The best user experience
January 2004
Providing a well designed and user friendly website will place you well ahead of the competition.
Although usability is now common knowledge, many websites are still ignoring the principles behind it.
People who are very familiar with the project or company typically make the budget decisions.
They have no problem finding their way around the site. They also understand strange acronyms and are tolerant of long download times.
It is assumed their users will have the same experience, but web usage research shows a different story:
- Average success rate on the web is under 50%.
- 39% of test shoppers failed in their buying attempts because sites were too difficult to navigate.
- 40% of users never return to a site when their first visit resulted in a negative experience.
- As a result users spend 90% of their time online on only 10% of the sites.
User-centered design
These problems can be addressed by adopting an early and consistent focus on end users.
User-centered design methods include:
- User testing
- Early prototyping
- Task analysis
- Expert review
- Log analysis
The main goals are a) to make sure that users want to use the site and b) that they are able to do so.
This approach is borrowed from software design, where it was pioneered at companies such as Apple. It is now always used on successful software projects.
On the web, user-centered design delivers improvements in key operating metrics, such as readership, profit margins, conversion rates, and cost savings.
It also makes life a little easier for everyone.
A novelty in the boom (and subsequent bust) of the 90's, where flashy multimedia was preferred, user-centered design is now being used in many new internet projects.
Is your site easy to use? The only way to know is to test it.
Credibility through graphic design
Unless already a household name, gaining trust is a major challenge for a company's website. Graphic design is essential to building a brand's credibility.
As usability gets more widespread, many sites are being stripped of any visual flair in a bid to make them easier to use. While this can deliver effective navigation it has lead to a pretty unappealing body of design and sites that all look more or less the same.
This doesn't need to be: Competent graphic designers can greatly enhance the image and uniqueness of a site while improving clarity and legibility. Quality design means making sites more usable, not less.
The new generation of websites already combines usability and graphic design successfully. These projects are championed by web-savvy managers who understand the need for usability but still demand a high level of visual design.
