“Ooow, my brain! Don’t do that to me!”
When we’re on the web, thinking hurts. It is this principle that is behind Steve Krug’s seminal work on web usability, ‘Don’t Make Me Think!’. The nature of the net is to proliferate information, and our brains have a hard time processing all the new ways to present the same old thing. Making something usable on the web means making it obvious … and not making your visitors think too much. Today we’re looking at how to do that in practical terms.
Jakob Nielsen says that usability is comprised of five components, measured by both physical processes and a visitor’s mental state. They are:
• Learnability: Is it easy for people to figure out what they need to do to accomplish their tasks?
• Efficiency: Once they know what to do, can they accomplish most tasks quickly?
• Memorability: Will visitors remember what to do next time they visit the site?
• Errors: Do people make many mistakes on site, how severe are they, and can they easily recover from them?
• Satisfaction: Do visitors enjoy using the website?
Another key component which runs alongside usability, but is not technically part of it, is utility. Does a site give you what you need? If you’ve ever found those expired domain names pages that have none of the information Google told you was there, and a bunch of irrelevant links, you’ll understand why this is mentioned!
Cheat sheet for usability
One of the easiest ways to make sure your website is usable for your visitors, is to make sure that it takes advantage of conventions whenever possible. Sometimes, this might mean piggybacking on elements of very popular sites to create your own site – people will be familiar with your navigation by default, then. Some examples of taking advantage of conventions on the web include:
• Make your buttons look clickable. Make your buttons 3D, shadowed, and with a written instruction on them
• Put your search box up the top
• Put your navigation bar either on the left or up the top
• Use the simplest form of a word (‘Jobs’ versus ‘Employment opportunities’ or ‘Build your career here’, for example)
• Use bigger and bolder text for more important things. This clearly shows the hierarchy of the page
On the web, the place to differentiate yourself should mainly be your product, service, or other offering. Your design really shouldn’t .. and even the top creatives in the country can get it wrong. Check out this terrible usability example from Leo Burnett, nominated at WebsitesThatSuck for 2009.
How do I know if my site is usable or not?
If you are asking this question … well done! Some of the worst websites in the world have no idea how usable they are. Admitting that your mind is not necessarily representative of everybody else’s in the world is a great start. User testing is an easy process for gauging how usable your website is. It involves:
• Getting hold of some representative users of your website (ie, people in your target demographic)
• Asking them to perform some common tasks on your site, as well as conversion oriented tasks. So, can they find product information and check their account details … but more importantly, can they complete a purchase?
• Look at how long it takes to get from place to place, and ask them what they are thinking as they move through the site.
This is a wonderful way to ensure that your website can be used by the very people that you most want to spend time there. Usability testing is always a sound investment in your internet marketing.
