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Interesting article, but I'm in the UK and Paypal still looks and works exactly the same for me as it has for years. It's very slow, rather ugly, and very incon
by widdershins 13y ago
Interesting article, but I'm in the UK and Paypal still looks and works exactly the same for me as it has for years. It's very slow, rather ugly, and very inconsistent - the splash page seems styled differently to the login page seems styled differently to the help page... I could go on.
I know this is mostly superficial stuff, but it doesn't contribute to a good experience at all.
Slightly OT, but why is it suddenly all the rage for sites to have persistent nav-bars that follow you down the page? The one on this blog is obnoxiously huge, and obscures a lot of content. What's wrong with scrolling to the top of the page?
- orr94 13y agoI totally agree about the persistent navbars. If they are really slim, I can tolerate it. That one is obnoxious.
- KiwiCoder 13y agoI put a persistent nav bar at the top of my latest site (http://bosscheck.me http://bosscheck.me) so that potential customers are always looking at a "book now" option. Shallow and obvious, perhaps, but my assumption is that this is optimal for conversion.
- rattray 13y agoConversion in particular is where you should never assume what's optimal =)
- KiwiCoder 13y agoI hear you! :-(
- QuasarLogic 13y agoYour navbar is much nicer and less intrusive though, I like it. Have you thought about differentiating the booking button from the rest of your navbar elements?
- KiwiCoder 13y agoYes, I've thought about that exact idea probably more than it deserves, but I'm trying to err on the side of not appearing spammy while simultaneously keeping the "book now" button always in easy reach.
- hackula1 13y agoI genuinely wonder how it is possible for paypal to have such terrible design for so long? Everyone knows its an issue, and it seems like a couple 100k in design work would clear up the issue for the next 4-5 years.
- gamache 13y agoThe move toward Node as a platform will make things like cosmetic redesigns much easier to accomplish. I don't think many design firms could, or would want to, work within PayPal's older stack, which requires knowledge of not only Java but dozens of internal services. Keep in mind that PayPal is a gut-wrenching edge case of internationalization and localization. If you're an Israeli person transferring Thai baht while you're in Chile, the website must account for that while respecting your user preferences and all local, national, and international law. It's a gross problem no matter how you handle it, and it utterly prevents drive-by redesigns.
- jonknee 13y agoMaybe it's not terrible? Amazon tests everything to death and their site is very "ugly" too.
- hackula1 13y agoDoes testing have much to do with it? What's the angle I am missing?
- CmonDev 13y agoOnce you have been acquired there is no longer a point trying hard.
- k-mcgrady 13y agoHow come? Wouldn't the company that acquired you want you to succeed so their acquisition wasn't wasted? If you're point is that the founder has 'succeeded' and won't try as hard his new boss will fire him.
- CmonDev 13y agoI would imagine main objective would be not taking risks because you already earned your big time money. Redesigning GUI and switching technology are risks.