Clarity of access entry point

Owned by Bojhan Somers
Last updated: Nov 05, 2023
2 min read

Users need to be able to access content quickly.

Users often access your website and that of other content providers (e.g. publishers) as part of a bigger task. This also often means that users have to re-orientate themselves on each website they visit, where they can get access to the content item.

As systems/websites change and many priorities are taken into account, we observe that the key action item of getting access gets diluted and becomes less visible. This is not easily observable, users often escalate issues that occur after trying access - but the struggle of finding access is often not shared.

At Seamless Access we follow a few principles:

  • Users should be able to identify the primary access option within 5 seconds.

  • There should be 1 primary action button.

  • All access options should be grouped together.

These guidelines are to ensure that users can find access quickly.

Example (Bad)

A fictitious publisher, which places access options.

  • [ x ] Multiple primary actions on the page (Access, PDF, Login)

  • [ x ] Options spread across the page, no clear single spot to find access.

  • [ x ] Options which may not give access to article (Get PDF, Login) given equal prominence.

Example (Good)

A fictitious publisher, which places access options in the article body.

  • [ ✓ ] All access options are colocated.

  • [ ✓ ] Primary access option is clearly visible

  • [ ✓ ] Secondary and tertiary access options are clearly delineated.

  • [ ✓ ] Login options are grouped together.

  • [ ✓ ] Additional help options are provided (e.g. contact Library).

References