BunnyfootBunnyfootBunnyfootBunnyfoot
  • Our services
  • About us
  • UX training
  • Our clients
  • Blog
  • Contact us
    Home Brain Feasts: Longer Reads Tips from Airbnb on Designing a 5 Star Website

    Tips from Airbnb on Designing a 5 Star Website

    By Mhairi Robertson | Brain Feasts: Longer Reads | 0 comment | 30 May, 2019 | 0

    It’s 9:00am and you’ve just touched down in sunny Barcelona and arrived at your Airbnb. You open the door and your eyes dart around the room — lots of light, modern furnishing and most importantly, it’s clean! First impressions are good.

    You’re buzzing with anticipation of exploring the city, but you’re a bit groggy from the flight. Like magic, you spot some mugs on the kitchen counter. You reach into the kitchen cupboard and viola! Coffee and sugar. Coffee in hand, you take a seat on the sofa and, spotting the wifi code on the coffee table, plug it into your phone and scroll through Instagram. After a few minutes you snap yourself out of your social media daze and jump in the shower. You’re pleased to find shampoo, conditioner and soap waiting for you when you get in and a fresh towel within reach. After drying off, you realise: you forgot your hairdryer. Your heart sinks. You decide to message your host to see if they can help. Within a minute, you get a response: “Under the sink”. Lifesaver.

    You might be asking yourself at this point, why have I made you imagine you’re on vacation in Spain when you thought you were supposed to be learning about website design? Well, as it turns out, a well-designed website and a good Airbnb have a lot in common. Stick with me here.

    Make a good first impression

    When entering a new environment, be it physical or digital, people intuitively form a first impression based mainly on visual stimuli. In fact, in the case of a website, sources suggest this first impression is formed in less than one second. A captivating visual design will get you part of the way to a good first impression (much like the interior design of an apartment), but it’s also important for people to be able to quickly understand where they are and what they can do next. The efficiency with which people navigate their environment has a significant impact on their overall user experience. This is where information architecture comes in.

    Importance of information architecture

    Information architecture is the structuring of information on a website, app or other product. This includes organising content logically, describing it clearly, and providing routes for people to get to it. When done well, it allows people to easily navigate to content that’s relevant to them through both active (intentional or goal-oriented) and passive (accidental or unplanned) information-seeking. Spotting the WiFi code on the coffee table and the mugs on the countertop were both forms of passive information-seeking because you weren’t actively looking for these items (at least not consciously). On the other hand, locating the coffee and the hair dryer were both active information-seeking activities; you had an item in mind and intentionally sought to locate it. Both websites and homes should be designed to support both behaviours.

    As mentioned, good information architecture also includes the logical groupings of items. If the shampoo and conditioner were in two different locations, it would be not only confusing, but a hassle for guests because they’re typically used one after the other. In a similar manner, it was convenient, albeit unexpected, that sugar was placed right next to the coffee so you didn’t have to go looking for it while preparing your drink. Grouping similar items together helps people to efficiently accomplish tasks in both digital and physical environments.

    Guided by previous experiences

    How did you know where to find coffee in a stranger’s home? How did you even know it existed? The answer to this is two-fold: previous experience (where you expected to find it) and signposting. The mugs on the counter signalled to you coffee was available, and their placement suggested grounds might be found nearby. In the same way, when you’re visiting a website for the first time, you’re guided both by your previous experiences and the information that’s available to you (the content on the page). Harness this knowledge! Most people have used websites similar to yours in the past, and will try to interact with it in a similar way — design with this in mind and follow conventions.

    Understand what your users need

    From the first moment people enter an Airbnb, they subconsciously create a running total of the positive and negative aspects of their experience. When prompted to review their accommodation at the end of their stay, this score will reflect the sum of all of these experiences. Was it easy to find? Was it clean? Was it stocked with everything they needed? Was the host responsive? The list goes on. Every small interaction accumulates to form the overall user experience. As the “host” of your website, it’s your responsibility to understand what the key touch points of your product or service are in order to anticipate what users (your guests) need before they even ask for it.

