’re calling it. Elsewhere in the site they forget that tricky hyphen and refer to “Human Computer Interaction”. But potential clients don’t worry about little things like attention to detail, right?
Imetrix are also impressively bad on the details: they tell us “a consultant’s evaluation is a perfect solution when deadlines are tight and your developers need feeback [sic] quickly”. Those deadlines must have been very tight indeed.
They also like the idea of providing “services”, not to mention “delivering business results-driven projects” (as opposed to those projects that are merely fun-driven, I suppose).
With Corporate Solutions Consulting (UK) it’s back to those hard-hitting capital letters, as they aim to “maximise the Consumer Experience”. Apparently, “the question is how can companies best leverage their prize asset’s” (the correct use of apostrophes clearly not being an asset worth leveraging).
They also tell us “companies must market the correct products and services where, when, how and to the quality the consumer wishes to purchase them”, which had me totally confused.
If there’s a prize for excessive use of caps, however, it has to go to Frontend, who “provide Usability, Accessibility and User Centred Design solutions for world-class companies where Positive Customer Experience is vital to their business”. That’s a hugely impressive eight unnecessarily capitalized words out of 20!
Thankfully, Userface don’t go in for caps, but they like “services” as much as the next usability company. They tell us “Userface provides user interface design and usability testing consultancy services to clients throughout the UK”. Why not just provide “user interface design and usability testing”? It would make the sentence easier to read for a start.
Speaking of the next usability company, it’s The Usability Company. Or it might not be, since their site informs us that they’re “now part of Foviance, a new type of company which provides a complete range of services…”
It might just be me, but doesn’t “Foviance, a new type of company” sound like something from a shampoo advert? Are they hoping potential clients will think “Foviance: because I’m worth it”?
And then, just to confirm that a branding agency has been at work, they explain, “Foviance derives from the word “Fovea”, which is the part of the eye responsible for the sharpest vision. It reflects the clarity that Foviance brings to its customers’ understanding of the performance of their digital interfaces, as well as the company’s focus on innovation in this area”.
So that’s clear, then.
There are a few companies getting it (mostly) right:
Webcredible have a largely well-written site. They keep things simple and direct, telling us “Webcredible is a web usability and accessibility consultancy. We can help make your website easy to use, accessible to all and ultimately more effective”.
No business-buzzwords or corporate clichés, no invented concepts, no mention of “services”. Consequently they come off as confident and capable (though using bold for emphasis is messy, as well as potentially confusing).
Bunnyfoot also keep their message simple. Their introduction reads, “We help you to optimise the way you communicate with your customers… to make sure they do more of what you want” [their ellipsis]. However you feel about the word “optimise”, it’s clear what they’re getting at, and the rest of the site follows similar lines – for the most part it’s easy to read, to the point, and persuasive.
Userfocus occupy similar ground, telling potential clients that they’re “a usability consultancy and usability training company” who “help businesses reduce costs and increase profits by making stuff easier to use”. Again: simple and direct.
They even offer a piece on “selling usability to your manager”. Needless to say it doesn’t include trying to impress them with invented terms, last year’s buzzwords or unnecessary capital letters…
