Principles of website usability

The easier it is for the user to navigate the site, the better the behavioral indicators. If it takes him a long time to find the information he needs, the client can be lost forever. Therefore, it is very important to make a resource with a clear structure, interesting design and without technical errors. Specialists web studio in Kiev MEGASITE are confident that this task will help to cope with the usability of the site.

What is usability site and what is its essence

Usability - is a complete evaluation of the website, aimed at determining how effectively the client interacts with the resource and whether it achieves its goals. For this purpose, usability criteria are evaluated such as:

• ease of search and navigation;
• the structure of the portal - how clear and understandable it is; 
• download speed;
• attractive design;
• quality of content;
• technical errors that make the portal freeze or prevent you from taking a desired action.

Specially trained people conduct testing through web tools. To identify potential problems, experts:

• analyze the quality of the interface, navigation, content using checklists (a list of ordered actions) and usability standards;
• test user actions, study their behavior on the site;
• collect real feedback from visitors through online surveys, questionnaires;
• analyze clicks to determine which pages and sections most often attract customers.

To get the desired result, it is better to order the service of comprehensive evaluation of website usability. Analysis of statistics helps to develop effective measures aimed at improving the usability of the site.

Convenient and logical structure

The first thing that experts pay attention to when analyzing the usability of the site - its structure. Content should be sorted into sections so that the client can quickly find information. For this purpose, a hierarchical structure is usually used:

1. Section.
2. Category.
3. Subcategory.
4. Content / product cards.

Do not forget about the main rule of usability: you can not overload the resource with unnecessary information and deviate greatly from its theme, so as not to confuse users. 

Correct navigation

The basics of usability - properly designed navigation. The client must clearly realize where he is and what to do next. For this purpose it is necessary to:

• place links to Home and sections on each page;
• develop a site map;
• make a search box, which is especially important for a multi-page portal. It is important that the search results are relevant and informative, correctly answering the user's question.

All navigation elements should be simple and clear. Use clear and concise names for sections and links. Avoid complex terms and acronyms that can confuse the user.

Fast loading site

If the page will take longer than 5 seconds to load, there is a high probability that the user will leave to competitors. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to follow these principles of website usability:

• optimize images by using tools that compress the picture without losing quality;
• connect caches that save some information on the client side, which speeds up the work of the resource when loading it again;
• remove code that is not used, minimize CSS and JavaScript files;
• before choosing a server, it is worth making sure that it is able to process requests quickly and efficiently.

Online businesses should regularly monitor the performance of their website using tools and make improvements accordingly. You should also consider switching to the HTTP/2 protocol, which supports multiple requests over a single connection and allows for more efficient data transfer.

Mobile, adaptive version of the website

Adaptive web design is another important aspect that improves user interaction with the resource. This means that the portal is displayed correctly and optimally on different devices and screen resolutions, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones.

User-friendly design

When creating a website, pay attention to the design. It depends on it, whether the user will like the resource. To avoid subjective evaluation, it is important to apply standard solutions that users are used to:

• the design should be modern, neat and attractive;
• colors should not only look nice, but also correspond to the brandbook of your audience, not interfere with the readability of the text and not conflict with the content;
• use readable fonts that are suitable for different resolutions and devices. Their size, line spacing and letter spacing should ensure good readability;
• place content in such a way that the user can see important information at a glance.

Avoid clutter in your design. The fewer useless elements and distractions, the easier it is for the user to focus on the main goal.

Quality content

A user comes to a website to get certain information. Therefore, make sure you offer him interesting content that corresponds to SEO optimization. To this end, it is worth ordering text from professional copywriters who understand how to write content according to all SEO rules.

Usability: a checklist for your website

To make a quality web usability, you need to check a lot of things, and an inexperienced user may miss some points. We have compiled for you a checklist of questions that must be answered when doing a website usability check:

• Can users quickly understand what to expect from your resource?
• Will unprepared visitors understand the navigation?
• How consistent are the elements of the portal?
• Are the texts high quality and informative?
• Is your site accessible across devices?
• Are the effects not distracting to users?
• How easy is it to find information?
• Do pages load quickly?
• How well structured is the content?

To make your resource interesting to users, entrust website development in Ukraine to professionals - specialists of IT-company MEGASITE. Working on the project, we take into account the smallest nuances, including a thorough evaluation of the usability of the site.

Contact the web company MEGASITE and get a modern website, which will be as convenient as possible for your customers!