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3 Steps To Usability
ebsites are built for avoiding this concern and
specific types of viewers designing your website with your
and must appeal to a user’s goals and needs in mind
definite target market. Users you will create a more positive
must be able to view your site, user experience. Similarly,
scan everything, and immediately thinking about the navigation,
understand what the website is how the site will work, and why
about. Similarly, for maximum users are coming to your site
usability, your website has to will give you greater insight to
appeal to the needs of search what you need to achieve when
engines. Usability comes down to designing a new website. Don’t
three main areas: site design, let design elements be a
page design, and development. If usability handicap. Placing
carried out properly, these pertinent information in highly
elements will bring both users visible sections of the site will
and search engines to your site be most effective and will ensure
and keep them coming back for that the design is functional as
more. well as aesthetically pleasing.
Site Design Page Design
Site design starts before the Page design consists of graphics
user ever views your homepage. as well as content. The overall
The download speed of your visual impression can easily lead
website can immediately spark the a user to an uncomfortable
user to click on another site. experience if the graphic
Excessive graphics or graphics placement is not thought out.
that are not properly optimized Contemplating meaning and
for the web can slow down the presentation is a challenge that
load speed of any website. By every designer and developer must
face everyday. If graphics are appear in a specific order. For
just thrown onto a page with out example, if there were no
any thought they could confuse graphics in your website, you
and distract users are dilute the would want the page structure to
message you are trying to convey. look like an outline. If the
Usability is about making the structures of the key elements
user feel at ease. Noticeable are in place, then it should be
navigation and scannability of very easy for a user to
call to action areas makes your understand your site. For
message very clear. Users will example, websites like craigslist
scan pages only reading headlines get thousands of viewers a day.
and titles until they see This traffic doesn’t stem from
something that catches their eye. the site’s visual appeal, but
Cleverly written headlines will from its ease of use.
draw more users every time and
keep them on your website longer. Even if it is your first time on
Users are scanners and the site, you can still easily
scannability is key to any navigate to what you’re looking
website design. Take a moment and for. This is part of the success
scan a page on your website for 3 of craigslist and other Ugly
seconds. Are you able to Websites that Work.
understand what your company is
about? Are your key elements Development
prominently displayed? If not,
you need to think about the The development is possibly the
structure and organization of the most important step in the
page design. Consider the meaning exposure to your website.
of your site and its purpose. To Designing an attractive website
maximize overall usability, the is useless if no one can find it.
information on each page needs to Placement on the search engines
is the vital lifeline that
maintains any online business. Main Topic (H1)
That visibility is determined by Subcategory (H2)
how well your website is Aspect of subcategory
catalogued by the major search Aspect of subcategory
engines. Developing websites with Subcategory (H2)
web standard code allows your Aspect of subcategory
website to be as accessible as Aspect of subcategory
possible. Proper code means
giving all of your headings H This outline structure is useful
tags, using style sheets for all for both search engines and
of your formatting, and using users. It is logical and easy to
proper HTML and XHTML markup for scan.
all other elements. In order for
your content to appear Using web standard compliant code
semantically correct, the proper also allows you to reach the
web standards must be applied to largest number of viewers with
the development of the website. and without disabilities.
You want the most important Attributes such as alt text, for
information to appear closest to example, make it possible for
the top when search engine screen readers to vocalize text
spiders come to crawl through to blind users where graphics are
your website. Making your website used. The mass retailer Target
accessible and usable to search Corporation recently became aware
engines is just as important as of the importance of this
usability to your viewers. development step after being
smacked with a lawsuit for
Proper development and structure failing to make their website
of your content should look accessible to users with
similar to this: disabilities. The Target website
did not contain the proper HTML half ass effort simply won’t cut
markups that disabled users it. To make a positive impression
commonly depend on to browse the today, your website must be
Internet. Proper site development informative, professional, and
can also ensure cross browser above all, usable. Focusing on
compatibility and improve your proper website design, page
site’s usability on portable design, and development are the 3
devices like cell phones and essential steps to creating a
PDAs. Designing with web standard functional and successful
compliant code reduces the amount website.
of headaches when it comes to
testing your site’s overall usability because more browsers type="text/javascript">
google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";
google_color_link =
"0000FF"; type="text/javascript"
google_color_text =
"3E3F43";
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndica
google_color_url = tion.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
"3E3F43";
About the Author:
Focusing on web standards and usability, Drew Stauffer is the co-founder of http://www.wildfireproductions.net/ Wildfire Productions, a search engine marketing and website development company
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