Why Website Usability Is Critical To Your Business Success

Have you ever visited a website, clicked on a link and then been taken to a blank page?

Or have you visited a website, seen something that you really want to buy, went to order it and found that the shopping cart wasn’t functioning properly, or that you had to register before you buy?

The above are just two of the common examples of website usability.

If your potential customers are reaching your website and then finding it difficult to navigate around, they will immediately leave. If a page on your website is taken to long to load, again they will immediately leave.

Ensuring that your website is user friendly and easy to navigate is vital to your online business success.

Unfortunately, there are many people who do not know the basic guidelines, or just ignore them. This will ultimately lead to a lot of frustration for your visitors, and in the long run, you!

Whether it is a new website you are building, or redesigning an old one, follow these usability tips and you can be sure that your visitors will enjoy their visit.

1. Consistency

This is probably the most important aspect of usability. The style of the pages and text, as well as the colours and navigation, should all be consistent throughout your entire site. Not only does this help with usability, it also helps to build your online brand. These visual cues throughout your site will ensure that your visitors know exactly where they need to go to find what they are looking for!

2. Navigation

A good navigation system on your website should answer three questions for your visitors:

• Where am I?

• Where have I been?

• Where can I go?

Your navigation should be kept consistent throughout your site and you should provide your visitors with multiple ways to find what they are looking for. This can include text links, banners, search box and a site map.

It is also good to use cookie crumbs (home > products > product name > features) as this allows visitors to know where they are on your site and how they got there.

3. Content

The quality of content on your website is extremely important as poorly written content is a turn-off for visitors. You also need to ensure that the content you are putting on your website is interesting and engaging. This will keep your visitors coming back again and again.

Good housekeeping when it comes to content includes, using short paragraphs rather than a big lump of text. It is also important to use subheadings so that people who are just skimming the page can find what they are looking for easily. Always make sure that you use dark lettering on a light background and don’t make the text too small.

Finally, proofread, proofread, and proofread. There is nothing worse than visiting a website full of blatant grammar and spelling mistakes.

4. Images

Images are important as they visually make the pages on a website look less dull. However, although you may have found a lovely flowery picture that you just have to have on every page, stop and think about whether it is actually distracting the visitors. Also make sure that any images are not obscuring the text.

For all images ensure that they have appropriate TITLE and ALT attributes. This is the text that shows in an image when you hover the mouse over it. This will increase usability for anyone reaching your website using text browsers or site readers.

5. Contact Form

Every website should have a clearly marked contact form. You should also consider providing your visitors with different ways that they can contact you. Consider including your physical business address and telephone number.

Feedback forms are also good as this allows the reader to let you know if they have had a good experience or not. Positive feedback can then be made available to future visitors.

By following the above guidelines you can be sure that your website is user friendly and this in turn should lead to a higher conversion rate.

Another option is to hire a website usability expert who can go through your website and test what is working and what’s not.

Hiring a usability professional will give you the edge over your competitors and ensure that your website creates an engaging experience for your visitors.

PPCNSEO are an international website design and marketing company based in Pattaya and are experts when it comes to increasing website usability for online businesses. If you feel that you would benefit from this service, or any other kind of website development, please contact PPCNSEO on 038412067 or visit their website at www.ppcnseo.com