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If you want to remove some of the guesswork from your design and decision making process, you'll need to collect and analyze data about your users.
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[Dan Gorgone] Making decisions about what content or features to offer can be challenging
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when you're not sure what your users do on your site or app.
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In history, best practices can only help you so much.
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If you want to remove some of the guest work, you'll need to collect and analyze some data.
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There are two different types of data that you can consider, quantitative and qualitative.
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Quantitative data refers usually to numeric information that you can collect through things like
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tracking apps or surveys or other statistical programs.
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It can tell you things like the number of people visiting the site, the number of e-mail replies, your campaign received,
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the number of products you sold or the number of Facebook likes you generated.
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This kind of data can allow you to make assumptions about behaviors or outcomes and perhaps predict future performance.
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Qualitative data on the other hand refers to information that's more descriptive and open-ended
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while quantitative data might tell you that you sold 10 of those new cupcakes today.
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Qualitative data might reveal how those sales were received, and if you can expect more or less sales tomorrow.
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An example of qualitative data in this case could be that the customers gave you feedback
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stating the new cupcake flavor was great, really tasty, and super yummy.
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It sounds like you should continue making this new flavor then.
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Without that qualitative data, you might not know for sure.
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Here's another example.
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Let's say your business has a contact page on its site
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and over the past month, the number of requests coming in for help have doubled.
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On the quantitative side, its data that tells you that's something is going on
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and really you can only make assumptions about why perhaps traffic has increased leading to more users on the site.
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Well, if you get a look at the qualitative data perhaps some direct feedback from the customers,
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you might hear that the shopping cart on your site has a bug and some users have been unable to complete certain purchases.
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Both pieces of data here tell you something is going on, but only by looking at both and you see how serious of an issue it is.
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So, how can you gather this data?
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One of the easiest and more widely used ways to collect quantitative data is by using Google Analytics.
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Tools like this can provide a wealth of features to better understand who is using your site and how.
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Understanding what your users are looking at and how they're looking at it
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can be extremely valuable for figuring out ways to improve your site.
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Using Google Analytics to track your site can reveal information about who the users are and what they're looking at, but
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more specifically what kinds of devices they're using to visit your site.
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Another way is to build in functionality to allow your users to share their feedback directly.
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Not only can they provide helpful direction on what products or services you offer
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but the way and which they provide feedback and leads new ways to communicate with and engage your users.
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Therefore, don't isolate yourself on your own site.
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Get on social media and listen to what your users are saying and talking about.
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Follow content and people that relate to your industry
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as they can provide ideas on what people want and need as the industry evolve.
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In addition, look at competitor sites such as similar companies or sites with similar features.
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What do they offer?
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These sites can be especially helpful because they may have already done a lot of research you need for you.
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Qualitative data can be found a way from your site as well.
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If you work for a company, get some data from people that interact with the users directly
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such as customer service or the help desk.
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If you're running your own site, stay on top of any e-mail requests that come in and see what people are asking for.
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This may give you clues about what content or features are missing or broken.
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No matter what kind of data you collect, understand that if you can track user behavior and satisfaction,
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you can better understand your users and predict their future needs.
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Designing and producing content to meet these needs results in a much more usable and satisfying experience.
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