Website aesthetics are important, but not as important as web site usability. User friendly websites capture attention, provide readers with helpful information, and convert browsers into customers. When designing a website, keeping usability in mind is crucial.
Simply put, a web page that looks pretty and lacks substance is a waste of time. Most Internet browsers dont have a lot of time to waste. Todays Internet browsers know when a website wont deliver, and thats precisely how customers are lost.
Understanding User Behavior
Custom web design begins with understanding user behavior. Its impossible to create a webpage that appeals to every type of person. Knowing what types of people a website aims to target is the only way to create a website that potential customers can relate to. Once this knowledge has been attained, designing a webpage that is useful will become a lot easier.
The Science of Web Site Usability
Understanding user behavior is a step in the right direction, but its not enough. A site must also contain a few key elements including:
Useful Text
Creative Hyperlinks
Strategic Call to Action Buttons
Easy to Find Contact Information
Text must be kept short and simple. Information must be useful and helpful. Hyperlinks should not cause an instant headache. Size, color, and placement of call to action buttons is vital, and users should not have to search and search for contact information. User friendly web sites are based upon an exact science that should never be disregarded.
Results of a User Friendly Webpage
A user friendly website stands out from the rest. Even if a website is selling the same thing as two hundred other sites, the one site that makes an instant impact is the one site that readers will trust. Time and again, the importance of custom web design has been proven. Websites that confuse, alarm, and lack substance are disregarded.
Website usability is the difference between an eye-catching webpage and an eye-catching webpage that serves a unique purpose. All the bells and whistles in the world wont matter to any website design if a site lacks relevance. Meshing the science behind a user friendly website with a great understanding of user behavior is the only way to create a website that readers will find functional.