[Design ideas] SAP, Bloglines, Gap checkout

Good design: SAP customer service

SAP is one of the leading providers of business software (CRM, ERP, business intelligence, etc).

Wait up to to a minute

SAP understands the difficulty busy IT professionals may experience in finding the appropriate solution for their company. To help users make an informed decision, their product page displays all relevant contact options. Also, after roughly a minute of inactivity, a layer is displayed providing an easy way to chat with a customer service representative.

Very smart integration of customer service and click-to-call best practices to increase conversion rate. The layer can easily be closed by the user and will not reappear.

Bad design: Bloglines homepage

Bloglines is one of the leading Web-based RSS aggregators.

Their homepage does a lot of things right. It provides an easy way to sign up, explains what the service is about and builds credibility through press quotes. But, it also talks about features and asks users to “imagine browsing all your favorite websites in one single page” when showing the interface would be even better.

An image is worth a thousand words when the interface and technology is what makes the product. Bloglines is asking users to signup before knowing what the experience will be like. A preview of the interface would definitely create a stronger emotional response that could lead to a higher signup ratio.

Interesting design: Gap checkout

Gap is a popular clothing store. It has recently redesigned its online checkout process.

By having a unique cart for all its Web properties, Gap is doing a lot more than reducing development and management cost. Gap is making it easier for users to manage their accounts (less password / email confusion), showing the existence of their other stores and creating a platform for cross-selling.

If you can make it easier for users through single sign-on or a consolidated cart, you definitely should. Good user experience always leads to increased Website usage.

The complete checkout process is worth looking at.

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