Your new website has just gone live. You've invested quite a
bit in it - money, hours, sweat, etc. It's been project-managed perfectly; the
brief has been adhered to perfectly.
And it's been worth it. Beautiful Flash design, swirling
animations, all the bleeding-edge technologies that your designers advocated, a
shimmering Java applet of your office's reflection on the Liffey...beautiful.
Just beautiful.
You sit back and wait for the enquiries.
Nothing.
Three months later, you're wondering where it all went
wrong. Where has your target market disappeared to?
The likely answer is they've gone down the road to a
competitor with a website that they can use.
If you're planning a web project, these tips will give you a bit of a background to usabililty. Your website needs to CONVERT visitors to customers and qualified sales leads. Usability is the science of doing this.
A recent study found that users decide whether they like a website or not within half a second. Yours needs to appeal from the start. So read these tips and use them.
TIP #1: Visit the following websites: Google, Yahoo,
Amazon, Ireland.com, DAFT.ie and RTE.ie Spend a few minutes on them. This is the Internet to millions of
people, and these people want all websites to work like this. The more your
site is like these websites, the better your site will convert. Simplicity is
key.
TIP #2: If you want visitors to do business with you, make
it as simple as possible to do business with you. If Dunnes Stores made you run
an obstacle course with shopping basket in hand, would you keep shopping there?
People don't have much time these days - make it easy for them. Don't make them
have to open an account before they can purchase anything. Don't make them have
to click six times to get to their product. Don't use long, unwieldy forms to
collect personal data. This is an extension of TIP #1. Keep it simple!
- they're welcome to
your website.
- you are a total
solutions provider.
- you empower global
communications providers with real-time data.
- they are visitor
number 538.
People do want to know that:
- there's a 40% discount on blue widgets until Friday.
- your site is on a secure server.
- you offer free delivery.
- you guarantee the
cheapest widgets in
Remember, unless the first impression is favourable, visitors will leave your site and never return. A few simple changes can make a big difference. And if you're planning a re-design, make sure you take these tips on board.
Have you seen any of the above design mistakes? Leave a comment below.
