Website usability is a measure of the ease of use of a website for its user. Great website usability is achieved when the user is able to navigate through the website and find exactly what they are looking for, without encountering any obstacles or ambiguity. The entire process should be so simple that the user should be able to navigate through your website without having to even think about the navigation process.

Usability Design

Website usability principles are a crucial part of the design process. Usability is derived from basic user logic which originates from design. When I think of great usability design, Apple products come to mind. Apple’s success is based on usability design. Every item can be ‘figured out’ in seconds, no manual needed. Only a little common sense and logic, which is the epitome of great usability design.

Navigation

Simple and clear navigation is similar to architecture; the aesthetics is important, yet meaningless if not functional.

The navigation structure of your website must be hierarchical, like a spider graph, branching out to those things less and less important than the central ones. Everything must be organised into ‘order of importance’ and ‘relevance’. If design complicates the logical architecture of any given website, the design is nothing short of an obstacle itself.

Most people browse the web with a purpose in mind, and these people will always be less interested in how pretty a website is and more interested in finding what they are looking for. People also want quick results. You should be assisting them in their tasks, whether that task is to get a quote or to read a review on a product you are selling. Good usability is a solution to a problem. The problem is that users get confused, frustrated and feel lost when they struggle to allocate information that should be dead easy to find. Trust is easily broken. Users don’t necessarily make a big deal of usability flaws, but continuous small hick-ups lead to huge frustrations – and once the pot runs over, the user is guaranteed to never return to your website, unless they really have to.

Most Common Usability Hick-ups

1. Not knowing what is clickable and what is not.
2. Bad naming: When you cannot find the option to “get a quote” because the link is named something crafty like “A special price, just for you!”
3. Lists that aren’t structured according to popularity or importance.
4. Items grouped together that aren’t necessarily related to one another.
5. Unusual structuring of menu bars.
6. Difficulty finding basic links such as “home” or “contact us”.

How Do You Know When You’re Doing a Good Job?

Your visitors should be able to answer the following questions without hesitation:

• What site is this?
• What page am I on?
• What are the major sections of this site?
• What are my options at this level?
• Where am I in the scheme of things?
• How can I search?

The slightest indication of a questions mark in the navigation process is a fail. Why? Question marks pile up, take up mind space, cause frustration and distract us from the task at hand.

Sound Idea Digital is a full service digital agency | www.soundidea.co.za

Julian Karstel is a Digital Marketing Consultant for Sound Idea Digital | @JulianKarstel | Julian@soundidea.co.za

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