Website usability principles

Remember the eight-second rule

Visitors to your site have about eight seconds of patience while waiting for the site to load. This is especially true of the homepage. You keep them waiting while large files load, you will lose them.

Show personality

From the moment a customer views your site, your distinctive look and feel should come through. There should be something that sets you apart from others, whether it's in the tone of the writing or in the design. Your uniqueness should be evident. It's a worthwhile investment to create brand—the way a business distinguishes itself from the competition.

Don't let them lose the scent

There's truth in the saying that men never ask for directions. If a visitor can't find their way logically through your site, they will likely leave. Functionality and design should go together to create a positive user experience.

Give people what they want

If you are selling a product, it should be obvious how to buy it. If you're an artist, display your work. This may seem obvious, but often we forget this and give people what we want instead of what they want. Always keep your target audience in mind. It's vital to know things like age, income level and technological skill level of your audience.

Have content in your content

Flash animations and cool designs are no substitute for useful, meaningful content. Write something worth reading.

Write well

Consistency is important, determine a standard style. You don't want "e-commerce," "ecommerce" and "eCommerce" appearing all on one page for example. If you don't trust your own editing skills, find someone with those skills to go over everything before it goes on the site. According to Goggle, there are about 1.5 million sites with the misspelled word "hompage." Difficult to believe, but true. There is help out there. Spell check is part of almost every program, make use of it.

Enable visitor feedback

Make it easy for your customer to get in touch with you by ensuring your contact information is prominent. Enable ways for your audience to make comments, ask for clarification or make suggestions.

Always test

Show the site to new users and document their experiences. Observe them as they navigate throughout the site. Do they move intuitively or do they lose their way? Are they doing what you expected? You can gather vital information watching their body language as they go through the pages as well.

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