The Rise of the Side-Mounted Feedback Link
January 8th, 2009, 11 Comments »
I’ve been meaning to mention a recent web design trend: the side-mounted feedback link. I think I first spotted the link on BrightKit’s site:
Now that I dig into the links, I see that they’re all powered by and link to two customer services websites: Get Satisfaction and User Voice.
The link is ‘affixed’ to the right or left edge of the browser window and usually rendered in a contrasting colour. It floats above the page–that is, it doesn’t move when you scroll the page up or down.
This lends the link considerable prominence, and I’m interested to see if this eagerness for customer feedback spreads beyond sites using Get Satisfaction and User Voice. I’m also interested to observe whether there’s any consensus on the placement of the link–right or left side? How high in the browser pane?
I’ve collected a little list of sites with side-mounted feedback links on Magnolia. I’m up to eight at the moment. Here they are:
| Site | Side | Height |
| Boagworld | Left | Medium High |
| BrightKit | Left | Medium High |
| Get Satisfaction | Right | Medium High |
| Metromix | Left | Low |
| Momversation | Right | Medium |
| Tr.im | Right | Medium |
| TweetDeck | Left | Medium |
| User Voice | Left | Medium High |
| Yammer | Left | Medium High |
Thus far, there isn’t much consensus. Obviously the high on the left side is going to get more attention than low down on the right, but there’s no standard thus far.
Improved User Experience?
I’m no user experience expert, so I’m interested in opinions of this little innovation. I’m encouraged by this apparent trend toward a more prominent call for interaction.
Of course, the feedback link is analogous to the company’s phone number. It’s how a company responds to the feedback that makes all the difference. If a company representative never replies to your concerns, it doesn’t matter how big or visible your feedback link is.
I’d also be curious about other sites that have added the side-mounted feedback link. Write a comment if you know of any.
UPDATE: I just noticed that the Book Cover Archive has a similar floating link on the left side. It’s not flush with the browser edge, though, and is a link to the site’s home page as opposed to a feedback form.
