Ferry frustrating

While trying to book a ferry using www.ferrysavers.co.uk I discovered a UX problem which left me scratching my head. My dilemma was deciding which vehicle category my small Camper would fit within – or more so, those which it wouldn’t.

Common sense dictated I should not select ‘Motorcycle’ or ‘Minibus’, as it was clearly neither. Left with the options of Car, Van or Motorhome, I could have probably whittled it down to two of the three. However, the accompanying size criteria left all three options open.

Those with deep pockets may have played safe and opted for the most expensive ‘Motorhome’ option; it’s hard to envisage you’d be refused a crossing because your vehicle is too small and you’ve inadvertently paid too much. Those like me though, would simply look elsewhere (although not before also noticing the absence of an FAQ link, or a helpdesk telephone number).

By following two simple guidelines this site could easily improve its user experience:

1. Remove ambiguity from forms (out of the options, which is more important here the size or type of vehicle?

2. Provide a back up by clearly signposting users to FAQs and help contact details.

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