subject: Usability of the Website Design and Development [print this page] In this fast moving technological world, the people want to access all information and datas quickly and easily. Same goes for the Internet users, as they too prefer the websites they check to be easy to use and information to be derived effortlessly. No matter how brilliant is the website design and how perfect is its development, if the actual information cannot be reached, then the site is as useful as an empty shell.
To ensure no such things happen, its best to make sure certain features are followed through while designing and developing the website. Though quite common, these features ultimately makes a website the most friendly to an user. Some of them are discussed below.
Using readable Typography
The typography of the content should always match the design of the website. The font size should be used keeping in mind the type of font used as a 10-pixel tall text in Verdana and Arial will be totally different from each other. The content should always be easily readable and should not distract the eye.
Using a catchy Tagline
Short crisp and interesting taglines always catches the users eye. So creating one describing the company and placing it close to the logo always works best. This also catches the eye, so a short statement representing the company's mission and philosophy should give the visitors to the website instant information about the company or website.
Avoiding irrelevant Graphics and Images
Using images on the website and large graphics increases the file size of the web pages and makes them load slower. The Internet users usually leave a website if it does not load within 20 seconds. It is best to use only relevant images were necessary corresponding to the web content. Besides too much pictures may distract the visitors from reading the actual content providing the information.
Using clear Navigation
The navigation of the website is vitally important for the web users. When an Internet user visits a website, he would want to browse through the full site with ease. The navigation should be designed and placed in a clear cut way, so as not to confuse the visitors making it difficult for them to navigate through the website. The best place for the navigation is at the top of the page or along the left side.
Using a Search Box
Websites featuring higher searchable elements in them should ideally use a Search Box in their website design. Visitors can just type in their queries and obtain the results easily, and not having to browse through the whole website to search for a particular page or information.
Using a Sitemap
The Sitemap gives the visitors a hierarchical list of all the pages present in the website with their subsequent links. Sometimes with too many pages to a websites and too many sub heads, the sitemap is the ideal place to navigate through a website. This page even helps in the search engine optimisation of the website as a whole.
Providing relevant Error messages
If and when an error occurs, flashing blatant error messages usually distracts the visitor's flow of concentration. These sometimes even puts them off the website. It is best to include meaningful information about the error and a link back to the homepage.
Launching a new website entails evaluating all its features and to see to its functionality. A well designed and developed website will be user friendly in a way were the visitors get the information with minimum fuss and confusion. The developer should always remember that a well balanced website can have the greatest impact on the success of the business.
At Contadgreen all the latest website designing and website development tools are used to come up with the most dynamic of websites possible.
