There are large numbers of websites operating in the Web world today offering a wide array of products, services, information and entertainment. The present challenge is attracting users and keeping them coming back to your site when they can easily move to another site.

Studies of user behavior confirm that users are impatient and have a low tolerance for difficult or slow web sites. Poor usability can lead to wasted time, reduced productivity, increased frustration, loss of repeat visits and loss of money. If users can easily find what they’re looking for, they will be more satisfied with your site. This will lead to trust and loyalty. Early studies on web usability indicated that when users get frustrated with a web site, they leave and seek another alternative.

Usability takes into account the weaknesses of focus groups and customer surveys by focusing not only on what people say, but also on what they do. Focus groups alone cannot tell you what to fix about your site. For example, people may be spell-bounded by a cool, slick web site, but when left alone they may not use it if it is too hard to understand.

Usability focuses on what people do versus what they say they do. Usability methods like user observation mean you can watch people use your web site in the way they normally would in the course of day-to-day life. Your users are the real experts and you can learn a lot from watching them use your site in a real world place like the office or at home.

You don’t need to be a usability expert to benefit from usability techniques. Your company may not have an official usability staff, but some of the most effective usability methods can be done cheaply and have lasting effects on a site’s usability. Even fixing one small usability problem can help and improve a site.

If a task takes ten minutes to complete on your site before a usability test and only five minutes to complete after a usability test, then you have saved the average user five minutes. This may not seem like much, but over time and many users, the time saved adds up. Some of the simple usability fixes are elaborated below:

Choose accurate and consistent titles. Because users of the web tend to scan pages, a good heading can let them know they’ve found the right page. The page title is the key to quick orientation. You must use descriptive titles with well-chosen keywords. So users immediately know if they’re on the page they want to be on. A clear title also helps users who’ve arrived to your site from a search and don’t know where they are in relation to the rest of the site.

Your logo can double as a handy shortcut back to the homepage by providing a consistent link back to the homepage. In fact, most web sites already follow this convention.

Using descriptive link text is an essential part of writing for the web. Non-descriptive link text like “click here” makes no sense when taken out of context.

By using consistent, persistent navigation on your site, users will always know that they are on your web site, rather than on someone else’s web site. They will also be able to rely on the navigation bar to explore your site.

Even the most seasoned writer makes the occasional grammatical or spelling error. A lack of errors helps to increase credibility, while a lot of spelling mistakes means you can look like a layperson, so be sure to double check and proofread your copy.

People will quickly leave sites that they can’t read or understand. Now is not the time to show off your five-thousand strong font collection, or your huge color palette.

Users can’t and won’t read every single word on your carefully constructed web page. A clear visual hierarchy can help facilitate skimming.

Designing a Web site is a lot of fun, but bringing some structure and science into the design will help you create a page that your customers will find beautiful and usable.

Tags: Good Web Design Leads to Better Website Usability