If you want your website to be successful, it should not only look good but also provide a smooth user experience for the visitors. So many businesses neglect the usability which is not right. Usability is the critical for the success of any website and should not be ignored. Good usability can drastically improve the performance of your website and thus increase your chances of success. Good usability site will have higher sales and revenue.
In terms of website designing, a good website usability is about making it easier for the visitors to find the information which is needed, quickly and easily.
There are many ways to improve the usability of your website. Here we will be discussing about the important characteristics of a great user friendly website. If you will follow these recommendations then there will be more chances for success of your website.
1. Website should serve a purpose
Each website is designed to serve some purpose, usually to solve a problem. For e.g. A job site has a purpose where employers post jobs and job seekers find and apply for the jobs. After applying for job, there must be a way for candidates and employers to communicate and keep up to date with the job applied for.
2. Website should be easy to use
A website should be easy to use. You should make sure that when users visit your website they should find the information they are looking for without much difficulty. Your website should also provide easy navigation to go from one page to another.
3. Content should be relevant and of high quality
You should not put that content on a website which is not relevant to the users as you won’t put car details on a website meant for job listings. If your website is for job listings then it should have content related to how to create professional resume and how to succeed in the interview. You can’t put post about cars on a job portal.
4. Website should follow latest trends in the market
You should make sure that your website is using current trends and technologies in the market. You should not create a website which doesn’t support today’s requirements. For e.g. All of today’s good websites must be responsive and fluid web designs. You shouldn’t build fixed page layouts for your website which doesn’t support mobile friendliness.
5. Website should be optimized for various parameters
Your website and its content should be optimized for various devices, data speed, browsers, search engines etc. If your website is not optimized for mobile data users and their internet speed then users may leave your website. If your website doesn’t support some of the browsers then some of the users will not be able to access your website. Similarly if your website is not optimized for smartphones and their various sizes then some of the users may not visit your website.
6. Website should be responsive
In today’s environment, responsive web design is a must. A responsive website changes its layout and options to fit the device and browser size dynamically. For e.g. The website which is responsive may provide more options on a large PC monitor than on a mobile phone.
7. Website should load fast
Your website should load fast enough to show visitors what they are searching for. Your website shouldn’t be slow when presenting content to its visitors. Your website should not take more than 3 seconds to load otherwise visitors will leave your website as it is too slow.
8. Website should be reliable
Your website should be reliable. If a user apply for a job from a link on your website then your website should send on-time notification and messages to keep the user posted with latest updates. Your website should be able to be accessed from anywhere and 24*7 as people prefer only reliable websites.
9. Website should be Scalable
Your website should have sufficient infrastructure to support your website and its huge traffic. Your website should be able to scale to a large number of visitors and potential customers. The user interface, back-end database, APIs and services – these all should be scalable as and when required if it is a great website.
10. Website should be secure
In today’s internet world, security is a major issue. Your website should follow security standards and guidelines for safe and hack proof experience for the users of the site. The usernames and passwords should be stored in the databases in encrypted format. You may also secure your website by using SSL encryption.
These were some of the points which you should consider if you want your website to be as great and successful as the top websites on Internet. If the website serves its purpose well and high on performance and security then it will become a popular website in short time.
