<p>Welcome to Magento Behind the Scenes, a new series on the Magento blog that will take you behind Magento and give you insight into why we’re making the design and functionality choices that we are, as well as giving you a sneak preview into what you’ll be seeing come August. We’re kicking off Behind the Scenes with an introduction to the My Account Dashboard. Below is the wireframe we are basing the design on:</p>
<p>(click on the image to see it <a href="http://www.varien.com/blog/images/my_account_dash.jpg" target="_blank">full size</a>)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.varien.com/blog/images/my_account_dash.jpg"><img src="http://www.varien.com/blog/images/my_account_dashsmall.gif" alt="Magento's My Account Dashboard" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Magento’s My Account Dashboard is a streamlined approach to presenting your customers with all of their account and sales information in one place. Our goal with this feature was to remove the frustration that comes with the text links that are found in many sites’ Customer Accounts. Instead, we’ve made Magento’s My Account Dashboard easier for your customers to browse without having to drill down into multiple pages, making desirable information the first thing that the customer sees.</p>
<p>We know how important it is for customers to be able to conveniently access their information. As our designer, Minu Oh, put it when asked about the Dashboard’s structure:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Customers need to find information pertaining to their orders or account information without having to go between multiple pages. We understand how customers scan web pages and what graphical elements give a page’s content precedence. Web pages are read left to right and large, consistent bold headings give the contents visibility. This makes it easier for [the customer], and they are simply more open to further offerings of the store when all of their experiences are positive.”</p></blockquote>
<p>The My Account Dashboard is divided into two areas - the main <strong>customer account</strong> area, and the smaller <strong>shopping</strong> section on the right. When a customer accesses the Dashboard they can immediately see detailed recent order information and individual customer information at a glance. They can also see Recent Tags and Reviews in an easy-to-view format - we’ve capped them at five so that the Dashboard remains uncluttered. This gives the customer an intuitive layout that provides what they need to know at a glance, making the experience much smoother and, in the end, more positive overall.</p>
<p>We wanted to add to this positive experience with the account’s shopping section. In it, the customer can find their <strong>Shopping Cart</strong>, <strong>Wishlist</strong>, and <strong>Last Viewed Items</strong>, keeping all of the products shown on the Dashboard tailored to the individual customer. For the customer’s convenience, both the Wishlist and Last Viewed Items are also accompanied by product thumbnails to help influence a sale. The Wishlist and Last Viewed Items allow the customer to add products to their shopping cart without leaving the Dashboard. We also included a small marketing Callout area, allowing the Store Owner to post a banner advertising sales and specials.</p>
<p>This is only the beginning. In future, we plan to add even more features to the My Account Dashboard, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Personalized recommendations</li>
<li>Notifications of price-drops and specials on previously viewed items</li>
<li>Gift registry information</li>
<li>How many people used a user’s tags</li>
<li>How many people found a user’s reviews helpful</li>
</ul>
<p>Watch this blog to see the design decisions as we fit these elements into the dashboard.</p>
<p>Love it? Think we’re forgetting something? Leave us a comment and let us know!</p>
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