subject: Understanding the Website Usability Essentials [print this page] Understanding the Website Usability Essentials
One of the most important elements of a website, which is often overlooked, is its usability. If you want your visitors to stay on the site and successfully execute the action you want them to do, you need to make sure that your website is easy to use and has simple navigation. Remember, your website design should be developed keeping mind the customers' ability to use it, and not to please your aesthetic senses or to portray the designer's artistic ability.
Developing Your Site's Navigation
Your website's navigation tools should be easy to use and tell the user clearly, as to where they are on the site, how they can go to a preferred location in the site and an easy way back to the earlier pages. In simple words, your website's navigation options should be user-friendly.
Planning your information architecture will allow you to determine where the content has to be placed and which web pages have to be on top. This not only makes planning your site navigation easy, but also serves the website's function- whether it is for sales, gather information, or educate the users.
Take Help of Web Analytics
As web analytics can help you learn about the users' behavior on your site, you should use the data to understand their preferences, the path they usually follow and also the exit-pages to adjust your navigation options accordingly. By being flexible to these website design changes, you can be more successful in pleasing the customers and retaining them on your site to build a relationship.
Be Open to Feedback
One way to test your site's usability is to ask your users about it. Provide a feedback form on your business website and allow users to give their opinions on various aspects of the site including the usability of the site and the content. Keep a tab on the forms, respond to their comments and make the appropriate changes as required.
Keep it Consistent
One of the best ways to confuse your users is to create your webpages differently with a variety of layouts, colors, fonts and font sizes. To avoid losing customers that way, ask your professional web design consultant to ensure consistency in the navigation, language, and colors on every page of your website.
Easy Access to the Home Page
Depending on the links and their relevance, a customer can either land on your home page or any of the internal pages. While the internal pages are for specific functions, the home page is like a hub that allows easy access to all other pages on the site. This is why, all the pages in your business website should have a home' button or tab that directs users back to home page. This makes both navigation of your site and accessibility of information much simpler.
Easy Access to Information
Another tool that can make your website easy to use is the search' box. Having a search option on your website will make it easier for users to find what they want by simply typing the keywords. Also, make sure to have a sitemap in your website design, so that the customer can know where to find specific information rather than having to search the entire site.
