Tantalising graphics, information rich content, fancy gimmicks and freebies are all very appealing to the web user, but unless your website is easy to navigate and use, you will fail to attract and retain your customers.
Usability is the key word. A fantastic-looking site with lots of interactive features and frills counts for nothing if the web user can't access your site, if links don't work or any featured services (such as chat, email, credit card facility or free downloads.) fail to operate . As any e-commerce expert will affirm, it's great to have an original idea and to be able to sell it on the internet, but success largely depends upon the design of the website, its functionality and ease of us.
It is sad that of millions of websites in existence, most fail to retain their visitors because of problems of usability. Even the professional, state of the art websites belonging to major corporate bodies are not without their usability flaws. It would seem that more complex your site, the more potential difficulties your visitor may encounter when trying to navigate it.
Think about websites that your have visited and have been disappointed with because of poor usability. What problems did you encounter?
Common usability problems:
* design errors
* poor navigation
* broken links
* pages that forever to load ( forever meaning anything longer than few seconds!)
* features that do not work.
* dysfunctional that do not work.
* a website that can't be used by people with disabilities
To be successful you need to think 'usability' and have a site that is professionally designed, but easy for the customer to access at all levels. This is especially so for everyone who has demonished abilities. With usability legislation in force, aim to create universal design for your website that is usable by all. :))
* Provide chocies in the way features and functions are used.
* Eliminate unncessary complexities.
* Allow the user to customize settings where practical
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