While having a well designed site is important, it’s important to remember to work on optimizing for website usability. Web Usability is defined by the user experience when interacting with a website. There are many factors that affect the experience of a web visitor such as loading time, navigation, formatting for mobile devices, readability, and organization.
Web usability is a broad topic. In a nutshell, we’re talking about giving the user exactly what they want without making them work for it. Exceeding those rudimentary needs for content by presenting a beautiful design on top of that is the ultimate goal. However, it is of primary importance that the design serves it’s function by delivering content to the user in a sensible way.
User Experience
The simple fact is that if someone clicks on your site and has a negative user experience because they can’t find what they’re looking for in a short amount of time, they will simply leave.
User experience can be bogged down by such things as inconsistent or hidden navigation, important content being obscured behind too many clicks or simply having too much on a page so as to lose focus on what should be most obvious. An intelligent user interface design that gives users what they want is something that will either make or break a website’s design.
To more fully understand website usability, we need only think about how we, ourselves, surf the internet in search of content. We all want to find the things we’re looking for quickly and without hassle. On top of that, having the desired content delivered to us in a smooth and attractive experience guarantees our attention. We become more receptive when things are easily accessible and attractive to look at. This is a valuable tool to create a lasting impression on the user. Happy customers are always repeat customers.
User Interface Design
Interaction with the user interface design should be natural and the navigational elements should make sense immediately. Colors, shapes and fonts should be consistent throughout. This strengthens the brand identity and gives the user a clear idea of what they can interact with.