10 Website Usability Tips
10 Website Usability Tips
1. Use intuitive navigation. A website that is easy to navigate is imperative! Make your navigation obvious and consistent throughout your site. Remember if users can’t find what they want in 3 clicks, they’re gone.
2. Don’t be too clever. Fluffy designs that do not support real user needs are not recommended. It is better for your website to be useful to your visitors, then to be full of “bells and whistles”.
3. Easy to read text. Make sure your text is easy to read, has a good contrast with your page background, and is not cluttered with annoying gimmicks.
4. Communicate clearly. Be sure to mention who you are, what you do, what you are offering, how it will help, and what you want visitors to do.
5. Develop valuable content. Content is what keeps visitors on your website, and encourages them to come back. Great content is also one of the best ways to boost your search engine ranking.
6. Create a sitemap. This is especially important for larger websites. Visitors will use the sitemap to find their way, and search engines will use it to have reliable access to all your pages.
7. Use the right media. Video is an excellent way of interactive with visitors. Animations can attract attention to specific information, but too much movement is annoying and slows reading down.
8. Use Breadcrumbs. These help visitors know where they are in your website, especially in larger websites. For example, you will find breadcrumbs at the top of this page, showing: "Blog » digiCreative Blog » 10 Website Usability Tips"
9. Remember the homepage is not the only entrance. Visitors may go directly to a sub-page through a referring link or through Google search. Make it easy for visitors to see where they are in the website.
10. Test, test, test. Test your website with real users – and get their feedback. Test that your site works on all major web browsers. Test your website from different computers – that have different configurations.