Every website needs users; disregarding users can cost you an arm and a leg. Ignoring your users while creating a website will evidently lead to an abortive venture. Website Usability is about happy users, if your user is happy with your website then your website’s usability is satisfying. This means a user-centric design helps attract users and directly affects sales and profit. We will mention a few usability errors that you must avoid while designing a website.
Common Website Usability Errors to Fix in your Webiste
Tiny Clickable Areas
Sometimes we get to see too many hyperlinks on a website; keeping the hyperlinks tiny can mess up everything. Users’ mouse movements aren’t that precise to click tiny hyperlinks. Increased size of hyperlinks makes it easy for visitors to click on the link to go to the desired page.
Content That’s Difficult To Scan
It is one of the most important usability aspects which is generally overlooked by designers. If the content of a website is difficult to scan, means visitors are not grasping the complete information you have on your website. You should consider these simple points while creating a web copy.
- You must segregate content into clear sections.
- Use clear and readable fonts
- Use contrast colors
- Use images and relate it with the text content
- Use attractive, short and crisp headlines to tell about a specific section
Duplicate Page Titles
Sometimes, designers use a one for all kind of title in the template and then use it everywhere on the website. The major reason to avoid this usability error is that it fails to communicate what the page is about. Visitors should be able to judge from the title if they are on the right page or not. Another reason to avoid this is that search engines such as Yahoo and Google, consider page title an important factor to show relevant information against specific search query by a user. Try to use better keywords in the title for better rank on search engines.
Do Not Stuff The Site
A website browsing pattern which is easy to remember adds to the wonderful user experience and enhances page view statistics.
Lacking Search Option
Instead of browsing the whole site for the desired stuff, people prefer using a search option. This option is good for the site users who know exactly what they are looking for and they do not have enough time to move through the available website navigation.
For any kind of website, search option helps the site visitors in finding some particular stuff whether it is an article or a product. You can use Google or Yahoo as the major search engine at your website. To limit the search of Google or Yahoo around your website, use the domain name of your website in the hidden field.
Lacking An Active Way To Communicate
One of the worst website usability errors is not offering the users an active way to communicate on a website. An efficient customer service means you quickly answer your customers’ queries and you also care for those who come to your website. Don’t ask for unnecessary information like filling a long form for feedback or suggestions. Have a contact us form and add your official email address where users can contact you. Use Captchas to avoid spam emails. Online forums are also a pretty effective mode to maintain communication between users and company.
Do you have any other points to add? Are there any usability blunders you have seen or experienced? Let us know in the comments below.
