Don’t Splatter your Visitors: Web Redesign for Usability

Does anyone else struggle with pouring fluids into their car, or is it just me?  Whether it’s oil, antifreeze, or windshield washer fluid, the first ounce or two always ends up all over the engine before I successfully pour it into it’s reservoir or tank.

You might be laughing at me now and saying, “That’s why you use a funnel, dummy!”  Exactly – a funnel catches all the liquid and directs it to the target.  Is your website design a funnel, or do your visitors end up splattered all over the engine block?

The Conversion Funnel

If your site doesn’t direct visitors clearly through the conversion funnel, then redesigning your website for usability,  needs to be top priority for you.

Web redesign usability is all about making the conversion process smooth and seamless.  It’s about getting visitors through the registration process, checkout, or other goal without losing anybody.  If you have a high bounce rate or low conversion rate, make sure you don’t overlook site design as you solve your problem.  Here are some important factors to consider in a redesign project.

Goals for Visitors?

Start with your conversion process.  What is your goal for each visitor?  Write it down.  Now go through your whole (navigation, copy, layout) looking for things that don’t fit your conversion process.  Web redesign usability sometimes means removing something “cool” because it doesn’t help the conversion process at all.

Layout

Layout should match function, not style.  Of course, this isn’t an exclusive either-or.  You can have layout that works well and looks good.  Too many sites, however, sacrifice ease of use for artistic merit.  Are your action buttons easy to find?  Do their labels communicate clearly what they do?  Compare your site to competitors’ sites and have normal users (not employees) critique it for you.  Web redesign usability includes layout that moves visitors to conversion.

Cut the Fluff

When you redesign, think twice about frills and features.  Do you have large image files slowing down load times?  That will hurt your conversion rate.  Distracting flash files and gawdy text decorations also impair a visitor’s ability to find what he’s looking for.  Again, focus on your conversion process for web redesign usability.

You’ve got a liquid flow of visitors to your site , your site needs to function as a funnel, to direct all of your visitors to conversion without losing anyone.