When it comes right down to it usability design is a lot of common sense stuff. Sure, someone with experience conducting usability tests, writing personas, or designing information architectures has a deeper understanding of underlying usability issues, but a lot can be said for common sense.
Here a 8 common sense ideas to help you improve the usability of your website.
- Don’t make visitors think
Steve Krug’s original law of usability (Don’t Make Users Think). Upon arriving at your website the visitor should be able to understand the page and know what they are being asked to do without thinking. If a visitor has to spend time thinking about how to accomplish their task that is time they are not spending completing the task, which is why they came to your site to begin with. - Don’t make visitors feel stupid
Error messages are some of the worst offenders of making visitors feel stupid. Your site should be designed to help the visitor avoid as many mistakes and errors as possible. However, it is impossible to avoid all errors. When errors happen the messages that are displayed should be helpful and useful so the visitor can quickly resolve the issue and move on. - Make it easy to get help during the final stages of the buying process
Look for ways to answer your visitors’ questions at critical decision points. For example provide answers to common questions, such as ‘What is your return policy’, or ‘do you offer any guarantee’, or ‘what are the shipping costs’ when the user is checking out. - Eliminate Text
Studies have shown visitors don’t read website content instead they scan the page looking for ‘trigger words’ (words that trigger a click) that are relevant to them. Look for ways to eliminate filler text. Review your current site copy looking for ways to reduce any copy that doesn’t add value to your message. Be aggressive. Then with the remaining copy use headlines, bullets and call-outs to make your page easier to scan. - Don’t use silly link names
Visitors arrive at your site to complete a specific task. They don’t have time, and don’t want to learn your terminology. Call things what they are and don’t force users to guess at what link name might mean. - Write links with clear direction
When writing you links, keep your link text simple and clear. Links should be descriptive and lead the visitor to the next destination, properly setting their expectation. - Avoid using pop-up windows
Pop-up windows remove user control, are disruptive and eliminate the ability to use the browser’s navigation (i.e. back and forward buttons). In addition, the content within the pop-up is not easily printed and often times pop-ups are blocked by modern browers’ pop-up blockers. - Make it easy for visitors to contact you
If visitors do want to get in touch with you, but can’t find your contact information, you lose their interest and trust. Your contact information including phone number(s) should be visible and not hidden. This becomes especially important if you aren’t selling online but instead using your site to provide information to your visitors that in turn will cause them to call or email for more information.
Small usability changes have been shown to have a large impact on key performance indicators. Addressing these eight common sense issue will help your website and give you an advantage over your competitors.
If you would like help understanding if your website project has fallen victim to any of these usability myths gives us a call or drop us a line.