Search engine marketing, Ecommerce, Web Design

Practical advice on website design, Ecommerce and Search engine marketing for business.

Web Design: 7 Usability Strategies a Web Design Company Should Use

A web design company’s one of the key challenges is to strike a balance between different web design elements. A web design company’s focus is equally on websites usability than on the visual design of the website. There is little doubt that the design of a website is key to its commercial success.

There are many reasons why a website’s design should be visually appealing. A professional web design is essential for a company’s brand. A web design company and a usability expert often do not see eye to eye. A web design company understand the importance of usability in the commercial success of a website. A professional web design company will hence often combine usability as well as graphic design principles in order to design effective websites.

It is easy for a Web Design Company to be so caught up in the visual design of a website they may fail to consider the usability aspects that determine the effectiveness of a website. A professional web design company will incorporate usability in the design from the start.

We have all encountered websites that are difficult to use. How many times have you come across a website which may have an eye catching web design but is difficult to use? A Web design company that does not address usability in the design from the start will only add to the overheads and cost in the long run.

Following are some web design usability issues that a web design company should focus on while designing websites for its clients:

Simplicity in web design

A design should be simple. Simplicity does not imply that a design should not look good. Aesthetics are important to enforce a company’s brand. Simplicity refers to the ease at which user can find information on a website. The design should not be complicated. A common example is some flash only websites those are difficult to use.

For example studies show that links that are represented by the traditional blue underlined text tend to have a higher click rate than image links.

Minimalist web design

A minimalist design with a clean cut look is often more effective than a complex design. Whilst some complicated websites may look appealing and stand out on a quick glance; they are often difficult to use and fail to retain users for longer periods of time. Where possible a web design company should focus on minimalist designs which have a light background with dark text. A contrast between background and text is important and improves readability. A bad example however is a black background with white text.

Consistency in web design

Consistency is an important factor is web design. A website designed by a professional web design company will always be consistent across different pages. The same or similar design should be used on all pages of a website. It is important to place the website navigation, menu or other elements in the same place on all pages. It makes the user more comfortable in using the website. They can quickly familiarise themselves with the different elements and will find it easier to use your website.

Communication with user and feedback

It is equally essential to inform the user of the status when the user performs a task. E.g. when a user registers on the website it is important to inform them that their request has been received and what will happen next. Similarly when a user performs a search that will take a while to process, the progress bar on screen can inform the user of the status.

Error handling

Error handling is another important usability issue in web design that is easily neglected by web designers. A professionally designed website will always handle errors with meaningful messages that a user can understand. There is not much point in letting user know that a 204 or 404 error has occurred if a user does not understand what it means. In case of an error a user should also be informed of what a user can do as a result.

Affordance

Affordance refers to the correlation between the real world and design. When users visits a website they often rely on experiences gained in the real world. A perfect example is the use of shopping cart icon in the design of ecommerce website to show the contents of what is being bought. In web design users can often rely on previous experience gained from using other websites in the past. When designing website it is hence better to follow standard conventions as users will be used such methods and it will not require learning something new. Another example is the use of underlined text for links.

Provide users with control

While web designer s like to have control over the format and layout of website for obvious design reasons it is important to not take control away form users completely. E.g. The use of style sheets is good but it should not restrict users from being able to increase or decrease the text size using the internet browser‘s built-in increase or decrease text feature.

Similarly clear navigation and bread crumb trail on the website allows users to move away from a page when they feel it is appropriate to do so. Showing pop up ads with no option to close the window is a perfect example of how taking control away from users and can make them leave the website completely and go to a competitor’s website.

Related Posts

• November 15, 2008 -- Choosing The Right Domain Name For A Company Website
• October 25, 2008 -- Website Marketing- 5 Ways to Promote Your Company’s Website on Search Engines
• October 6, 2008 -- Why Should a Small Company Outsource its Website Design
• October 5, 2008 -- When should a company redesign its website?

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