User data closes that gap between what we think users do and what they actually do. By grounding decisions in data, you protect your work from blind spots, improve the user experience, and make sure your efforts are truly worthwhile.
Many of us support the people who use our sites every day, and we regularly hear feedback from them. Students may struggle to find key information, and faculty may worry their work isn’t easy to discover.
Even with this frontline insight, our perspective can still be incomplete, and assumptions do not always capture the full picture of user behavior.
The problem with assumptions
Every decision maker brings their own biases to the table. We assume that users will notice the big red button, scroll to the end of the page, or read that one article that was published the week before. But users rarely behave the way we expect. When assumptions drive decisions, this can lead to wasted resources, low engagement, and updates that cause problems instead of providing support.
Here are some common assumptions and the issues they might lead to:
“If information exists on the site, users will find it.”
Content may be perfectly accurate, yet buried in places that make sense internally but are invisible to students. Many end up going straight to Google or contacting staff directly.
“If we create detailed web guides, students will read them.”
Teams spend hours writing long, step-by-step guides, but analytics often show students skim or skip them in favor of quick, scannable answers.
“More menu items will make things easier to find.”
Adding links feels helpful, but in reality it clutters navigation and makes it harder for users to locate the most important information.
What data reveals
This is where user data makes all the difference. Data doesn't care about personal opinion or internal debates, since it's just a reflection of what's really happening. Site analytics can highlight where users drop off on a form, and usability tests can reveal friction points that no one on the project team noticed.
For example, a team might place an important call-to-action on the bottom of the page, assuming users will scroll down. A quick look at heatmaps might reveal that most visitors never make it past the halfway mark. Or, a content team might assume that students want long, detailed guides about a specific service, only to find that analytics reveal far more engagement with short, scannable resources.
How to request analytics for your WMS site
Are you working on a project for your WMS site? It's a good idea to gather some analytics data to learn about your site traffic. Send us an email to google.analytics [at] mcgill.ca (subject: WMS%20site%20analytics%20request) (request a Google Analytics report) for your WMS site.
