Use it or lose it: Why website usability is crucial

November 2014

A hard-to-use website is like a fuzzy phone connection, a sticky front door, a burnt-out sign, bad directions, and a broken cash register. It keeps customers from reaching you and reflects poorly on your business. By contrast, a good website experience builds relationships and keeps people coming back.

Because they are so intimately familiar with the inner-workings of their companies, many business owners and marketing professionals assume that everyone else will be able to use their sites as easily as they can. This is equivalent to assuming a guest will know exactly which drawer in your kitchen contains a spatula.

Web designers, in turn, can sometimes exacerbate the problem by focusing solely on aesthetics and addressing usability as an afterthought. Remember all those fancy Flash websites that could be so maddening to navigate?

Making a site user-friendly
The obvious but often-overlooked way to create a truly user-friendly website is to design it with the user in mind.

Plenty of research exists about what makes a site easy to use, and a good web designer will know how to make yours conform to the conventional wisdom: uncluttered design, accessible navigation, well-labeled links, and so on.

For more unique designs, you might also consider usability testing. This can be as advanced as software that tracks a tester's eye movements or as simple as watching over someone's shoulder as he or she tries to perform basic tasks.

As with anything, it helps to have a well-defined goal. The following are some of the most important

usability principles:

• Provide effective navigation
• Provide appropriate functions
• Provide access to technical help and support
• Minimize errors
• Give the user control
• Support the user’s preferred way of working
• Speak the user’s language
• Keep the user informed
• Be consistent
• Implement a clear visual design

The bottom line
Many think that usability is ‘nice to have’ but not necessary. That's why the website world is littered with failed sites that didn't offer anything of value to the user or were too unclear and difficult to use.

Companies whose primary focus is on customer experience have shown over and over again that there is a very serious bottom line advantage on placing usability first. One of the best examples, Google, is currently at the heart of the web itself. There are countless others, in every industry imaginable.

So while some businesses might continue to count home page hits, the smart ones are realizing that a website user is much more valuable than a website viewer. They are taking steps to evaluate their sites and increase usability--with the goal of increasing profitability, as well.

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