Imagine yourself online, reading an article you find so interesting that you want to pass it on to friends–and you’ve just placed yourself in the ShareThis target. And you’re not alone. Sharing is the number one online social activity. This little widget, that lives on over 135,000 sites, was designed to allow people to share things like articles, websites and images quickly and easily. The problem was, it didn’t look that easy. ShareThis needed an overhaul to bump up engagement. That meant a new widget design, and a better, shorter path for users to follow.
Don’t feel like reading? Watch the overview video!
We humbly admit that the product and site have evolved since our involvement.
ShareThis was getting plenty of people to click their button. But the widget was so complex and jammed with options, that people disengaged soon after and never shared their content. So, as we began concepting new designs, we had to research the hows and whys behind sharing.
We ended up developing several designs with some unique sharing options. Each one answering a potential need while striving to simplify the entire process. In one case we had the widget stretch across the width of the page, allowing users to do more on a single screen. In another, we provided a highlighting option, where users could call out specific sections of the content they were sharing as well as comment on it. Still others provided different paths through the content and different looks that were far-ranging in their design complexity.
v1. Full browser emailer
v2. Step-by-step wizard
v3. Highlight and comment
v4. Quick keys for the power user
Rollover. A new way of loading the widget allowed for a quick rollover view of three distinct sharing options of well organized icons.
Email. A familiar format invites users to import contacts, enter a message and send quickly and easily.
After working with the client team to identify the most viable options, Bobby then turned a few chosen concepts into working prototypes that could be consumer tested. From there we headed up to Columbus where a research firm helped us determine which new design was translating best to the users. Watching them interact with the prototypes, we were able to come to a consensus.
The chosen design did a lot of things well. It provided a bar across the top that could be branded, with the color and logo of whatever site it was placed. It opened up on a quick read that told users what they could do–send, post or save. And it invited people to create a user profile, without bogging down the experience for first time users.
The result was a well contained, “content light” widget that took the user through just a few simple steps. Rather than calling out every feature possible, it simply made them accessible. It allowed people to use ShareThis how they wanted, and to discover what else it could do in their own good time.
In the end it got across the idea of ShareThis. It offered a simple look and process for a widget that promised a simplified sharing experience.
Home. Designed to speak to users, publishers and developers, the home page needed to be the launching pad to a variety of possible directions.
My Account. Well organized to allow users to manage content and keep track of shares.
The final step in the process was a redesign of their website. For one thing, it needed to represent the new widget design. For another, it needed to guide people through a simple path and description to reflect the same values and benefits of the widget.
We created a design that conveyed what ShareThis had to offer quickly and without bogging it down in the details. A four-step slide show took you through the main benefits, with a call-out to sign up always prominent. It provided a nice point of entry for new users.
For active users, the clean look and simple navigation allowed a lot of information to be housed without overwhelming the screen. So that when things like contact lists were being updated or modified, the process was quick and easy.
