Cornwall Web Design: Website Usability

Fast download

Jakob Nielsen, the usability guy, talks about the ideal download time being one where you would notice no appreciable delay in downloading - that is, a sub one-second download time.

This page is under 7k, so appears instantly.

Easy navigation

Next to download time, intuitive navigation is the most important usability issue: if users cannot find their way around your site, they'll just hit the Back button.

So, what does 'intuitive navigation' mean? Simply that your site's navigation (and links) are organised so there are no surprises for the user: they won't have to guess where it is they want to go, and they won't get confused by inconsistencies.

This also means that none of the content should cause confusion either. Basically, the whole site, everything, should be optimised to provide the user with a pain-free, seamless experience. No easy task.

Great copy

Writing effective copy is the name of the game: And when you know who your users are and what they want, then you can build an effective site.

Effective website copy is concise, clear, entertaining; it builds trust, satisfies search engines (through the use of the right keywords and phrases, in the right density). And the graphics you use, the images, the layout of the site and the navigation - they should logically support that copy.

Testing usability

Usability Testing = highly usable website deign

Download Speed: If a page takes more than 30 seconds to download, most people won't wait - they'll visit your competitor instead. Look at optimising graphics, cutting out heavy code, spreading content over new pages if necessary, so that your pages download well within this time.

Designing for IMPACT: You have just 50 milliseconds, literally a blink of an eye, to attract your user's interest. Will your homepage give your users the right signals within this time? (NB. If you think I might be exaggerating slightly here, then you need to read this article on the excellent BBC News website.)

Captivating Content: writing strong, interesting copy is crucial. Is the content relevant to the right user? Is it well written? Is it wordy, careless or boring? Does it need reorganizing?

Intuitive Navigation: Can the user find what they want, easily and quickly, without having to even think?

Browser Compatibility: I check your site on the main four browsers - Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple Safari, to make sure that your site renders well in all of them.

Accessibility: Fast becoming a legal requirement, at Richard Harries Consultancy we'll recommend the changes you need to achieve full accessibility.