What An Engineer is Looking for on a Website

Recently we ran a couple of user tests on 3 different websites for a client. As we reviewed the tests it was neat to see what every user thought was helpful and what was considered noise.

Here are some quick observations and recommendations:

1. Keep everything above the fold as much as possible. Unless someone really wants to - they will not read the paragraphs of information. Also, keep all information about one product on the same page if possible. Limit scrolling.
2. If information is tabbed, an end user generally will see all the different tabs of information.
3. If you have specs and technical information - make sure to have it all on your site. Also, make sure the technical specs are easy to print off. Many of the engineers will print specs to compare products across multiple vendors.
4. Have your telephone handy. Any age engineer will pick up the phone and call when needed.
5. Have your address visible. Your footer is a great spot for this. If someone needs next day shipping from the Midwest  they are not calling a company on the East Coast!
6. CAD FILES, CAD FILES, CAD FILES. If you have these, get them up on your website. A few engineers said they won't work with a company if they can't get their CAD Files. (On a side note, make sure your CAD program is compatible. There are a lot of companies out there with outdated software. In the 5 tests that we ran, on one of the websites the CAD integration looked great, but the interface didn't work for 4 of the end users because an updated Flash version was needed.)
7. Your top navigation bar is important. This will be the first thing an engineer will look for and will most likely use this to navigate your website. Make sure your navigation is well organized and mean something to the end user. Categorizing products by brand names or series isn't helpful. If possible, keep your categorization of products by functionality or type.
8. Overview pages or comparing products is important. An engineer wants to know what the difference is between a G10 and a G30 for example.
9. Noise: company information on the homepage, giveaways, miscellaneous information that doesn't get them the information they are looking for. It's good to have the company news and the date of your next Lunch & Learn, but don't let it be the focus of your home page!
10. Product Pictures. Put pictures up on your website. These help jog memories if they have used your part before and also ensure that they found the product that they had in mind.

It was interesting as we were running the tests a few comments were made - obviously you can't take these as a guarantee for everyone - but they are worth noting.

1. If McMaster Carr doesn't have the product or Grainger, then I will go to Google to search.
2. I never go past the first page of Google, unless there are no companies in the first page of results.
3. If I can't find the information I am looking for, I'm going to call the company to make them suffer through their website!
4. I'll call a sales representative to determine whether or not I want to work with this company.
5. I want everything digital and want to communicate via email.
6. If I find the product I want, I want to check out immediately and pay with a credit card. Kind of like Amazon. I don't want to work with a rep.

It was amazing how many of the engineers had a one track mind. Once they found the product they were looking for, they wanted to interact with the company in some way and move on. If it was someone doing the spec'ing or purchasing, they were more willing to spend more time on the website. If it was a govern't employee of some sort, they just cared about the price.

If you are looking to get some fresh ideas on your website or to take it to the next level, a user test might be something worth considering! It'll open your eyes to new content ideas, ways of organizing information and give you an idea of how certain areas of your website really work!