Have you been tasked with designing a fantastic web site but have no idea where to start? One thing I have learned over the years is to focus on one key area – user experience! No matter what cool software package you use or what the intended purpose of the site, if your users cannot find information or navigate through the page, they are not going to visit again.
There is tons of material available on the technical aspects of designing a web page. A quick on-line search can bring up thousands of articles, white papers, and other reference information that can help a budding web designer get started. However, there is not as much focus on the actual usability of the site. Experienced web designers know that if users are not part of the design process, they can expect the site to fail or need major work in the future.
User experience or usability studies do not have to be expensive or lengthy. A few elements of a successful site may include:
Give your users a site map. This is just a quick way for users to see what is available and also provides a shortcut to access information. Consider implementing site search. Enabling a search feature within the site helps a user locate information. Obviously, if the site is narrow in focus, this may not be needed. Use labels and headings. Giving users ways to skim content and find the relevant section makes your site more desirable. It also helps from an indexing perspective for a lot of search engines.
There are also some common mistakes to avoid when designing with users in mind:
Don’t overload the page with text. Web users scan quickly and large blocks of text usually prevent a user from engaging with the site. Be careful with graphics. Make sure any graphics on the site are relevant and add to the meaning. Also beware of graphics that look like ways to initiate actions but aren’t. Stay away from underlining. Web users expect underlined text to be a hyperlink to another page. Using underline for emphasis confuses or frustrates a user. If the page includes actions such as completing a form, be sure the user always has an easy way to exit or cancel the action.
A few quick activities during the design phase can make a huge difference on the final outcome of the site. Some suggestions, especially for new designers include:
Go slow to go fast. Take the time to plan before you begin designing. Think about the audience and the purpose of the site. Do some usability research. Sites like usability.gov provides a lot of material based on significant research. Take the time to read and learn before you jump into designing a site. Find some test cases. If you are targeting a specific audience or user group, spend some time talking with a few people. Focus groups can be incredibly beneficial when designing a site to be sure you include valuable content. If your site will include a great deal of content, consider doing some simple card sorting activities before you organize your content. This low-tech method actually provides a lot of good data about how typical users expect to find information.
These are just a few suggestions for a new web designer to consider before beginning. Web design is a rapidly growing field and even experienced designers are constantly learning! Software packages change constantly and new ones are always emerging. End-user interfaces continue to change and designers now must think about not only monitor screens, but also options like smart phones. No matter what the final product looks like, taking a few moments in the early stages makes a huge difference.