    Top tips from an Airbnb experience

    Here are some tips from the world of Airbnb for designing a website that’s worthy of a 5* review:

    1. Hire a cleaner – An uncluttered webpage with judicious use of white space will invoke the same feelings as a clean house, putting your users at ease.
    2. Put some art on the walls – Don’t be scared to share your personality. Although websites should be usable for everyone, it’s less important to have a visual design that’s universally appealing (in fact, it’s impossible).
    3. Don’t put forks in the bathroom – Somewhat contrary to the last point, follow conventions. People’s expectations of how to use a website will be based on their experiences of using other sites. The key is to be strategic in your decisions on when to follow convention and when to branch out.
    4. Place the mugs in plain sight – Offer users an indication of what’s available to them through signposting. While you can’t physically tell people, “Hey, look here!”, a good design can do the talking for you.
    5. Put the WiFi code by the couch – By understanding your users’ context of use, you can surface the information that’s relevant to them at the appropriate times.
    6. Put the shampoo and conditioner in the same place – Try to get an understanding of how your users mentally group items (through conducting user research) so you can determine the best strategy for organising your website content.
    7. Hang the towel up by the shower – Always anticipate you’re your users’ next step might be so the flow of moving through your site is never broken.
    8. Keep your phone handy – Inevitably, there will be times when people require assistance to resolve an issue. Ensure its clear where they can go for support when this happens.
    9. Leave them a hairdryer – Predict the things that might go wrong in advance so you can arm yourself with a solution (and win the gratitude of your customers).

    Learn more

    • Training course:  User Research Methods & Practice
    • Training course: User Testing
    • Training course: Designing for the Human Mind
    Customer Experience, User Experience, UX

    Mhairi Robertson

    More posts by Mhairi Robertson

    Related Posts

    • What’s in a name? User Experience and UX Design vs. Design Thinking

      Nov 24, 2020

      User Experience (UX), UX design, and design thinking are popular buzzwords and often used interchangeably. But are they interchangeable? What do they mean, exactly, and how should we use them? User experience continues beyond a single touchpoint Let’s unravel the... Read more

    • Highlights from the Service Design Fringe Festival 2018

      Dec 18, 2018

      Giving myself enough time to reflect on the Service Design Fringe Festival as one of the 2018 organisers I can firmly say that the Festival was a success and worth of my time and energy investment putting aside/greying out countless... Read more

    • Video Games – Addictive By Design?

      Nov 5, 2018

      If you were asked to characterise a ‘gamer’, chances are, you’d describe a socially awkward teenage male. That’s the general perception of a gamer – and something that has been perpetuated by films and TV for decades – but it’s... Read more

    • Axure Vs. Sketch: What, Why and When

      Jun 25, 2018

      This is a short(ish) blog that aims to respond to the increased use of Sketch (a software design/prototyping tool) by our clients. I'll look at some of the more significant differences between Sketch and Axure (a similar prototyping tool), how... Read more

    Leave a Comment

    Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published.

    NextPrevious

    Recent Posts

    • ‘AR’-commerce – a novel and functional shopping experience January 26, 2021
    • Webinar: UX & Sustainable Service Design January 12, 2021
    • AR isn’t mainstream… or is it? January 7, 2021
    • What makes an effective UX Consultant? Bunnyfoot speaks to UX Usability Podcast December 11, 2020
    • What’s in a name? User Experience and UX Design vs. Design Thinking November 24, 2020

    Categories

    • Brain Bites: 2 Minute Insights
    • Brain Feasts: Longer Reads
    • Brain Licks: 10 Second Wisdom
    • Bunnyfoot Updates
    • Content: White Papers, Research Reports and More
    • Events
    • News and Announcements
    • Talks and Presentations
    • Tools and Resources
    • Uncategorised

    LONDON

    4th Floor
    54 St John’s Square
    Farringdon
    London
    EC1V 4JL

    Tel: 0207 608 1670

    SHEFFIELD

    The Old Chapel
    8 Mortimer Street
    Sheffield
    South Yorkshire
    S1 4SF

    Tel: 0114 478 2950

    OXFORD

    Boston House
    134 Downsview Rd
    Wantage
    Oxfordshire
    OX12 9FF

    Tel: 01235 606 140

    Cyber Essentials (PLUS) Logo
    • Copyright Statement
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Training Course Terms & Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Jobs
    © Bunnyfoot Ltd 2020 | Bunnyfoot is part of the Sideshow Group
    • Our services
    • About us
    • UX training
    • Our clients
    • Blog
    • Contact us
    Bunnyfoot
    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Privacy PolicyREJECTACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled

    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

    Non-necessary

    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.