Everest - Usability and Brand review (v1.0)

Architects of Digital Change

This document outlines the outcomes of the Everest’s website from a brand/creative/design
website usability review and the brand review perspective. It focuses on the look and feel, and
conducted by Reading Room for Everest Ltd. the way that Everest is communicating with
their audiences from an emotional and
It includes findings and recommendations for associative point of view. The principles of
the future of the website. It will be Brand theory are outlined in the appendix of this
complemented by 10 user testing sessions to document
be conducted in the next phase of this project.
Please note that this review was conducted
The website usability review focuses on the alongside continuous improvement of the
main layouts of the current website. It includes website. Therefore, some screenshots might be
results of both and qualitative analysis (Expert outdated.
review, Google Analytics and SessionCam) and
provides Everest with recommendations around
layouts and functionalities.

The brand review is based on a full review of



Homepage
Product Range Page
Product Page
Appointment Form
Miscellaneous



When viewed in its complete form, the homepage is
disproportionate. A large portion of the screen is taken by
both the promotion banner (in green - 23% of the screen
surface) and the footer (in blue - 32%).

A full width banner emphasizes the Everest guarantees (in
purple - 11%) and another one encourages users to visit
Everest’s social pages (in orange – 4%)

All together, it only leaves 3% of the screen surface for each
product range (in red)

The new “Price Rewind” banner is also counter intuitive with
navigation arrows pointing to the right while the graphic is
pointing to the left.

While the term “fold” is usually not relevant, it is worth 1366 x 768
noting that 31% of users will navigate the website on a 1024 x 768
device using a 1366x768 screen and therefore won’t see
product tiles displayed completely.

It’s even worse for 4.6% of users with 1024x768 screens
where product tiles are covered by the Call To Action
buttons.

The fixed header and footer cover a large portion of the
screen (up to 27% on small screens)

Sessioncam provides insightful data on user’s behaviour.
Unsurprisingly, the top navigation and the “windows” and
“doors” titles are the hottest spots in both mouse movement
and clicks.

It’s interesting to notice that people click on the
conservatories picture rather than on its title while the
opposite behaviour is observed on other tiles; maybe the
depth of the picture is more inviting?

Finally, the automated carousel catches too much attention
for quite poor results (15% of clicks through)

The homepage loads slowly
• Too many resource files
• Lack of code optimisation
• No prioritisation to visible content
• Inappropriate usage of browser caching

This results in extensive load time (up to 10 seconds) and a
“glitchy” interface as illustrated on the right hand side
• Phone number changes
• Appointment form splits
• Fonts change

The homepage should inspire users and
feature the core of Everest’s activity : windows,
doors, conservatories, driveways…

Enlarge product tiles, add animated
background or appealing imagery.

Attach promotional offers to product tiles
rather than in a self-contained promotion
banner

With 15% of direct traffic and most of the
search keywords containing the word “Everest”,
the homepage is accessed by people who
most likely know the brand and are considering
buying from Everest.
Promote the benefits of the brand in key areas
by providing facts to reinforce the user’s
instinct

Picture : Addison Lee

Excessive scrolling is required by users to
review the product offer and the brand
competitive advantages.

Reduce the number of Call to Actions and
keep the menu in the flow to allow more space
for content.

The current website does not standout and –
worse – looks like the competitor’s website.

Looking at the website at a glance, users
should immediately identify the brand, trust the
information and feel the heritage.

As demonstrated above, the website relies too
much on external JavaScript libraries and is not
as optimised as it could be.

A fast loading website improves SERP ranking,
decreases hosting costs and convert better



The product range pages are “intermediate” pages aimed at Navigation
directing users towards the right product. They are long Banner
pages made of a dozen sections as illustrated in the Product sub families & style selector
screenshot. Blurb + CTA
There is an average time spent of 50 seconds on the top 30
pages of this category a fairly low exit rate (30.3%) which are Benefits of Everest products
both encouraging figures.
However, they fail at presenting the options available in a Benefits of this range
concise way. Options available

http://www.everest.co.uk/double-glazing-windows/upvc/ Gallery
Blurb + CTA
FAQ
Testimonials by trust pilot
Blurb about guarantees
Social media and footer

The activity zone is clearly contained in the first third of the
page. It emphasizes the need for concise information. The
click rate is important on the promotion banner, the uPVC
(33%) and the Casement windows (7%).
The above behaviour is probably linked to the most popular
products but can also be influenced by the ordering of
items.

http://www.everest.co.uk/double-glazing-windows

With an average time spent of 50 seconds, it is Door sd sde
fair to say that users don’t have time to read it
all. Askldhjaasald
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Progressive disclosure means that the user is asdajsdh
only presented with necessary elements on
each page and gets more and more granular
information as he navigates through the
options.

