Website Usability - How Useable is Your Website?

Apr 29, 2011 by: Jason Orban

Usability on your website is a necessary condition for survival. If your website is difficult to use, people will leave. If your homepage doesn’t clearly state what you offer and how you can help, people will leave. If your users need to search through unorganized pages to find what they are looking for, they will leave. If your information is hard to read or doesn’t answer your visitors key questions quickly, they will leave.

There are a lot of websites out there and probably a few in your company’s niche, if a visitor finds any discomfort when using your site their first response is to leave and look for another site. You have less than 10 seconds to make an impact on a new visitor,  before they decide it’s not worth the hassle and move on. The honest truth is that if your visitors can’t find your product, they can’t buy it either.

Key areas to focus on when you are determining your websites usability are:

• How easy is your navigation to follow? Does it tell visitors what they can expect on the following page? Is the font that is used easy to read? We used to call “artistic” links that don’t have any words or words that are hidden until you mouse over them, “mystery meat” because you never know what you are going to get. In all cases it’s best to avoid “mystery meat”, on the web and in real life.
• Is your information buried? Do visitors have to search through countless pages to find what they are looking for? Is the information easy to access? Users should be able to access whatever information they came to your site for in 2 clicks or less. That means no pages with sub pages and more sub links. Organizing your information so that it is on relevant pages with relevant titles will help your visitors and keep them around longer.
• Does your main page tell visitors who you are and what you are about? Does it tell them why they need you in their life? Why they need to buy your product and how it will make their lives or businesses better? You don’t need to hit them with a lot of copy as soon as they hit your website but your purpose needs to be clear and your homepage should convey that.

If you are worried about the usability of your site, ask someone from your target audience to use your site. If your website caters to women in their 50s who are looking for something to do in the city. Find a couple women in their 50s and ask them to try and use your site. Is it confusing for them? Can they find the information they want with relative ease or are they frustrated and confused when using the site. Don't discount what they say because they aren't the most computer savvy, these people may very well be your customers.

 

Jason Orban is a graphic designer, website designer and owner of Think Big Studios in Regina Saskatchewan.