Importance of Proper Usability on Your Website

Frustrating your visitors is leaving money on the table.

How-To: Creating Better Usability on a Website

Usability is important on your website if you want your visitors to get the most out of what you have to offer. This means bottom line, putting dollars in the bank.

Usability isn’t new, but gets overlooked all too often. There are many reasons. Some websites are just simply designed bad. Some are poorly created by designers that are more into image or flashiness than thinking of the end user showing off their hotshot skills. And some, are created by the owners themselves trying to save a buck or two or maybe just want to learn it themselves. On the long run, it will cost them directly 1000's of lost advertising dollars in missed conversions as well as indirectly, the amount of resources spent looking for that next client. Please, let the pros do it.

Good usability when done correctly, will allow your visitors to quickly learn what you have to offer, get in to make their buying decision on whether they want to purchase your product or service, convert to a new client and be less frustrated when they come back to buy more from your site.

Good Usabilty = More Client Conversions = More Money in the Bank

Listed below are some simple steps on how create a better web presence for your site. Now there's no excuse.

Step 1: Examination of an existing website

One of the first things to consider is the term "above the fold" or "above the scroll." Above the fold is what the browser shows when the site first pops up on a screen.

This day and age, visitors make judgement on a loading website in 3-4 seconds and no more. Not only loading time, but aesthetics and visually appealing graphics make or break whether your client is moving on to your competitor's site before they even finish yours.

Anything below the dotted line will have a highly reduced chance of being seen.

As you might notice, there is a crucial piece to the this site which needs to be changed around.

We'll get to that in a few....   

Step 2: Basic Layout and First Thoughts

One of the next things to consider, is what are your visitors looking for when they go to your site?

The example shown is interesting, because, these books the site sells has great images and designs. The books are wonderful, but when you visit, you're not sure what to do.

Multitudes of studies have shown that the eyes start from the left and go to the right and back left again. Through this process, we as the visitor have no idea what to do when we go to this home page. Please, just show us a sign, something, anything...

Step 3: WIIFM...! and what's next?

Whats in it for me?! This will take a few seconds just to gather all the information in.

Create compelling content and titles to let the visitor know what you want them to know and what you expect them to do. This isn't an Easter egg hunt. Let the visitor read legible titles that pull their attention into your site and eventual call to action.

As you can see, this page is graphically strong, however, we really aren't sure what to do next. If you are a first time visitor, Samurai book # 6 is not where we want to be quite yet.

Also, what does this do for the little guys that are reading these books? What's the purpose? I think we will have to dig a little deeper.

It may be obvious, but how many times do we need to say Available now? and why aren't those clickable links since it seems to be important. Hmmm.. makes we wonder.

So let's see what happens when we click on the big Samurai button...

Step 4: Secondary pages and how deep do we have to go?

So the second page pops up and what do see. Another page with more books.

By this time my brains getting restless. So our little Easter egg hunt continues. I was hoping to buy the book, however, I look around again for what to do. Oh, there it is, bottom right. I think that's it. Let's click on it to buy the book....

Oops. That's a pop up of what it is in the book, not the actual shopping cart page. Maybe if I just try clicking somewhere...nope. Nothing. Back to the drawing board.

Apparenlty there's a subliminal link that says Buy Books. Ok even though it's not the typical Blue link we'll have to give it a little click.

In the third diagram, you'll see that the link finally goes to a shopping cart, but alas, it is still not the same book I was looking for. Let's do what we hate. Scroll down. Ok. There it is.

So we have 3 clicks and a scroll and then a click to purchase this book. Sorry, I am a little frustrated.

Step 5: Solutions to a better site and more conversions.

1. Top Marketing Recommendation: add a value-add Free Report --PDF premium-- for signing up on the home page (examples: excerpt from "100 Ways to get your kids reading" or a tip sheet --how to pick age-appropriate literature).
   
   
2. Change any links so they have underlines and make them the typical blue.
   
   
3. Make sure any important pages are only 2 or 3 clicks deep at the very most.
   
   
4. Add a clear call to action
   
   
5. Be very conscience of above the fold content.
   
   
6. Consider adding text on the home page which defines the age ranges for the books. Also--what about girls? It might be helpful to address why the focus is on boys books.
   
   
7. On the Products page, consider adding a Book Title label under each book Thumbnail image.
   
   
8. Consider adding a Mouse-Over note for each book: Title/recommended Age/Subject matter.
   
   
9. Consider adding a Parents tab--that gives information about how the books help their sons learn how to read, etc.
   

Contact us today to receive a comprehensive overview of what Imagium can do for you.