Texas Instruments: Confusing guidance

Use of the web to make technical documentation available to customers.

The Site

Texas Instruments is a leader in digital and analogue communications technology and has set up its website as first and foremost a sales and support portal. This is reflected on the home page with prominent menu boxes for Products, Support, Applications and Buy as well as Part Number Search.

One of the options in the Support box is Technical Documents, which links to a library searchable by type of documentation and product area. Choosing any of the combinations under ‘Analog & mixed signal’ leads to a results page from where documents can be viewed or downloaded. But above the results is also a prominent link that says “Go to: Analog & Mixed-Signal”. This takes users to a separate version of the Analog menu from which they must choose again.

The Takeaway

If not quite a ‘killer’ application, the use of the web by companies to make technical documentation available to customers has been an undisputed success. However, Texas Instruments has jeopardised one of the key pluses – quick access to a specific document – by throwing in a confusing signpost right at the end of the search journey.

The error lies in the use of two short words: ‘Go to’. This implies a forward movement, suggesting that the user will progress by clicking. In fact it seems intended to help users retrace their steps if the search results do not match what they were looking for. So the wording should be ‘Back to’ or similar. What a difference poorly-chosen words can make.

First published on 21 September, 2004