Week 2 UX Observation update

1) Ezgif.com


Occasionally I will have a need to turn a moving image file from one filetype to another. For example, I might need to turn a GIF file to an MP4 file or vice versa in order to use that file on a site or for a project that requires a specific file type. In this situation I tend to use ezgif.com:


As can be seen in the above image, Ezgif.com has a very simple and minimalist interface which is free from most extraneous or irrelevant information that might distract or detract from the visibility of the actually useful information (minus the unfortunate exception of the large, attention-seeking ads which are a necessary evil due to the website's business model of being free with ads).  Thus, this site fulfills the Heuristic Design princple of "Aesthetic and Minimalist design" for the most part (again, with the exception of the large and obstructive ads).

However, the site has what in my opinion is a Rank 3 Usability problem which violates the "Error Prevention" and "Visibility of System Status" principles of Heuristic Design, as seen in the screenshots below:
 

In those screenshots I had selected the "GIF to MP4" and "GIF to MOV" options, respectively, which determines what type of file it will convert my GIF file I uploaded into being after the process is over.  

When clicking on the tab to change between the two options I was not given any visual feedback to show the change was in process, and after the change was complete the only visible difference was the small tab near the top of the screen and the text "GIF to MP4 converter" changing to "GIF to MOV converter". This violates the "Visibility of System Status" principle and makes it more likely that someone might click the option in error and not be aware that they did. 

Additionally, because the site is almost completely identical between the "GIF to MP4" mode and the "GIF to MOV" mode, with only a few words of text being different, it is very likely that a user of the site might upload their GIF file and start the lengthy conversion process before realizing that the site will convert their file into the wrong filetype, and not the filetype which will be useful for them. This violates the "Error Prevention" principle and will at least waste a significant amount of time for the user and in a worst-case scenario it might cause the user to be unprepared for an important presentation because they realize too late that they have arrived with their files in the wrong format.

Overall I think the site could be greatly improved by making each different conversion cause the site to be visibly different from each other, perhaps by highlighting the filetypes in different colors or using big, bold text for them, or perhaps even using a visual like the logo of the media company that the filetypes are associated with.

2) Twitter/X sidebar


X has recently changed the "Messages" feature to "Chat" which does the exact same thing but with a slightly different interface. This is confusing to longtime users who have been using messages since Twitter began many years ago, and "Chat" is a term associated with chatrooms, something Twitter is not. This is a violation of Heuristic 2: Match Between the System and the Real World.


3) Google Maps (Map Portion)

This has many different icons to indicate hotels, hospitals, restaurants, parks, universities, etc. The icons are not always clear what they mean, however (for example a tree can symbolize a hiking trail OR a public park). This would benefit from a prominently displayed "key" or "map legend" that shows what each symbol means, and without it this violates   Heuristic 2: Match Between the System and the Real World.


4) Google Maps (Recent searches)

This 










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