Think deeply about how you structure what you’re telling your users, and ruthlessly prioritize

If there’s a TL;DR to this post, it’s this: Figure out what you want your user to know. Figure out what you want your user to do. Then tell them, and make it OBVIOUS. 

‘Content Hierarchy’ is a fancy way to say that messaging the most important stuff to your users first, and in the most obvious way possible, is really, really, life-and-death-of-your-business important. 

And if you don’t believe me, let me tell you about a Powerpoint slide where the most important, decision-making bit of information was in small font, at the bottom of the stack. The decisions made on the back of this Powerpoint and its terrible content hierarchy meant seven people died in a fireball that scattered their remains and other debris over 2,000 square miles, becoming an international news story. 

— A thermal image of the Space Shuttle Columbia during its re-entry. Pic: NASA

When the Space Shuttle Columbia launched in 2003, a piece of foam broke off the fuel tank and hit the leading edge of the Space Shuttle’s wing, dislodging a heat-resistant tile designed to protect the shuttle from insane heat on re-entry.

A group of scientists sprang into action to figure out if the damage was critical, and thus if re-entry with the damaged shuttle was likely to be safe. 

They rapidly conducted a test with a sized-down replica of the foam and anticipated the damage the actual foam chunk might have caused and drew up some quick conclusions, but with a critical caveat that the replica was WAY SMALLER than the actual chunk of foam that caused the damage - i.e. the actual damage could be disproportionately more devastating.

How they chose to communicate that critical information is the stuff of tragic legend.

— The key piece of information is buried, ultimately costing lives.

The critical caveat that might have urged caution was NOT surrounded by flashing light emojis or in bold font, it was buried at the bottom of a slide, in the smallest font text on the slide. Everything about how it was presented in relation to all the other information on the page whispered that it was the least important thing to action, when in fact it was the most important thing to understand before making any decisions. (The pink box emphasizing it is mine). The language of the entire slide was technical and ambiguous in a situation where plain speaking and clear paths to action should have been at a premium. It did not recommend an action or make any strong declarative statements.

Ultimately the Space Shuttle re-entry was deemed survivable. It was not survivable. The entire crew perished as the shuttle ripped apart in the atmosphere on re-entry. Death by Powerpoint.

Structuring visual cues and messaging to guide the actions of your users may seem like something of an art form, but the basics are simple.

• Put your key messages front and center. Make them legible and obvious.

• Enable users to take your preferred actions easily, with minimal scrolling or clicking.

• Have second, and third preferences to those actions, and place cues/buttons enabling those to catch people who don’t opt for your first choice. Always be thinking about funnels & loops to create growth and better engagement.

• Examine every page and touch point with desired user actions in mind.