Usability is one of the main aspects of web design. Therefore, it should be considered before starting the development of any Internet resource: whether it is an e-commerce site or a corporate site. Usability should immediately be part of the entire development process.
What is the main principle of site usability?
The first thing to take care of is site navigation. A bad navigation bar will always be the number one reason why users leave a website in the first few seconds. Pay attention to where you place your navigation elements, what you name them, and how you structure your sections and directories. Think like your user and anticipate how he will move through your site, how he will move from one section to another. Also, to improve the usability of the site, it makes sense to duplicate the main menu in the footer – the bottom part of the site.
User-friendly interface
This is the so-called pleasant and “appropriate” interface for the user of your Internet resource. Websites should be designed with the target audience in mind. If you are ordering an online fashion underwear store, you can choose more creative elements in the design, which will not be appropriate if you are creating a corporate website for a business.
Fast loading of internal pages
As we indicated above, users quickly leave pages if they are not interested in their content. Now imagine how quickly users will leave a page if its content takes a long time to load! In fact, no need to exaggerate, 5 seconds of waiting is enough for the user to close the tab that is not loading. Fast web page loading is so important that Google has included the “Site Speed” metric in its WEB Vitals website ranking algorithm.
Responsive design
If your site doesn’t display well because of the visitor’s screen resolution, it’s likely that they’ll leave that page. When creating a site, you need to include the development of layouts that correspond to any screen resolution. This ensures that every visitor sees a visually appealing site.
Why do you need to work on usability?
It is difficult to overestimate how important the usability of the site is. It can even be called both a marketing and a psychological tool, because usability allows not only to create a nice vision of your site, but also to direct customers in the right direction, to push them to take a certain action.
Thanks to the high level of usability of the site, users will remain satisfied and visit your site again, because a resource with a high level of usability is like a car with a high level of comfort, in which you want to drive and travel!
Provide convenient search functionality
What is more important: convenient navigation or optimized site search? Neither the first nor the second should be underestimated. In addition, visitors to online stores will use the site’s search function when they are looking for a specific product. For large online stores, we recommend, in addition to the traditional search term, also providing an advanced search option. This will allow buyers to refine their requests, namely, they will be able to specify parameters: price, brand name, sort by rating, etc.
Don’t be afraid to have free space
Use the distance between blocks on the site. This will contribute to a better perception of information. Also, you need to remember line spacing in the text. The information on your site should be as accessible and easy to understand as possible – this will significantly improve the site’s usability.
