[Sigia-l] "close window" links in pop-ups

[Samantha Bailey]

We have repeated evidence in our usability tests that users fare much better
with the close button than with just the browser "X" icon--even when we just
duplicate an X icon in the pop-up. I was a skeptic before seeing it in
repeated usability tests, but now the close button is a required part of our
style guide for pop-ups. (Of course, the problems with pop-ups are another
issue....)

Interestingly, we're conducting a usability study right now where we
couldn't get the  close button to work on the prototype, so I suggested that
we just drop it, since the functionality wouldn't be there. I didn't think
it would make much of a difference--we've definitely seen that even our
novice users have grown more sophisticated with each passing year. But the
users have been having a very tough time--it's a pop-up that gives a
definition for terms as the user is interacting with a wizard. One user
repeatedly hit the "back" or "next" button in the wizard to close the popup
(due to the vagaries of the prototype that actually worked, which wouldn't
be the case in the actual product)--the user didn't seem to ever realize
that she was hitting the next or back buttons--only that she was
successfully getting rid of the pop-up. She did register that she had to
re-populate the options selected in the screen, but seemed to think that was
connected to having clicked to get more info (which goes to show how low
users expectations of interfaces can be).

sb


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Collins" <DCollins at phoenix-interactive.com>
To: "sigia l" <sigia-l at mail.asis.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 3:36 PM
Subject: RE: [Sigia-l] "close window" links in pop-ups



>> I wanted to get people's opinions on the use of "close
>> window" links in pop-ups to, well, close the browser
>> window. They are very common everywhere and I never really
>> stopped to think about them much. Is it necessary?
>> Shouldn't the browser's "x" button be enough? Are there
>> any studies out there about the subject?
>
>Believe it or not, there are users who don't know how to
>close a pop-up window. The redundancy of a "close window"
>link is a safety net for them. They might be inexperienced
>in general or just inexperienced on the particular platform
>they're using your site on.

(I recently read an article that strongly suggested using them, can't
recall where though.)

There is more to it than users merely not knowing how to close a window
- there's also knowing *that they can*. The problem arises when users do
not realize they are *in* a pop-up window. The pop-up may be so large as
to eclipse the main site. Users then find themselves on a page - often
with inadequate context (it's a pop-up) - and not know how they got
there, but more importantly, not know how to get back. The CLOSE button
is their savior.

Look at ogilvy.com. Look in their 'Our Work' section. They open new
full-screen windows - no close button. Imagine a user navigating this
site without knowledge of (or use of) Alt-Tab...


Dave

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