Usability is a measure
of how well a product meets the needs of its
users. It is also about bridging the
gap between people and machines. Websites need
to have a quality that makes them easy to learn,
easy to use, easy to remember, tolerant of errors
and provides users with positive motivation.
Competition is just a click away so it is imperative
that you do not place any obstacles in your
user’s way of getting the information
or service that they want.
Simplicity
wins over complexity every time. Following
some or all of these usability guidelines will
be an improvement for your users and your company.
Some of the benefits you will find from better
usability will be:
·
Reduced Customer Support: A well designed
and usable website that makes it easier for
your users to order online, have their questions
answered and their problems resolved will obviously
reduce the amount of time that you as a company
will spend reading their emails, taking their
calls and handling their complaints.
·
More Customers: Visitors can become your
customers if they find it easy and satisfying
to use your website. There will also be recommendations.
Designing for universal access is a good social
and business practice. Your website needs to
be accessible to all users. If users cannot
find what they are looking for then they assume
that it is not there. Customers need to be able
to finish their task intuitively. How can customers
do business with you if you don’t provide
the facilities for them to do the task?
·
More Time to Spend Developing your Company:
Lack of usability can cost time and effort and
can determine the success or failure of a system.
Usability applies to all websites. If your website
is intuitive then your customers can complete
their tasks quickly and painlessly, you can
start to think about developing other aspects
of your business.
Usability rules the Web. Simply stated, if the
customer can’t find a product, then he
or she will not buy it. The Web is the
ultimate customer empowering environment. He
or she who clicks the mouse gets to decide everything.
It is so easy to go elsewhere; all the competitors
in the world are but a mouseclick away.”
Nielsen, J.
2000 Designing Web Usability: The Practice of
Simplicity.
