Is your website too hard?
Take the "Easy Test" to see if your website is as visitor
friendly as it should be! Websites often fail to produce the
desired results. This can be because visitors find them too hard
to understand or navigate. Here are some potential usability
problems to avoid.
1.Hard to find
Is your website easy to locate? Do you promote it everywhere,
(i.e. business cards, invoices, envelopes, etc.) and is your
site search engine friendly? Do you promote the benefits of
visiting? Is your site address easy to remember and easy to
type? Does your url contain easily misspelled words? Is it
complicated by repeated letters, i.e. "theentity?" Are there
numbers, which can cause confusion, i.e., "1shopping" or
"oneshopping?"
2.Hard to engage
Do you make it easy for visitors to understand why they should
read on? You have only a few seconds to persuade visitors to
begin reading your message. Unless your home page immediately
provides an obvious "why buy from us?" benefit, visitors are
likely to leave, wasting the time and money you spent attracting
them to your site.
Home pages should begin with headline that immediately
communicates you are familiar with your visitor’s problems and
can help them achieve their goals. Time-consuming animations,
vapid "welcoming" statements, and "brag and boast" claims,
usually turn visitors away.
3.Hard to decide
Do you make it easy for visitors to decide what to read next?
The best web sites have a clear and immediately identifiable
focus and sequence. Many home pages, however, offer so many
navigation options that visitors are paralyzed and choose to
leave.
Studies have shown that, if you offer grocery store visitors an
opportunity to sample 6 jams, 30% of customers will eventually
buy one. But, if you offer 16 samples, response drops to 3%!
4.Hard to return
Do you make it easy for visitors to register for your e-mail
newsletter, so you can invite them to return? Unless you obtain
your visitor’s e-mail address and permission to contact them in
the future, you’ll probably never see them again! Many web sites
offer visitors an opportunity to sign-up for their e-mail
newsletter, however, only a few offer a meaningful incentive to
sign-up. Without an incentive, without showing or describing the
benefits of registering, why should visitors sign up? Most
e-mail in-boxes are already filled with unread newsletters!
5.Hard to read
Is your message easy to read? Easy reading is more critical
onscreen than in print. Problems that might be overlooked on
paper are critical online.
- Long lines of text are difficult to
read and make it easy for visitors to lose their place at the
end of each line. Limit line length to 2/3’ds the width of the
screen.
- Keep sentences and paragraphs short, and add extra
space between paragraphs.
- Frequent subheads break body copy
into short, bite-sized chunks. Each subhead "advertises" the
following text and provides an additional point for visitors to
begin reading your message.
6.Hard to print
Do you make it easy for visitors to print important articles and
descriptions? Links to "printer friendly pages," correct
line-and page breaks-add perceived value to your message and
make it easier to share and read your message offline. You don’t
need to offer a printer-friendly link of every page, just key
articles or important products or upcoming events.
7.Hard to share
Do you make it easy for visitors to pass-along important
articles to others? An "E-mail this to a friend or co-worker"
link can expose your message to others who may join your opt-in
e-mail list.
8.Hard to contact you
Do you make it easy for visitors to contact you? Do you include
full contact information on every page, i.e. phone, fax, e-mail,
and postal address? Avoid a single "contact us" link that only
loads the visitor’s e-mail program. Give visitors multiple
chances to call, fax, or mail a letter!
