What are some of the most offensive mistakes website designers make that chase users away? What can businesses do to improve the usability of their website? This article will cover some of the mistakes to avoid and simple strategies businesses can use to improve their website's usability.
Top Mistakes
Bad Search - When users want to search for something, they always look for a simple box to type in their search, any other form of search input does not stand out and is sure to frustrate users. Also, search engines that are overly literal and cannot handle typos, plurals, hyphens or other variations of the term the user is searching for greatly reduce usability. Search engines should be able to recognize what a user is trying to look for without the user having to search for the item of interest exactly as the search engine recognizes it.
Not Changing the Color of Visited Links - No one likes to get lost when navigating, and websites that do not change the color of visited links get users lost. With this feature in place, users are able to keep track of where they have been on the site so that they do not unintentionally end up on the same page over and over again. Knowing past and present locations helps users figure out where to go next. With different link colors identifying visited and unvisited links, users can easily track which links they already viewed and determine whether they should avoid it in the future or reference it for revisit.
Non-Scannable Text - Having a wall of text is a big turn off for users. It is never appealing to come across a big chunk of text that a user cannot easily skim through. To avoid this pitfall in website design, use simple tricks such as:
- Headings
- Subheads
- Bullet lists
- Highlighted keywords
- Short paragraphs
- Easy language that sounds personable rather than professional
It is important to make your website as easy on the eyes as possible.
Anything That Looks Like An Advertisement - Websites that try to attract the user's attention with flashing text and images or animations actually achieve the opposite. Users tend to ignore anything that looks like it is trying to advertise information. When someone is on your website, they are there with a purpose and anything that attempts to get in the way of that will be ignored.
Design Convention Violation - When people design websites with the hope of creating a unique and different design that will stand out among the rest, they actually end up hurting the usability of their site. Consistency is one of the most powerful usability principles: when things always behave the same, users don't have to worry about what will happen. Knowing this, it is obvious that a website that appears out of the ordinary will make the user uncomfortable. When users are not comfortable and do not feel like they are in control of the website, they tend to not like it, and no one wants to continue with something they do not like.
Not Answering User's Questions - Once again, users visit websites with a purpose, a goal, and hope to achieve that goal. When websites clutter the page with information irrelevant to the content presented or with information that resembles useless fluff, users tend to get frustrated. When it becomes nearly impossible to find the specifications a user is looking for, usability is diminished significantly. If you are selling products, for example, be sure to list prices; or if you are describing items, be sure to include specifications. In other words, get to the point and make sure you provide the user with the information they may be looking for.
Improvement Strategies
Following are some strategies to incorporate in building any website. They will definitely help improve the usability of your website and enhance the experience users have navigating your website, which will in turn improve the value of the website.
Be sure to mention who you are and what you do
- A one-sentence tag line will go a long way in summarizing your identity.
- Title your page appropriately with your name to gain good search engine recognition. Using words like "the" or "welcome to" in your title will alphabetize your website under "T" and "W," respectively.
- Create a clear and concise "About Us" page containing all relevant information.
Make it easy for users to find what they need
- Emphasize a clear starting point for the main functions of your website.
- Offer a search box that is easy to locate on the site and large enough to fit searches without obscuring parts of the user's search text.
Use images, graphics and decorations wisely
- Users tend to ignore anything that looks overly fancy. Elaborate illustrations and designs come across as advertisements that users tend to avoid. Avoid clouding your site's important content with unnecessary imagery.
- When using images, keep it simple and use real-life images to portray real people in real situations that will help connect the topic and business to the real world.
These are some of the tips that you can use to improve the usability of any site. As long as you avoid the top mistakes of website design with regards to usability and try to improve the usability of your site with the suggested strategies, users will have a positive experience visiting your site over and over again.
Jakob Nielson's Alertbox. Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design.. Accessed May 25, 2010. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html
Jakob Nielson's Alertbox. Top Ten Guidelines for Home Page Usability.. Accessed May 25, 2010. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020512.html
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