To design a website without following the rules of usability would prove to be a frivolous exercise. The founding principle of usability is simple: It is design that allows normal users under normal circumstances to navigate through your website without having to think about the navigation process itself.

But who are these normal users under normal circumstances? Website users are actual human beings: Complex, temperamental beings, who are reluctant to behaving in ways that make sense. We are the users.

How we really browse

Instead of trying to analyse how people use the web through statistics, Steve Krug – author of Don’t make me think! A common sense approach to web usability (2005) – spent many hours watching how a variety of people navigate their way through the web.

Off course there is a minority number of people who browse the web simply because they are bored. Still, most people browse the web with a purpose in mind, and these people will always be less interested in how pretty your website is, and more interested in finding what they are looking for. If design elements complicate the logical architecture of any given website, the design is nothing short from an obstacle course for the user.

We don’t have time to waste

Firstly, we are usually in a hurry to find what we are looking for – the reason why we are using the web in the first place as opposed to paging through a directory. The last thing we want is to feel like we are wasting time. Secondly, we hate struggling to figure out how things work. Usability is a science of accommodating the way in which users tend to behave online.

We don’t read everything just because it’s readable

A webpage contains a number of content components, from product descriptions to embedded videos. Although all these components are designed to be consumed in its entirety, and to be consumed in a certain order, this is unfortunately not how users browse. First of all, content is scanned instead of read. We do this because we know that it is not necessary to read everything in order to locate what we need.

With the exception of a user reading the news or an interesting article, content will be scanned over in the process of navigating. Typically, a web designer wants people to treat a website as they would a novel, but the reality is that they treat a website like they would a shopping list. We scan for words and phrases that match the task at hand, which match our interests, and trigger words like “Sale”. Too much visual clutter camouflages those scan-friendly components.

We take chances when presented with options

In a test paper, when asked to select the best option to answer the stated question, we would consider every option before making our final decision. The majority of web users don’t show this behaviour. This is because there is no real consequence to clicking on the wrong option. But there is always the chance that, instead of clicking back and choosing another option, the user might just leave the website all together and try somewhere else.

We love conventions...subconsciously

Familiarity is reassuring and comforting to us. Familiar conventions counter confusion and unnecessary challenges. A generic website format employing tried and trusted conventions might be dull and predictable, but predictable is what works.

Newspapers have been employing the same conventions for decades;

• titles are large and in bold print;
• summaries in bold but smaller print;
• author names revealed at the end of articles; and
• photos with accompanying descriptions.

As for websites, the following conventions come to mind;

• a top menu bar displays the most important navigation gateways;
• clickable links on the page will be highlighted and made prominent by means of styling;
• a side column will hold extra options for browsing;
• an internal search box will appear beneath the page header; and
• important information, yet information this isn’t popularly used such as the site map, and the privacy policy, will appear in small print in the super footer of the page.

These are only a few conventions familiar to web users.

Usability hick-ups lead to frustrated users

Users don’t necessarily pop a vein over usability flaws. However, continuous small hick-ups lead to huge frustrations – and once the bomb explodes, the user is guaranteed to never return to your website, unless they really have to.

Here are the seven most popular hick-ups:

1. clicking on something that turns out to be unclickable;
2. clickable links that aren’t portrayed as being clickable;
3. when you cannot find the option to “get a quote” because the link is named something crafty like “A special price, just for you!”
4. lists that aren’t structured according to polarity or importance;
5. items grouped together that aren’t necessarily related to one another;
6. unusual structuring of menu bars
7. difficulty finding basic links such as “home” or “contact us”.

Conduct your own usability tests

The best way to figure out the elements of successful usability is to investigate them yourself. You are a user after all. Browse various webpages that you haven’t visited before, and do so with a specific task in mind. Be observant of the obstacles in your way to performing your task. What frustrates you? What makes you leave a page? Note everything that is in the least bit unclear or confusing. You will end up with a good list of web elements to avoid as well as a good list of elements that provide smooth and convenient usability.


This article was inspired by the book "Don’t make me think! A common sense approach to web usability" by Steve Krug (2005).


Carla van Straten is a Writer for Sound Idea Digital | Carla@soundidea.co.za | www.soundidea.co.za