I found this great article on website usability that I wanted to share. Several of these tips I mentioned in my presentation for SP24: Top 20 Usability Tips for SharePoint Sites – specifically the sections on information architecture, navigation, formatting, and usable forms. Keep reading to learn more.
Web Design-11 Characteristics of a User-Friendly Website by K. Singh
Many businesses make the mistake of neglecting usability. Usability is critical for the success of any website and should never be overlooked. Good usability can improve the performance of your website and increase your chances of success. It can also boost sales and revenue for your business. I know my friend was telling me about a brilliant marketing agency that boosted their organic searches.
For your website to be successful, it should not only look good but also provide a seamless user experience for visitors. This is why good usability is important. This is why it is important to hire a reputable web design firm (look at this Web Design Swansea company for your reference) that can design a user-friendly site and optimize it appropriately so that it is free of any bugs or issues. Doing this can help set your website apart from your competition. There are loads of ways that you can improve your website, for example, this might mean that you get yourself a web host provider such as Hostiserver (for more information check out their website www.hostiserver.com). But there are loads of other things that you can do to improve your website.
In web design, good website usability is about making it easy for visitors to find the information they need quickly and easily. We’ve noticed a massive rise in clients and the consumer market wanting to know how to design shopify website. This is enabling them to get in on the online selling game and establish a great e-commerce store.
There are many ways to improve the usability of your website. This article takes a look at 11 essential characteristics of a user-friendly website. These simple usability recommendations can make your website more appealing for customers and improve your chances of success online.
Here are 11 essential characteristics of a user-friendly website.
1. Mobile Compatibility
As more and more people use their mobile phones to access the Internet, creating a mobile optimized website has become a necessity. There are no doubts about it. If you want to reap the rewards of mobile ad revenue, then your website needs to be accessible on a mobile.
The first step is to check how your existing website appears on mobile. You can use Google mobile site tester to find this out. If your website cannot currently be accessed on mobile, you can create a mobile version of your website for free with the help of web-based mobile website builders.
For further help and support harnessing the potential of your mobile ad revenue, why not try reaching out to a marketing intelligence platform specialist such as Singular. Some things are best left to the experts after all.
2. Accessible to All Users
A user-friendly website should also be accessible to everyone including blind, disabled or the elderly. These users typically use screen-readers to access the Internet. The 508 website accessibility guidelines highlights simple web design techniques that can be applied to make sure your website can be accessed easily on-screen readers, making your website available to a larger audience.
3. Well Planned Information Architecture
How information is organised and presented on your website is vital for good usability. However, it is often neglected. It has become even more important today as websites offer a wide range of information and resources to attract their target market. Plan your website sections and categories carefully and present information in a way that it is easy for users to find. Always think from the perspective of your users. This is particularly important if you offer a lot of content on your company’s website.
4. Well-Formatted Content That Is Easy to Scan
The average Internet user skims through the content on a web page instead of reading each and every word from top to down. Users tend to scan through key parts of the page quickly to determine if it is relevant to their needs.
It is important to format your content with this in mind. Correct use of headings, sub-headings, paragraphs, bullets or lists help to break up text, making it easy for readers to scan.
5. Fast Load Times
Nothing is more annoying for website visitors than a website that takes long to load. In fact, slow speed is one of the main reasons why visitors leave a website. Making sure your website loads within 4 to 6 seconds is important for good usability. It also affects your search engine ranking.
You can use free tool such as Pingdom to test the speed of your website and to get suggestion on what you can do to improve your speed.
I have found third-party website plugins and widgets including website tracking, social media, to be one of the most common factors that affects website speed. Try to limit their use and only use the ones that are absolutely necessary.
It is also one of the main reasons visitors leave your site. Customer expectations have changed significantly in recent years. A typical customer will only wait for a few seconds for your page to load, after which they will most likely navigate away to a competitor’s site never to visit again.
6. Browser Consistency
Browser compatibility can be easily overlooked. Even the websites of some of the most reputable companies suffer from this problem due to neglect. This is bad for branding and has a negative affect on website usability.
Although modern browsers have evolved and become more efficient, some inconsistencies still exist in how a website is interpreted by different browsers. It is important to ensure your website appears and behaves consistently across all major browsers such as Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Opera. Simple things like this set a professionally designed website apart from the rest.
7. Effective Navigation
Good navigation is one of the most important aspects of website usability. Simple HTML or JavaScript menus tend to work best and appear consistent on all browsers and platforms.
It is equally important for the navigation to be clutter-free. Try to limit the number of menu items as far as possible. A drop-down menu or sub-navigation may work better on large site with many sections and pages.
Advancement in DHTML, and JavaScript libraries such as Motools and Ajax also opened the doors to many new possibilities for creating innovative navigation systems. Take a look at Mashable’s example below.
There is more to navigation than menu. Here are some other aspects to consider:
- Good search feature.
- Multiple ways to explore content e.g. top 10, most rates, most popular, etc.
- Custom 404 Page.
- Good Internal Linking
- Informative header and footer
8. Good Error Handling
Good error handling and description on-screen messages are very important for good usability. However it is often overlooked. Correct handling of errors at a code level ensures the website is robust and free from bugs. Displaying the right error message improves the user experience and overall usability.
9. Valid Mark-Up & Clean Code
A website that adheres to the relevant web design best practices and standards is often more robust and dependable. It also ensures the website will load faster and appear consistent across browsers and devices. It also makes it easier to locate problems and troubleshoot if the need arises.
10. Contrasting Colour Scheme
The right contrast between the background of the website and content is one of the most basic yet most important web design principles that should never be overlooked. Good contrast between background and text e.g. black text on a white background makes your content legible and easy to read. Lack of contrast, on the other hand, makes it very difficult for visitors to read your content.
11. Usable Forms
Forms are a very important element on business websites. They allow users to interact with the site. Forms are also very useful for generating leads for a business.
To get the most out of your site, it is important to ensure the forms are easy to use and accessible to everyone.
Here are some tips:
- Use correct labels for all fields
- Follow good form design principles
- Try to keep the number of fields to a minimum
- Offer tooltips and suggestions
- Display on-screen message on completion
- Use correct validation
Conclusion
Website usability plays a vital role in the success of a website. Good usability helps to provide a seamless experience for visitors and improves your chances of success. It is one of the factors that sets a professionally designed website apart from the rest.
Given above are 11 usability characteristics that every website must display. It can help to make your website a success.
Author K.Singh is the Director of http://www.smallbusinessecommerce.co.uk Website Design Agency based in London and the Editor-in-Chief of http://www.kronikmedia.co.uk/blog Internet Marketing & Web design Blog.
Article Source: U Publish Articles
photo by: Login – Fotolia.com
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