Remove sections such as the brand benefits,
product options or guarantees. Focus on what
is really necessary at this stage of the user
journey : the benefits of this specific product
range.

On the “Casement Windows” page, users are
requested to chose between uPVC, Timber or
Aluminium.

Highlight the core benefits of each material to
help the user decision, It does not need to be
detailed

• “The most energy efficient”

• “In keeping with a conservational area”

• “Cheaper than timber”



This is the core template of the Everest website. All product
pages don’t have the same exact structure but they all
present quite generic benefits; product specifications,
available options, a photo gallery, FAQ and testimonials.

The information provided on the page is cluttered and lacks
order.

Benefits of the selected product and available options are
presented on all product pages.

Both conflict with each other because of their common 3
columns layout, text colours and length of text and icon
style.

Clicking them redirects the user to a “all benefits” page but
not to the right tab.

Rewards fuel our motivation. They enable us to
continue on our quest to achieve a goal. By
rewarding the user throughout his visit, a
website can encourage discovery of content.

Add scrolling animations, display advice and
tips from top to bottom and reward users when
they achieve an action (switch tab, enter their
email address, fill in a form…)

Everest’s competitors are likely to showcase
the same benefits. They need to be presented
in an entertaining and self-explaining way.

Short looping videos are a route to explore

Some users will spend time reading product
specification, comparing benefits, customer
reviews… before booking an appointment.

Connect together all the pieces of information
so the users understand the benefits of each
and every characteristic.

New doors and windows can considerably
change the appearance of a facade. When
improving their biggest asset, users need to be
reassured.

Enable users to preview online any
combination they select (style, colour,
options…). It increases user’s engagement and
will prepare the ground for salesman.

The default setup can be based on popularity,
seasonality or marketing.



This form is the number one lead generator for Everest.

It was simplified in the past few weeks to ease conversion.
It’s a 2 step form that includes numerous mandatory fields
amongst them a date selector and an address lookup. Once
step 1 is completed, users cannot go backwards.

Labelling is confusing. “Get a FREE quote” does not
necessary mean “Book an appointment”

There is no real time validation when filling the form.

Error messages are standardised and appear at the top of
the page, making the analysis complex for the user. The
screenshot aside illustrates the eye movement for the user.

A selected session illustrates the difficulties user experience
when booking an appointment.

User action Feedback A
Fill in the form All fields showing green tick B
Don’t click “lookup address”
Click “continue” three times Nothing happens C
Scroll to top See 2 address related errors D
Click lookup
Complete his address Taken to step 2
Click continue All fields showing green tick
Fill the form Taken back to step 1
Click continue “Phone number incorrect”

Correct the phone number Taken to step 2
Click lookup
Complete his address Taken back to step 1
Click continue “Select a valid date”
Select time
Don’t select date
Click continue

Session recorded on Apr 21 2016, 04:29:46 with IP 149.11.102.30

It can be necessary to split the form into
several sub sections. However, it is important
to keep the navigation clear so the user
understands the context and is able to easily
navigate back.

Create a layered form with a navigation panel.
This will allow users to switch from location of
the appointment to interests independently.

Once all 3 or 4 sections are completed, the
submit button activates and stands out.

Reduce the number of fields to a minimum.
When Expedia deleted one field from their
registration process, they increased their profit
by 12 million.

Provide users with suggestions and immediate
validation of the data they enter. Don’t wait for
them to submit to raise the error.

Store locally their information in a cookie; if the
user needs to fill in a second form, his data will
be pre populated.

Clarify labelling. “Lookup address” assumes the
user is familiar with a database vocabulary.
“Find your address” is a more accessible
terminology.

This can also be replaced by a predictive
search that refines results as the user types.

Interests could be pre selected based on
visited pages

Show progress of the user as he fills in the
form.

It’s critical to provide users with visual feedback
to help them visualise the results of their action
and enhance the sense of direct manipulation.

Add a loading indicator on submission to
prevent double submission.

Display humanised and helpful error messages
right underneath.

Explain clearly the next steps so the user
knows what to expect.

Grey down fields but leave them on screen so
the user can review them



The search function does not work effectively.

Relevance: In the screenshot aside, 4 results are not
relevant. They are only returned because the keyword
“finance” appears in their footer.

Refining: There is no toolbar to refine the search and – even
worse – typing a new keyword on the search result page
does not return anything.

