Heads up! To view this whole video, sign in with your Courses account or enroll in your free 7-day trial. Sign In Enroll
Preview
Start a free Courses trial
to watch this video
Business owners cannot afford to let users have bad experiences on their website. Therefore, it’s important to understand some of the common usability issues that impact design and content, and how to meet the expectations of your users.
Things to Consider
- Where can one find the main navigation on your site? Is it in the same place on each page of your website?
- Does the font size vary from page to page, or is it consistent?
- Have you spell-checked your website?
- Does your homepage provide information about what the site is about and what you do?
- How much of the site can you review on your own, and what will you need help with?
Regardless of the web browser you use or the website you visit,
0:00
every person brings their own expectations about the way things should work
0:04
as they begin a new experience on a website.
0:08
This relates directly to usability.
0:11
If expectations don't match the reality of what's found,
0:13
the experience may be a difficult one.
0:17
Business owners can not afford to let users have bad experiences on their site.
0:19
Therefore, it's important to understand some of the common usability issues
0:24
that impact design and content, and how to meet the expectations of your users.
0:28
Some of the most basic usability issues generally involve problems
0:33
related to the readability or visibility of text and images.
0:38
They may include misspellings, broken images, and unreadable texts.
0:42
These problems are basic because they can usually be fixed very easily,
0:48
either by tweaking some code or adjusting your style sheet, for example.
0:52
Another common concern relates to the layout of web pages.
0:56
Usually, they include a header at the top, a clear navigation area,
1:00
a large central body, and a footer at the bottom.
1:04
This basic hierarchy has been used successfully by millions of websites.
1:07
So, it's something many users expect, and when it comes to web design
1:12
it's important not to confuse users with something too different.
1:17
That's not to say you can't deviate from the norm, but understand the risks involved
1:20
when trying something completely new, especially when your business is involved.
1:25
Regardless of the layout used, it must be logical, allowing users to see what's there,
1:29
providing a flow so they can find what they need,
1:36
and it must be consistent across all pages of your site.
1:39
Lastly, a common usability concern relates to content.
1:43
Content can relate to many things on a website,
1:48
but in this case, we must consider how content
1:51
allows users to be successful as they use the site.
1:53
So, do you use content to effectively identify what your site is about and who it's for?
1:56
If users can't figure out what site they're on when they get there, you're looking
2:03
at a problem that can plague the user experience from the very beginning.
2:08
Also, are your links named correctly?
2:12
Do users end up on a page that matches the link name?
2:15
Does the content on the page, such as the text, images,
2:19
and downloads match the name of the page?
2:22
Putting everything in its place helps reduce confusion,
2:25
leading to a smoother experience and a longer one as well.
2:28
Many problems can be found by going through the site yourself
2:32
and trying everything: clicking, downloading, filling out forms,
2:36
and, especially, reading what's on the site.
2:40
Depending on the size of your site, this may be too big an undertaking for one person
2:43
That's why occasional testing of your site
2:48
with outside users can help you catch things you may not have noticed.
2:50
In the end, by maintaining a consistent design and layout,
2:54
and the way your site elements are presented across all pages of the site,
2:58
you can avoid many basic usability problems.
3:02
You need to sign up for Treehouse in order to download course files.
Sign up