10 Usability Tips for your website

If you have a website or are in the process of creating a website then it's important to look at the usability aspect of your website.

I like the use the following phrase when talking about usability of websites "What's the point of having a Ferrari, if it has no engine. Sure it looks great, but it's practically useless."

Here are some quick usability tips for your website

1. Motivate
Design your site to meet specific user needs and goals. Use motivators to draw different user "personae" into specific parts of your site.

2. User task flow
Who are your users? What are their tasks and online environment? For a site to be usable, page flow must match workflow.

3. Architecture – it's 80% of usability
Build an efficient navigational structure. Remember – if they can't find it in 3 clicks, they're gone.

4. Affordance means obvious
Make controls understandable. Avoid confusion between emblems, banners, and buttons.

5. Replicate
Why reinvent the wheel? Use ergonomically designed templates for the most common 8-12 pages.

6. Usability test along the way
Test early in design using low-fidelity prototypes. Don't wait until the end when it's too late.Know the technology limitations Identify and optimize for target browsers and user hardware. Test HTML, JavaScript, etc. for compatibility.

7. Know the technology limitations
Identify and optimize for target browsers and user hardware.Test HTML, JavaScript, etc for compatibility.

8. Know user tolerances
Users are impatient. Design for a 2-10 second maximum download. Reuse header graphics so they can load from cache. Avoid excessive scrolling.

9. Multimedia
Good animation attracts attention to specific information, then stops. Too much movement distracts, slowing reading and comprehension.

10. Use a stats package
Monitor traffic through your site. Which pages pique user interest? Which pages make users leave? Adjust your site accordingly.

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