I’ll do a way better follow up than this but here’s a brief look at some of the tools that were covered today:

• Google Analytics
• Google Website Optimizer
• CrazyEgg
• UserTesting.com
• ClickTale
• Cross Browser Testing
• Attention Wizard
• Feedback Army
• Visual Website Optimizer (invite code: SMX)

Thanks again to all the great folks who hung around to see us, came up after the session, and e-mailed with questions after. SMX West was a great time!

PS… I couldn’t be happier with this picture. Thanks GogDog!

The idea behind Instant Heatmap is simple. We want to empower marketers to make better decisions before testing, saving them time and money.

By using a variety of inputs and technologies, we can judge the impact of designs, advertisements, and landing pages before releasing them to the world. By mapping this data in the traditional heat map format, marketers will receive system-based input that affords feedback without significant investment.

It’s in private beta but we are looking for participants that would find value with the service and are willing to provide solid feedback. In return, we’re willing to offer free access to the software. If you’re interested, please sign up.

This is setup to be the most feedback driven solution I’ve ever been a part of, so let it flow!

In the features section, Chris has a good starter list of things that are important for an e-commerce solution to support:

• Coupons
• Inventory Tracking
• Recommended Products
• User Reviews
• Shipping Options
• International Support
• Integration with other Systems
• Search
• Organizational Capabilities
• Customer / User Benefits
• Statistics / Tracking
• Checkout Process

Off the top of my head, I’d look for widget support, an active development community, usability on the merchandising side… just as some starts. Overall, really solid high level article and a good starting place.

“By redesigning the overall flow of the shopping cart we’ve made the shopping experience on our site easier and more intuitive,” stated Jason Wolfe, CEO of GiftCards.com. [Source]

Looking at the individual steps, it looks like they’ve done a lot right. There are some strange features too, check out the video at the end to see what I mean…

GiftCards.com Shopping Cart

Checkout Step 1. Overall impressions of this page are that it is simple and clearly outlines the objective. Note that top navigation, search, and account links are maintained. I had to move my mouse from the top left to the bottom right of the screen to get to the next step, and this caused the navigation flyout to activate. Notable attributes:

GiftCards may benefit from adding a progress bar to guide users through the process a little bit better, but given the simplicity of their layout, it may not drive much.

GiftCards.com Checkout Step 2

Checkout Step 2. The second step of checkout is another clean page. The standard template is still maintained.

The only remarkable thing about this page is the lack of the “Next Step” button until a user enters all of the required information on the page. I’d be very interested to see testing data and user interviews here.

My only concern would be that this is an unnecessary point of failure. It’s possible that something random (user settings, misrendered page, conflicting code… etc) would keep the JavaScript from displaying this button, but I’m cynical that way.

Checkout Step 3. The final page much the same. Key features are there – it’s easy to pass information to the billing fields, and instructions are ample. Required fields are clear. The checkout contains a McAfee security badge and supports conversion with the text “Safe and Secure Checkout.” When you click the help icon next to the CVN field, the page white’s out with guiding information and repositions the screen to the top of the page. You can see an example of this by clicking here.

Overall there are some good usability examples and some opportunities for improvement. What would you change?

There aren’t a lot of folks that are openly critical of GWO, and the intent of this thought is not bash them. To set the landscape, my biggest problems (in no particular order) with GWO are around the lack of:

• Revenue Reporting
• AOV Reporting
• Step Reporting
• Segmentation & Targeting
• Merchandising Insight

Note that these potential downsides do not mean that you can not use Website Optimizer for optimizing checkout conversions rate, just that you have to set things up differently and be aware of the insights that you will have to track through alternate means.

Some ideas for things you can test effectively with GWO:

• What elements get more people into checkout
• What elements get more people through checkout
• What elements impact dropoff and abandonment

Any other thoughts or ideas?