Web usability: How user-friendly is your site?

Web usability is a term used to describe the user-friend­li­ness of a website. It’s an important quality that indicates how easy a program or a website is to use. This means that having a good design and ap­pear­ance for your website is equally relevant to a decent technical im­ple­men­ta­tion and ease of use. Op­ti­miz­ing a website’s usability is a main dis­ci­pline in online marketing, not least because website usability is an important criteria for search engines. Since satisfied users are more likely to become paying customers, reacting to trends and current de­vel­op­ments in the online sphere is an important step to running a suc­cess­ful website.

Usability tests show how users move around on the site, where they encounter problems, where they take detours, and even where they bail – this in­for­ma­tion is important to determine the degree of usability. You can find this out using the System Usability Scale. Users receive a survey with ten questions, to be answered on a scale of 1 to 5. The advantage of this quan­ti­ta­tive analysis method is that it is a quick and easy solution compared to other usability tests. At the same time, the downside of this method is that it gives in­for­ma­tion on overall sat­is­fac­tion, not how to combat any weak­ness­es or optimize your site.

The con­stituents of good web usability tend to be the same for every user, re­gard­less of their tastes or in­di­vid­ual pref­er­ences. Whether you’re running a simple business website or an online shop, you should keep in mind that your com­pe­ti­tion is just one click away. If a user doesn’t have a good ex­pe­ri­ence on your site, they will click off it and go elsewhere within seconds. As a result, every website owner needs to make their project as at­trac­tive as possible for their intended target group. This involves providing the user with their desired in­for­ma­tion as quickly and con­ve­nient­ly as possible. Web ac­ces­si­bil­i­ty is just as important as a tech­ni­cal­ly flawless pre­sen­ta­tion, no matter how the site is used. En­gi­neer­ing, ap­pear­ance, and nav­i­ga­tion go hand in hand. Here are the central points of website usability at a glance:

Unique­ness

To begin with, the first step toward good web usability is that a site’s contents, themes, and offers should be unique and organized. When a user visits your site, it should become clear to them in the first few seconds what the site is about.

Even with complex websites, it’s your re­spon­si­bil­i­ty as the operator to give the user an idea of what they should expect. This is es­pe­cial­ly important to include in the homepage, as it serves as a reference point for most users. For example, the purpose and message of a website can easily be conveyed through a short and concise tagline (short slogan beneath the logo/company name) or by promi­nent­ly dis­play­ing the USP (Unique Selling Point).

Ori­en­ta­tion and structure

Equally important to a website’s unique identity is creating an easy nav­i­ga­tion and ori­en­ta­tion for the user. First of all, a clearly struc­tured site will need to have a useful nav­i­ga­tion­al system. Ask yourself whether all buttons, icons, and nav­i­ga­tion­al elements are easy to un­der­stand and don’t need further ex­pla­na­tion. It should be clear to the user what to expect when they click on any links or nav­i­ga­tion­al icons. Have a sensible amount of menu icons and a clear main nav­i­ga­tion bar. All menu icons should be short and concise.

It’s worth­while to utilize classic nav­i­ga­tion­al symbols as they are easy for users to un­der­stand. Examples include a shopping cart for checkout, or a mag­ni­fy­ing glass for the search function. The main ori­en­ta­tion elements to be included are a logo with a link to the homepage, a search box, and a menu bar. The logo is par­tic­u­lar­ly important here, as it should showcase strong brand recog­ni­tion.

Con­sis­ten­cy

Con­sis­ten­cy is an important factor for a website’s usability - this refers to the pre­sen­ta­tion of the site as well as the content. For the site ap­pear­ance, you should make sure that the for­mat­ting of logos, buttons, and other graphic page elements are con­sis­tent. You can achieve this by always choosing the same size, color scheme, and lettering. The same goes for the wording; make sure it’s the same through­out the website. Many companies use their own content style guide to keep their writing style and phrasing con­sis­tent. If you use the phrase 'book now' on the homepage and then 'order now' on one of the subpages, it could prove confusing for the user.

Appeal

Even though a website’s ap­pear­ance might not be the first thing you think of with regard to website usability, a website’s design does factor into its overall appeal. This means that operators should keep certain ground rules in mind when designing their website. It helps to create a clear, visual hierarchy, whether it is images, graphics, or sub­head­ings. Ul­ti­mate­ly, every­thing should be designed so that the meaning and context are clear to the user. An example of this would be ensuring that important in­for­ma­tion is written in a larger font.

Clickable links should be obvious to the user: this can generally be achieved by un­der­lin­ing words in a text. In addition, the following applies for the site’s color scheme, images, and graphics: peace and order always trumps gimmicks and an­i­ma­tions. A har­mo­nious and pleasant color scheme is more likely to keep visitors on the site, as bright colors, flashing icons, and any other excessive effects will make them want to leave as soon as possible.

In addition to these important factors, there is also some criteria that is of a technical nature and should def­i­nite­ly be taken into account. First and foremost, users should be able to use your website as you intended them to. This means that any texts have to be legible. Therefore, make sure to have the correct contrast between text and back­ground. If you’re using dynamic images behind the text, you should make sure that the color you select for the text means it can still be read despite the moving images.

The font size is also important. Keep in mind that visitors are in various sit­u­a­tions and use different devices: Some sit at a desk with a large monitor in front of them, others lie on the sofa with a tablet. Also, make sure that users can really see the content. Too many effects cause unwanted dis­trac­tions and often lead to display errors and longer loading times.

Speed is also an important aspect of website usability. Users who don’t get access to the desired content quickly enough will avoid the website in the future or at least not leave with the best im­pres­sion of the site. But that’s exactly what web usability is all about: a sat­is­fy­ing ex­pe­ri­ence on the website.