Don’t Be Like Snapchat: How to Change Your UX Without Ruffling Feathers
Unless you’re over the age of 30 or live under a rock, you know that Snapchat recently changed its user interface. This change to the app’s UX upset a lot of users (myself included - watching people’s stories is a nightmare now), and that’s because this update wasn’t designed for them - it was designed for advertisers. What does this mean for the future of Snapchat, and what can other businesses learn from this?
Snapchat’s Uncertain Future
Snapchat hasn’t been doing great, so it’s really no surprise that they’re prioritizing their main source of revenue - ads. But at the same time, they’ve sacrificed the quality of their UX - was it worth it?
It’s really too early to say. In the short-term, it hasn’t been great for the company’s stock value, but the goals of most UX updates are long-term. By making more room for commercial content, the app could eventually see a boost in its bottom line. But did they really have to piss off hundreds of thousands of users to do it?
Preventing Change Aversion and Finding Middle Ground
There are many lessons to be learned from Snapchat about changing the UX of an app or a website. While yes, almost all UI updates get some backlash from users, there are ways to minimize the aversion to change and help make the transition smoother - the Snapchat trainwreck was entirely avoidable.
If you want to optimize your platform for advertisers while still keeping user engagement up, remember the following when you change your UX:
1. Be transparent. Warn users beforehand that change is coming so that they’re not caught off guard. You want them to hear about how great the update is from you, not about how bad it is from their friends on Twitter.
2. Test before launching. What might seem like a great idea to you might not be so great to anyone else, which is why it’s important to test UX updates before launch. “Partial launches” (giving a small percentage of users access to the update) let you see how actual users respond to the new UI without risking an avalanche of negative public feedback. If you can’t do a partial launch, conduct usability testing.
3. Be open to user feedback. Actively listen to your users and address user complaints in future updates. Give them a way to communicate with you, such as a survey where users can rate UX changes and type out their comments. Because if they can’t complain to you, they’re going to vent about it on social media.
(For more tips about tackling change aversion, I recommend this article from GV!)
