Website Usability

Website Usability deals with how usable a website is. If you're like most people, you have your own view of what Website Usability is, and therein lies the problem. Everyone has their own view--usually slightly different from everyone else--of what makes a website usable. The trick is building a website that is usable for as many people as possible, as opposed to what's usable to just one person.

Benefits of Website Usability Standards

• Builds trust and rapport with the end user
• Helps users get the information they need and you want them to have
• Helps users to take action more concisely
• Causes web users to stay on the site longer and return more often
• Makes users more inclined to make purchases online
• Makes users less likely to click the back button and go back to Google

Web Conventions

Web conventions are standards for building websites that appeal to the broadest number of people, helping them to find the way around a website without having to learn new applications. In his book, "Don't Make Me Think," Mike Krug makes an excellent case for adhering to web conventions, arguing that website users are in a great hurry and have little patience for learning the use of buttons in places they've never seen before.

Tips for Better Website Usability

Website usability guru, Jakob Nielsen preaches that people "use the web like wild beasts in the jungle" and spells out his research in his Information Foraging Theory. It's quite interesting to note from his findings that people are searching online for information, and are seeking the quickest route to the data they crave. Nielsen likens this information hunt to a wild animals hunt for food. "Search engines have become answer engines." (Nielsen) Our job as website developers is not only to build a site that's in tune with your brand and meets your objectives, but that is also foundationally built the way people use the web.

Clear Link Titles - The "information scent" of a Web site consists of the link titles on a given web page which give the user clues to what content can be found on the site. The link titles on a site should be honest, clear and non-vague to be most effective.

Showcase Sample Content on Home Page - Offering sample content on the home page gives the impression that your website is "nutricious" and offers gives the perception that everything needed is on the website and there is no need to go elsewhere.

Demonstrate that Users Can Find What they Need - Offering clear navigation and search functions on the site gives users the impression they can find what they need quickly and easily.

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