“A programmer wants you to enjoy using his software.
A user wants to enjoy having used the software.”

— UX aphorism, source unknown
Source: 2014 online survey of ABIM diplomates. Used with permission.

As medical board content managers, you know you aren’t running Amazon or Pinterest; you’re not trying to go viral with dynamic and trendy marketing content. Kinda the opposite, actually.

In our recent survey of almost 4,000 medical board diplomates, we learned that a majority of respondents visit their board’s website primarily on an as-needed basis: if they have an upcoming deadline (39%), are prompted either by a reminder they set for themselves (8%), or by an email from their board (56%) or society or member organization (10%). By contrast, only about a third of users (34%) reported that they might make a random periodic visit just to check things out.

Once on the board site, a vast majority reported proceeding directly to account log-in (72%). Only 8% of our sample reported that they might explore the home page content before drilling into their task at hand.

Once on the board site, a vast majority reported proceeding directly to account log-in (72%). Only 8% of our sample reported that they might explore the home page content before drilling into their task at hand.

So… what kind of content will attract and engage your users? 

Only 8% of those surveyed reported that they might explore the homepage before drilling into their task at hand. Source: 2014 online survey of ABIM diplomates. Used with permission.

It’s a trick question. A better question might be… How do your users want to engage? They may not actually want to hang out and get to know you, or browse through new programs and site features. In our client discovery sessions, we hear again and again that diplomates coming to their board site want to know three things: What do I need to do, when, and how?

Anything on the home page that gets in the way of these primary questions becomes an annoyance for users, and a liability for boards. Boards have every right (and responsibility) to provide full details, but not in obstruction of the user’s primary goals. When trying to get in and out, and quickly move on to the next thing, less is so much more.

UX Research Tip: The Best $26 Your Research Budget Can Buy

Example of a survey question in SurveyMonkey’s “Select” plan
Source: ABS Survey 2014, used with permission

To get the most bang for your UX buck, plan and create a user survey, and collect your list of participant emails. After you’ve done that (not before, because this may take longer than you think) purchase one month of SurveyMonkey’s “Select” plan. This version allows you to ask more than 10 questions (but keep it brief if you want your users to stick around) of up to 1000 participants, and add your logo so your users know it’s you asking. It also allows you to use “skip logic” to steer a custom path for each respondent based on his/her answers. Keep your survey open for the whole month, but opt out of Auto-Renew in the Account / Billing Details tab (and make sure to leave a friendly “Thanks anyway” message for would-be participants who show up late to the party). Your results will still be available after your account downgrades to the free version, and you can customize and export reports whenever you need them.

Note: I do not work for nor own shares in SurveyMonkey or any other user experience testing software. All opinions and strategies are my own, gained from experience, and shared here in hopes that they make the web a better place.