Web usability is perhaps the most important factor in any web design. This is the driving factor that keeps your visitors coming back to your website. Given below are a few points that you need to consider to increase your website's usability.
Points to consider for improving web usability
1.) Give your visitor what he is looking for
A visitor means business; he is looking for information and will stay in your site only as long as he gets what he wants. So provide only relevant information on your homepage that is specific to your end users. Web logs are the best means of finding out which keyword your visitor used and for what purpose he could have visited your website.
2.) Tell your visitor what your site is all about
Often websites are crammed with information in no specific order making it hard to figure out what the site is all about! Your site should give information about what it can offer a visitor on an instant basis. You can do this by providing relevant information on the homepage. You can also provide links like 'about us' or 'about this website' for further clarification.
3.) Provide site wide links
Site wide links are very important in any website. They allow easy navigation to all pages and reduce time consumed on browsing the pages. Your user can have instant access to what he is looking for from any webpage using the site wide links. They also allow the search engine robots to cache your pages efficiently. Site wide links can be provided at the bottom of all web-pages.
4.) Provide a sitemap
A sitemap is the mark of a good website. Sitemaps give the skeleton of an entire site on a single webpage with all links. As site maps are specifically meant to provide site information they can lead to efficient browsing.
5.) Ensure that your website loads fast
No one likes pages that take long time to load. Your website visitor takes decisions in seconds and it won't take him long to press the back button or type another address to access other related websites. So make sure that your site loads fast.
The possible reasons for long loading times are
6.) Improve site's navigation using icons
Site navigation is an important aspect of web usability. Making use of unique XP style icons can really make your site appealing at the same time adding to easy navigation. Some businesses that offer XP style icons are http://www.icongalore.com , iconpharm.com etc. Icongalore.com offers http://www.icongalore.com at costs as low as $3/icon.
7.) If your site has too much content ensure readability
Poor readability can cause your users to leave. Poor readability occurs due to use of small fonts, poor color combinations, long sentences, repeating background images and improper headings.
Tips to improve readability
8.) Test your site before launching
Testing your site before loading is very important. You should pick up information like site load times, navigation, information availability, content, browser compatibility etc while testing.
9.) Check your server log data regularly
You server log data is perhaps your best information source to improve your website's usability. You weblog can give you information like keywords used most often to reach your site, website downtimes, pages most visited, exit pages etc. By studying your weblog you can find out the pages that a particular visitor accessed and the page at which he exited. This can help you optimize popular pages and give special attention to pages that seem to have the most exists. Overall studying the server log on a daily basis is very important.
http://www.icongalore.com is a leading web templates provider and has hundreds professionally designed web templates in various categories that come at surprisingly affordable prices. Apart from offering http://www.icongalore.com, they also offer allied services like template customization, content insertion, SEO and web hosting service.
shuttle from Midway Glen Ellyn ..
1. DO NOT use excessive graphics or banner images on... Read More
In my last article entitled, Maximizing The True Value Of... Read More
Content is king. Without content your website is an empty... Read More
We can't emphasize enough the importance of including keyword-rich content... Read More
Think of the people who visit your site as blind... Read More
The Questions You Should Be Asking ? The Answers You... Read More
Easy That's how you'd like life to be, right? Especially... Read More
Your web site is the key to your success on... Read More
Do you want to use unsafe web colors without offending... Read More
Never put form over function. Why? Because it's crucial that... Read More
A few years ago a lot of websites utilized frame... Read More
There are six important characteristics that can play a major... Read More
Does website design make a difference in how long people... Read More
There are often many mistakes encountered when creating a webpage... Read More
What the heck is going on lately? Most internet websites... Read More
Are you serious about get this website done fast and... Read More
This article gives free tips on how to find a... Read More
I once created a notepad-like editor. It is possible with... Read More
There are plenty of Drupal Modules that you can install... Read More
I want you to imagine a lemon. In your mind's... Read More
There are plenty of web sites out there in which... Read More
Designing your website means you have to be creative, plan... Read More
My site is working fine. The links work. Content is... Read More
Graphics are fun, but if you put in too many... Read More
If you're running a website or online business, your number... Read More
shuttle from O'Hare North Chicago ..This article gives free tips on how to find a... Read More
Q: Should I build and maintain my business Web site... Read More
"Oh, my eyes, my eyes! What an eye sore. Quick,... Read More
One of the single most important aspects of effective navigation... Read More
I do site reviews. Needless to say, I see a... Read More
Hello, how is your website doing?Are sales flowing in?If you... Read More
On the internet we don't deal with face to face... Read More
What is web usability & why is it important?Web usability... Read More
As my occupation is that of a proofreader, one of... Read More
There are six important characteristics that can play a major... Read More
Read the title of this article over a couple of... Read More
This article may come as a surprise to you.Especially since... Read More
Design sells. It's something that all of us know, but... Read More
The top ten fonts for website design might change in... Read More
I can't figure out people who have products or information... Read More
In my web surfing adventures, I've found a few site... Read More
See, works every time. Seriously now, for some reason people... Read More
Web usability is perhaps the most important factor in any... Read More
There are literally thousands of different options, styles and formats... Read More
ASP.NET is a new programming framework from Microsoft for developing... Read More
When creating an e-cover the what's the first thought that... Read More
First impressions are extremely important if you hope to do... Read More
Well, you've got your product, started your home business, and... Read More
Many Internet sites that try to sell you something have... Read More
An application is not ready for use unless you have... Read More
Web Design |