Improve your website's usability with the following 6 tips:
1. Keep navigation simple and consistent.
Nothing is more frustrating for users than a website without a simple navigation system that's placed consistently on each page. Visitors need to know where links are in order to use them to navigate your site.
Use descriptive, appropriate text for each link so visitors know exactly where the link will take them, and avoid drop-down menus that are difficult to mouse-over precisely. 2. Use highly visible, site-wide links.
This will make it easy for browsers to navigate to all pages quickly and easily from any one of your web pages. Site-wide links should be placed consistently, such as at the bottom of every page. This is a key element of a consistent navigation system.
3. Keep page format consistent.
Be consistent in terms of layout and visual elements as well as your navigation system. Visitors don't like surprises, nor do they have time to figure out what's going on when it looks like they're suddenly on a new website. Use colors, fonts and designs consistently throughout all pages of your site.
4. Use Multimedia sparingly.
Overuse of multimedia is incredibly frustrating for busy users. This includes meaningless flash animation home pages as well as elements on pages that change color, bounce, spin or pulsate. Not only are these elements annoying, they can slow down page load time. Use multimedia very sparingly to attract attention to crucial information.
5. Use Graphics sparingly.
Graphics and images can capture visitors' attention, but they can also be distracting and annoying if overdone. Choose graphics carefully and use them minimally to make your web pages more user friendly.
6. Make Information Easy to Access
The last time you were asked to register or sign up to continue reading an article on a website, how fast did you click off?
Don't bury your content or hide your valuable information away behind a sign-up screen. Remember the point of your website is to make your best and most important information the first thing a visitor sees. That's being truly user friendly!
