Usability guidelines – The most important person in web design.
Many years ago, a website usability “guru” named Jakob Nielsen gained notoriety in the dot.com world for his emphasis on making websites as user-friendly as possible. While some of Nielsen’s ideas were fairly questionable and somewhat controversial in the web design community (such as never using images on websites) he did have some very valid points.
Nielsen calls his usability insights “heuristics” and uses the word “system” to refer to a website or an online entity of some kind. In a nutshell, Nielsen’s observations are as follows:
- Visibility of system status. The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
- Match between system and the real world. The system should speak the users’ language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.
- User control and freedom. Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked “emergency exit” to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo.
- Consistency and standards. Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.
- Error prevention. Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.
- Recognition rather than recall. Minimise the user’s memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.
- Flexibility and efficiency of use. Accelerators – unseen by the novice user – may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.
- Aesthetic and minimalist design. Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.
- Help users recognise, diagnose, and recover from errors. Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.
- Help and documentation. Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user’s task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.
While Nielsen tends to be quite aggressive in his usability principles, many of his observations have since become commonplace in web design circles. Perhaps most importantly, he made people realise the critical importance of the user – and the fact that businesses need to build websites for real people.
Today, there are some fundamental usability principles that good web design adheres to. Here are our top ten:
1. Structure your site according to your user, not your business.
Build your navigation as your customer would interact with it – not based on what’s important to your business. For instance, if your business sells shoes, then make your first navigation something about “in store now” rather than “about us”, which will be much less interesting to your user. Since research indicates that customers view websites from left to right, you should make sure that your navigation is structured in this way.
2. Write for the fact that online users scan rather than read.
Studies indicate that online users scan rather than read. In fact, in the online environment, you have just a few seconds to capture their attention. With this in mind, it’s essential to write copy for online users. You can do this by using:
- Bullet points
- Sub-headings
- Short sentences
- Brief sections of text – with no unnecessary rambling.
- Links to find out more information.
3. Avoid design for design’s sake
Unless a website is being designed for an artistic or creative purpose, don’t implement slow, high-bandwidth technology simply for the sake of making a site “look” impressive. Long intros built using Flash animation will frustrate customers and turn them away from your website – especially if they are on a slow connection. Only include a Flash introduction or weighty imagery if it means something to your brand and your user.
4. Carefully design forms and functionality
This is a very important one. Too many websites lose users at critical points when they are submitting their details and sharing information with you. Form design is a very important area and requires a logical thought process. Think very carefully about how you would like to fill out a form, and design yours accordingly. Keep everything as simple as possible.
5. Don’t assume anything about your user
Because anyone can visit your website – from anywhere – you need to be very careful about how you structure and put forward your content. Cater for the lowest common denominator. Make your navigation titles logical and coherent. Avoid anything too obscure.
6. Break down large volumes of information
If your website is and information-focused website and you have lots of information that your users need to absorb, break it up. Section it into manageable chunks, and enable users to search it or pick a section at a time.
7. Include a good search tool
If your website is a large one, include a search tool that enables people to search via keywords or areas of interest. Make sure the results are well indexed so your user gets plenty of relevant responses.
8. Make it fast
Optimise images and content so that your website is fast to download – unless, of course – your website needs particularly creative or design-based content to enhance your brand.
9. Be legible
Use a font that’s optimised for the web – such as Verdana and Georgia. From a legibility point of view, use contrasting backgrounds. Don’t use white on grey, for instance. Don’t also use too many fonts – and avoid using too many CAPS – especially in body copy. They can be quite overwhelming and hard to read.
10. Be consistent
Give your users an easy way to go back to where they have come from, and always keep your navigation structure consistent throughout your site. This is a crucial element of website usability. Users should be able to jump to any section of your site, from any page within the site. They shouldn’t have to use the back or forward arrows in their browser at any stage.
Want to chat about your website and whether or not it meets web design usability standards? Talk to the team at Big Click Studios.
