The “Exploring the User Engagement on Reddit” study captured mixed reactions from users’ experiences and interactions with the webpage. The study revealed moderate to reasonable user satisfaction based on how the interface responded to each respondent’s desired action and expectation. Thirty-two respondents participated in the survey on February 4, 2024, between 16:34 and 21:46. From this group, 31.25% of the participants visited Reddit daily, 25% weekly, 6.25% monthly, while 37.5% rarely saw. Most users pinpointed entertainment and news as the main reasons they visit the webpage, with each registering 40.6% of visits. Other reasons, such as social interaction and shopping, constituted 12.5% and 3.1% respectively. Only one respondent claimed to visit Reddit based on mood, although it rarely happens.
While the study evaluated the overall user satisfaction with Reddit, key reasons were apparent in dissecting factors influencing the frequency of visits. These factors included platform usability through navigation, the ability to post or comment, design elements, and search functionality. For instance, most users were moderately satisfied by the ease of finding content they were interested in during searches. 37.5% of the respondents claimed that it is “straightforward to forward the content, 21.9% saw access to the content as “somewhat easy,” 31.25%% were neutral, with only 9.4% claiming that it was somewhat tricky. There is an almost similar trend in users’ perceived attractiveness of Reddit’s content organization, with most responses ranging from average to excellent. 18.75% of the respondents claimed content organization is perfect, 37.5% felt it was good, and 34.4% thought it was average. On the other hand, 6.25% claimed that the webpage’s organization was poor, while 3.1% indicated its content organization as very poor.
Visual design also proved to be an integral aspect in maximizing UI/UX on Reddit due to its contribution to enhancing appeal. According to Beaird et al. (2020), this aspect constitutes the typology or layout, images, fonts, color management, and how different elements interact to enhance the look and feel appeal. Each element carries its visual weight to cater to the users’ interests without distracting the view of the main elements. This aspect revealed one of Reddit’s deficiencies, with only 9.4% claiming to be satisfied with the appeal, compared to 43.75% who needed more confidence in its appeal. On the other hand, 37.5% were neutral on the visual appeal, 6.25% were relatively dissatisfied with the appeal, while one respondent- 3.1% expressed dissatisfaction with the graphic design. Additionally, 62.5% of the respondents felt that searching content on the website was effectively more accessible. 9.4% claimed that the search on Reddit was ineffective, while 28.1% remained neutral.
The overall experience of Reddit stirred mixed reactions toward the conclusion of its effectiveness on the UI/UX. This conclusion is derived from the ultimate behavior and perception of the platform. For instance, respondents who claimed to have encountered challenges during their interaction with the interface were less likely to recommend the platform to other Internet users. Additionally, the platform’s nature, usability, and visual elements have significantly highlighted their role in influencing user preferences and behaviors (Shah & Nasnodkar, 2021). The effectiveness of web searches also influences user actions and motivations. For instance, of most users, 96.9%, have never used the platform either by posting or commenting. Although over 93% of respondents claimed to have zero challenges during this interface, it is also possible such challenges would increase with the increase in frequency. The frequency of people recommending Reddit to their colleagues would also increase with improved performance.
References
Beaird, J., Walker, A., & George, J. (2020). The principles of beautiful web design. SitePoint Pty Ltd.
Shah, A., & Nasnodkar, S. (2021). The Impacts of User Experience Metrics on Click-Through Rate (CTR) in Digital Advertising: A Machine Learning Approach. In Sage Science Review of Applied Machine Learning, (Vol.4, Issue 1, 27-44).
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