Having covered the principles of website usability and browser behavior in our previous articles, it is time to set the guidelines for converting your website into a model for usability design.

Website Usability Ground Rules

1.    Employ consistencies and conventions
2.    Create successful links for easy clicking
3.    Choose titles carefully
4.    Don’t pressure your visitors
5.    Structure according to priority and create visual order
6.    Writing for the web is a different kind of writing
7.    Test your efforts

Employ Consistencies and Conventions

Consistency in navigation helps direct users and decreases the learning curve of the website for the user. This means that the central navigation pane should be the same for every webpage. A site should include these important consistencies:

• The site ID:

The site name or logo should appear on every page as part of the frame.

• The home button:

The home button is a way to start over when we get lost so it should be the same on every page.

• The search bar:

The search bar should be the same for every page, as a back-up plan if browsing links prove unsuccessful. One generic search bar per page for an internal search is good enough.

• The menu bar:

Those most often used links must be present in the menu bar on every page in order to have the basic navigations at hand during any phase of the browsing path.

The only exception to the rule of consistency is landing pages with forms to fill in. You can read more about landing pages here.

Create Successful Links for Easy Clicking

The way we navigate through a website, is by clicking links. Firstly, we have a menu bar. The menu items should be selected under the criteria of items most often used in hierarchical order from left to right. Menu items will have relevant second and third level sections. These should be carefully structured in a hierarchical and logical order.  Check this article for more information on website structure and linking.

We then have all the other links on the page, consisting of buttons, text links, image links, etc. It is important to consider usability when building such links. Each link interaction should be prompted, for example: “For our contact details click here”. Once a link has been clicked it should be made clear to the user, either by highlighting it or changing its colour.

The amount of clicks it takes a user to reach their desired page is not as important as the actual clicking process. It may take a user numerous clicks to reach a page, but if the clicking process was effortless it won’t matter.

Choose Titles Carefully

Every page should have a name. The name should be presented consistently at the top of the page, prominent, clear and in simple language. The name of the link must be exactly the same as the name of the page that you get for clicking it. A mismatch equates to a panicky or frustrated click on the “back” button.

Avoid ambiguous terms at all cost, confusion disrupts the navigation rhythm.  Avoid crafty or cutesy page titles; keep them as simple and obvious as possible.

Keep your company jargon, acronyms and abbreviations away from your titles. They will only lead to confusion and frustration for the user. You don’t want users spending time and patience on figuring out what your abbreviations and acronyms stand for.
Use “search” for search boxes, not “find” or “quick find”. Stick to the most popular terminology when naming these items.

Don’t Pressure Your Visitors

Users should never feel under pressure to buy something or pressured to subscribe to something. The option should be there, yet toned down to a strong suggestion instead of a pressuring demand.

Structure According to Priority and Create Visual Order

When considering visual order keep this one rule in mind: Important equals prominent.

Elements on a webpage should not be competing for our attention. We want to simplify the browsing process not overwhelm the user.

Group the appropriate titles together. Make it clear that corresponding components are placed in such a way as to reveal their relationship – such as drop down menus or listings below a heading, or copy links within a paragraph. Grouping can also be done according to design elements or through positioning on the page.

Writing for the Web is a Different Kind of Writing

When writing for the web, write for clarity and quick reading. Too many words on a webpage are unnerving. You want to keep your pages short, minimise the clutter of useless items, and make scrolling down unnecessary where possible.

Test Your Efforts

Website statistic tools, such as a clickstream, make it possible for you to see how users are navigating through your website from the back-end. A clickstream is a record of a user's activity on your website. From the first three clicks you should have an idea of what the visitor intended to find. Tracking the paths that users follow, you will be able to see at which points users give up and leave the site, where do they take the wrong turn, where do they get confused and click “home” to try a different path.  Take this information and go have a look at the weak links in your site navigation. You might want to rethink these.

Web statics is not only ever used to reveal the rotten spots in your website. Through tracking browser routes you will also be able to spot the number of users who complete tasks in comparison to those who just browse and leave. Revisit the steps taken by task completing users. Chances are that your navigation design is especially good on those pages.

Logical and sensible navigation builds credibility. Employing strong usability design is keeping the browsing procedure simple, self-evident and self-explanatory.

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

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

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