Production & UX: words of wisdom

If you’re on the mailing list for InPublishing magazine, you can’t have missed the 20-page ‘Content production and user experience’ special feature (sponsored) in our current issue.

If you haven’t read it yet, do take a look. There lots of good advice from leading publishers and suppliers.

Here are a few of their thoughts:

• “If we need a video to appear on a webpage, but nowhere else, then Vimeo is ideal for this.” (Matt Bradford, digital creative, Mark Allen Group)
• “Excessive or intrusive ads can negatively impact user experience and result in high bounce rates. Always prioritise the user experience when deploying advertising units.” (Andy Brown, CEO, Canvasflow)
• “Once you start challenging the status quo, it’s surprising just how much can be re-evaluated, and indeed re-costed. Or stopped for good.” (Mark Constance, group head of production, Future)
• “Collaborate with external partners. Invite partners or industry experts to observe and evaluate your production processes. Their fresh perspective and expertise can help identify areas for improvement that may have been overlooked.” (David Coveney, director, interconnect)
• “TikToks are a type of video in themselves that leans strongly on the community, the creative editing features, effects, filters and music options to make sure your content sits in harmony as part of the ecosystem.” (Paul Doyle, head of editorial video, Immediate Media)
• “Record podcasts in batches with breaks between so that feedback from the first batch of episodes can be considered and actioned.” (India Dunkley, content editor, Mark Allen Group)
• “If your nav uses drop-downs, does the name of the option in the primary nav make sense for the options it covers? If you’re unsure, ask someone who’s not familiar with the site or even your brand and see if it makes sense to them.” (Rich Edwards, UX/UI designer, Mark Allen Group)
• “Modern xml-driven workflows are the strategic aim so people and processes that have an understanding of the benefits this can bring are key.” (Richard Hamshere, group production director, Mark Allen Group)
• “Converging the print UX with a digital one continues to be the holy grail but the challenges here are immense – the switching between medias remains a speed bump that deters readers but once ‘cracked’ will certainly change the landscape.” (Mike Hoy, managing director, Papermule)
• “Multi-channel content production is a rising trend in publishing. The fact that content can be created once and published everywhere it needs to go is efficient, easy, and accessible for content creators.” (Dani Leyhue, product manager, WoodWing)
• “Areas of excellence exist everywhere within a publishing operation, but creating a workflow using the right technologies and working practices that simplify and join people and their work together is still a gap many publishers have failed to tackle effectively.” (Benn Linfield, head of design and production, Which?)
• “As a B2B publisher, LinkedIn video is something we shouldn’t neglect. Layout is variable, but 16:9 is recommended, and the time limit is 10 minutes.” (Colin Miller, videographer/photographer, Mark Allen Group)
• “A website should be accessible and provide a seamless experience across various devices with different screen sizes and resolutions.” (Cesare Navarotto, chief product officer, Atex)
• “Opportunities for print innovation come from more personalisation, print on demand, better utilisation of QR codes and VR experiences that take the consumer on a more sensory journey from the printed page.” (Koli Pickersgill, production director, Immediate Media)
• “Flipbooks and PDF replicas on mobile devices need to be banned.” (Blake Pollard, co-founder and CRO, eMagazines)
• “Good app UX means being sympathetic to the OS your app is running on.” (Matt Poole, chief product officer, Immediate Media)
• “A nice touch to add value is to give your printed publication content that isn’t included in a digital version, rewarding and incentivising readers to continue their subscription.” (Gareth Roberts, managing director, Bishops Printers)
• “Adopting a digital-first approach enables publishers to optimise their production workflows. This means designing content with digital platforms in mind and creating content that can easily be repurposed for different formats.” (Kevin Shelcott, senior operations leader and production director, EKCS)
• “An accessibility-first product design makes it easy for everyone to use. Build in accessibility into the start of any new product upgrade or feature and not as an afterthought halfway through or at the end.” (Adam Snook, technical consultant, OpenAthens)
• “Site performance is multi-layered. Everything you see – plus everything you don’t – has an effect on how well a site performs. The fonts used, number (and size) of images, complexity of the layouts, structure of the code, server technology and third-party resources all have an impact.” (Gemma Spence, head of product, Mark Allen Group)
• “Usually in podcasting, we emphasise the power of “dialoguing” with your audience… This is where podcasters use the medium to effectively break the fourth wall and speak directly to the user. Creating the feeling as if they have been included in the conversation.” (Ben Youatt, head of podcasts, Immediate Media)

As I say in my comment piece in the issue, “if you follow even some of the advice from the experts who took part, your teams will be more productive and your customers happier. Win-win.”