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Basics of Website Usability When focusing on the usability of your website, your primary thought should be about making the desired actions

on your site effortless for the browser. Think of a website as a physical shop, if everything is laid out in a logical and easy-to-navigate way you can browse the shelves, find what you’re looking for efficiently, and hopefully leave

the shop a happy customer. The shop has gained your trust and you will probably shop there again. Websites are

the same; they should be quick to load, easy to navigate, and easy to read.

However, usability is still a really subjective topic. Even with W3C (an independent body which develops common web protocols and standards) benchmarks being laid down, most web designers have their own opinions about

what works and what doesn’t.

How does my website fare?

The likelihood is that you visit your website often. For this reason it’s very easy to become accustomed to the way

it works and overlook any usability issues that may be obvious to a first time visitor. There may be several improvements you can make to your site’s performance with little time or effort needed.

The information given below should inspire you to run a few usability experiments of your own.

Top Tips

See how people use your website. Sit them down and observe how they access pages and other

information. You may be shocked by the results. Never be afraid of asking for your customers’ opinions. They are the people visiting your site to (hopefully) make a purchase. It can even make them feel even

more valued as a customer.

Most people scan websites, they don’t read them. Break up content with headings, bold text, shorter

paragraphs, and bulleted lists.

Use relevant text for linking. If an article is about Trousers then use Trousers as the link. Try not to use

the much-overused ‘click here’ unless you really have to.

The average web user isn’t willing to wait more than about 5 seconds for a website to load. Optimise site

images and source code to ensure that you are within this guideline.

Keep navigation consistent across your site so people don't get lost.

Structure your website so its flows in a logical way.

One thing that will infuriate a visitor and drive them away for good is broken links. Ensure there are no

broken links anywhere on your site.

Ensure the visitor can contact you easily if they have a query. Is it easy for them to find a telephone

number or email address/contact form? Put this info at the top of the homepage to take away any doubt.

And finally...

You know your products and customers best. Bear them in mind at every stage of the website build process. Once

it’s live, make sure all information on your site is accurate and any questions your visitors may have are answered without having to get in touch. Above all, browse your own site. You are just as good a judge of website usability

and if it frustrates you it will frustrate your customers too.