Designing an Easy to Use Website

Possibly, one of the hardest tasks for a website designer is the mission of developing an easy to use website.

We live in an age where an increasing amount of business is done online.

With the volume of Internet traffic at an astounding level, it is immensely important that customers are able to use a site that is easily navigable and does not take a lot of time to figure out where one needs to go.

There are several universal guidelines that can be employed, which will help to insure that your business produces a website that is both esthetically pleasing and capable of getting the job done.

• The most important question to ask is “If I incorporate this into my website, will it enhance my product’s message or will it detract from it? If you cannot answer this question with an affirmative yes, then do not put it into the website.
• The next question that you will need to ask is, “Does all of the information that I want to incorporate into my website fit well together?” If the answer is yes, then you are in great shape, but if the answer is no, then you need to reevaluate the situation. The website needs to integrate effectively or else it will be ineffective.
• Once you have settled on content, then you need to analyze the setup. Here, you need to ask the question “Is everything so straight forward that no explanation whatsoever is required?” This is extremely important, since you will not have the chance to stand by each customer as they go through the site and explain to them all of the nuances and what they need to do in order to get the most out of their visit.
• The final question that you need to ask is “Does the final website design  make a convincing case for your merchandise?” This is the most pivotal question, since a no means you need to rework everything. However, an answer of no should not be interpreted as needing to go back to the drawing board: it simply means you need to reevaluate the layout and fix whatever doesn’t look good.

The key to succeeding in this endeavor is to develop a website that is well thought out and carefully put together. The more methodical you are in constructing your website the better. Customers will label yours as an easy to use website, and be happy doing business with you.

Additional Resources:

Web Redesign: Making it Usable

No Thinking Allowed: Designing A Website for Usability