Therefore the search functionality is only used by 0.4% of
the users. Of these users only 2.5% of them go on to use the
2nd page.

People who use site search are often in late-
stage buying mode. Information gathering is
completed and they navigate the website to
satisfy other buying motivators such as colour,
options and installation speed.

Their experience can be much improved by
returning contextual results like Ikea.

“uPVC windows colours” : returns a colour
palette

“Black front door”: returns a gallery of all
available models in black

Q&A could also benefit of contextual search. 1
Instead of grouping all FAQs in one place using 2
an unintuitive accordion layout (screenshot 1), 3
the site search could return responses to
questions in a much improved way.

The second screenshot shows how Google
returns a definition and key information straight
on its result page – sparing a click for users.

The bottom one shows how searching for
“repairs” returns information about Everest
repairs policy.

As illustrated on the right hand side, Calls to Action are in
droves on the Everest website and tend to conflict. The
“Conservatories” has ten of them displayed on screen for
instance.
The table below shows the percentage of click per button

Windows http://www.everest.co.uk/double-glazing-windows/ Floating 1st 2nd
CTA CTA CTA
uPVC Windows http://www.everest.co.uk/double-glazing-windows/upvc/
http://www.everest.co.uk/double-glazing- 2.5% 1.2% 0.3%

Casement uPVC windows/casement/upvc/ 3.7% 1.2% 2.9%

6.2% 7.4% 3.7%

They also look pretty different and don’t follow the same
hierarchy pattern. Some of them even lack a hover state.

Everest should adopt a clear strategy for their
Calls to Actions to bring clarity and prevent
them to jeopardise each other.

• Identify the most important ones and delete
the others

• A design that stands them out

• A clear hierarchy (see 1)

• A consistent and honest labelling (see 2)

• Showing status to the user

• Providing feedback of the action (see 3)

The 404 page on the Everest website uses a standard layout
and copy. It apologises to the user and recommends to
head back to the Homepage.

Customization of the 404 page can make a everest.co.uk/hello/word • Does not exist
world of difference. The message and design • Category hello
must reflect the brand identity and offer 404 • Closest match world
direction. Expanding the search bar by default > homepage
will also increase the chance of retaining the > hello
visitor. > world?

The misspelled URL can also be used to make
recommendations. The red section of the
following URL could help determine which
section the user is navigating and the blue

http://www.everest.co.uk/double-glazing-windows/windo-benefits-options/

 Go back to “Windows” (red section)
 Learn about the “benefits”



First impressions
Promotions
Colours
Typography and Iconography
Photography
Tone of voice

The Everest site upon loading presents a personality of Everest does not particularly
dichotomy of impressions. On one hand it looks shine through from any individual element of
clean and modern, muted and reserved, and the design.
suggests a legitimate, trustable company. A
calm elegance is provided by the colours, There is a lot of information to digest on each
animations and images. On the other hand, the page, albeit with each section often laid out in a
prominence and insistence of the main sensitive way – this may be overwhelming for
promotional box (currently showing the spring the user.
offer) is so dominant that ultimately the feeling
is quite imposing. All in all, while the design is accomplished and
clean, it ends up feeling somewhat sterile and
The layout and typography is precise and clean, faceless. There is nothing to fall in love with, or
and hints at modern design themes, and sites make you warm to the Everest brand itself.
like Apple and Microsoft. This is no bad thing
but certainly errs towards corporate safety. The



The most dominant aspect of the initial homepage designs
is the promotional banner space.

The previous banner style was very generic, and given the
lack of personality conveyed, it could have been on any
website in the world.

Without anything emotive to tempt the viewer, without any
story being told, all they are is a signpost to value: this style
is use by companies like B&Q or Asda, who appeal to the
“everyman” looking for a bargain, and who appreciates
being left alone to get on with their everyday life [Brand
Archetype: Regular] rather than someone who responds to
quality, passion, heritage, warmth and so on. The style is
also incongruous with the rest of the design, being far less
elegant, modern and reserved than the rest of the styling.

It’s important to say that although the new campaign is
much more interesting and meaningful, the dominant
message of, for example, the homepage, is still the price,
and practical elements of the brand. This needs to be
balanced through the rest of the site – or maybe there’s a
more compelling way to express the new campaign online
that with a banner..

The dominance of the offer banner, combined with the offer
that appears on the page when switching windows, adds up
to a very insistent sales message, which dominates the rest
of the design and user experience.

While the sales message is important, it overwhelms any
other brand story being told – the equivalent of your
salesman opening each sentence to the customer with a
monologue about the special offer.