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Regardless of the web browser you use or the website you visit,

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every person brings their own expectations about the way things should work

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as they begin a new experience on a website.

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This relates directly to usability. 

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If expectations don't match the reality of what's found,

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the experience may be a difficult one.

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Business owners can not afford to let users have bad experiences on their site.

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Therefore, it's important to understand some of the common usability issues 

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that impact design and content, and how to meet the expectations of your users.

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Some of the most basic usability issues generally involve problems 

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related to the readability or visibility of text and images.

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They may include misspellings, broken images, and unreadable texts.

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These problems are basic because they can usually be fixed very easily, 

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either by tweaking some code or adjusting your style sheet, for example.

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Another common concern relates to the layout of web pages.

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Usually, they include a header at the top, a clear navigation area, 

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a large central body, and a footer at the bottom.

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This basic hierarchy has been used successfully by millions of websites.

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So, it's something many users expect, and when it comes to web design

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it's important not to confuse users with something too different.

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That's not to say you can't deviate from the norm, but understand the risks involved

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when trying something completely new, especially when your business is involved.

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Regardless of the layout used, it must be logical, allowing users to see what's there,

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providing a flow so they can find what they need, 

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and it must be consistent across all pages of your site.

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Lastly, a common usability concern relates to content.

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Content can relate to many things on a website,

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but in this case, we must consider how content 

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allows users to be successful as they use the site.

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So, do you use content to effectively identify what your site is about and who it's for?

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If users can't figure out what site they're on when they get there, you're looking 

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 at a problem that can plague the user experience from the very beginning.

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Also, are your links named correctly?

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Do users end up on a page that matches the link name?

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Does the content on the page, such as the text, images,

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 and downloads match the name of the page?

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Putting everything in its place helps reduce confusion,

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leading to a smoother experience and a longer one as well.

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Many problems can be found by going through the site yourself

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and trying everything: clicking, downloading, filling out forms, 

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and, especially, reading what's on the site.

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Depending on the size of your site, this may be too big an undertaking for one person

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That's why occasional testing of your site 

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with outside users can help you catch things you may not have noticed.

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In the end, by maintaining a consistent design and layout,

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and the way your site elements are presented across all pages of the site,

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you can avoid many basic usability problems.