Being user-friendly is one of the basic requirements of good web design. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to assess if your web design is user-friendly by just going through it on your own.
For this purpose, it’s crucial to employ professional user testing. UX testing might seem to be the perfect answer, but it’s not for everyone. It requires a considerable cash outlay, and it takes time to complete. Fortunately, there are some guidelines to determine if you are doing something right.
Go through these seven questions to make a basic assessment of your web design.
1. Does your web design work on all types of devices?
Today, there are tons of different gadgets used to access the internet. Laptops, desktops, tablets, and smartphones make it challenging for website owners to design a website to accommodate devices with different screen sizes.
Fortunately creating a website to solve this problem became easier when responsive website design became a thing. With responsive design, the website will immediately be resized to suit the gadget of the user.
2. How long does it take for your website to load?
Website performance is another aspect to focus on. You want to make sure that it doesn’t take forever for your website to load. Third-party testing tools can help in determining the loading time. The rule of thumb is – the shorter the better. So, if the website is sluggish, look for tweaks to solve the problem.
3. How do users find your website’s navigation?
Navigating a website needs to be as easy and convenient as possible. Make sure users can find the things they are looking for right away and that they also know what to do next. Consistent and clear navigation is the key to winning users over.
4. What kind of content do you post?
Content quality contributes to the overall quality of a website. Useful, timely, and relevant content is always a must whether you are maintaining an e-commerce store or a blog. You want to offer something valuable to readers and that will entice them to visit your website again and again.
Magicdust notes that this means that everything should be useful and interesting – not just your website copy.
5. How’s your website’s readability?
Website friendliness is also dependent on how easy it is for visitors to read your content. Make sure that the text is big enough to read and that the color schemes don’t hurt the eyes. Appropriate spacing between texts is also necessary.
6. What kind of user experience does it offer?
User-friendly web design is cool, but some website owners forget how important it is to offer something fun and enjoyable. People are more likely to come back if they had a memorable experience. This quality will not just make your brand worth noting, but it will also make your website shareable.
7. Is the web design optimized for search engines?
Just because a website is optimized for search doesn’t mean it should not cater to the needs of its visitors. Optimization allows visitors to find the website most relevant to their needs. At the same time, it helps a company gain more traffic.
So now you know what user-friendly website means and how to achieve it. As mentioned in the beginning, being user-friendly is one of the most important requirements of a web design. It affects not only the prospects of SEO but also the conversion of traffic into leads (and finally into sales).
Do your research before you hire the web design company to develop your website. Your website is your face in the online world. It speaks volume about your company. So it has to be the best not just from the design perspective but also from the user experience and content.
Hope these guidelines helps you in assessing if a website is user-friendly or not.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
