The Importance of Usability


or "Why Users Are Leaving Your Website"

Regardless of its style or category, any website's success hinges on its ease of use. According to Jakob Nielsen, an eminent usability expert, "If a website is difficult to use, people leave."

A website should:


State plainly what it offers.


Be easy to navigate.


Be easy to read.


Offer answers to user's questions.


Load quickly and consistently on a variety of browsers and devices.

Since there is no standard on how websites should be designed, it's up to the web design agency to infer what users will expect given a client's particular content. Through experience and testing, the agency can determine the best design, all while maintaining the brand's message. A good web design agency should be spending 10% of a project's budget on usability testing.

Nearly universally users assume that:


A link to the home page, usually in the form of a logo, is available in the upper left.


Pages have descriptive headers or titles announcing which page a user is on.


Text is legible. Printed in high contrast, appropriately sized, and carefully typeset.


Load times will be short, or a progress bar will indicate loading if necessary.


Navigation is placed near the logo, either at the top of a page or down the left side.

To aid ease of use, a designer should:


Avoid drop-downs or other expanding menus (with the exception of large fly-outs.)


Use modal windows where applicable to prevent unnecessary page changes.


Use breadcrumb trails make large websites easy to understand. For example, a listing on eBay for a truck wheel would include the following note near the top: "eBay Motors > Parts & Accessories > Car & Truck Parts > Wheels, Tires & Parts > Wheels"


Offer a search tool, preferably located in the upper right, for users to quickly navigate large sites.


Use style-based elements, optimized images, and minified code to reduce load times.

By designing a site with usability in mind, the user's experience with a brand is greatly improved. The user will have more confidence in the brand, and be willing to spend more time on their site, which translates into increased sales.

EtherCycle, A Chicago Web Design Agency, can further answer your questions. http://ethercycle.com