Continuing in the series of “design mistakes”, here is a screen shot of a very simple interface where there is a only one button. However, despite its simplicity we can find a major mistake.

The most important actions on an e-commerce web site are:

• Add items to the shopping cart
• Confirm the purchase

The label used for these actions must be clear and must reduce the chances of possible errors and doubts to enable users to accomplish their tasks without interruption.
In this case, using a “cool” label like “add 2 cart” can confuse users about the number of items to be added : are they going to add 1 or 2 items? What’s more, the text style is outdated and so “eighties”.

In our 1-day Information Architecture Workshop we say that it is really important to talk the user’s language and that we shouldn’t try to reinvent the wheel. In this kind of situation, using the standard « add to cart » label is, I dare to say, compulsory. Trying to deviate from the standard can cause confusion and consequently a considerable loss in possible sales.