Intellisites, the smart choice for web design

You probably have a lot of tough stuff to learn and think about at work on a daily basis. Petty cash, cash flow, flow charts, annual reports, TPS reports, imports, exports, inventory, outventory… it’s chaos out there in the business world. So today I’m going to talk about something deliciously unambiguous. No curve balls here. What I’m going to talk about is exactly what it sounds like it is.

And our topic is…usability.

Which deals with…you guessed it…how usable a website is. In other words, is it easy to use? Or is it hard to use?

Who Cares About Usability?

Well, for starters, your website visitors (a.k.a. your potential customers). They actually care about it A LOT. When web surfers visit your website, their expectations are probably all similar – they all want the website to be easy to navigate. As they click around, they are going to find out that either A) it is easy to use or B) it is not easy to use. If it’s choice “B,” the wussy visitors will click the “X” immediately and travel to one of your competitors’ websites. Meanwhile, the brighter, more adventurous, and more determined visitors may stick around for awhile, but as their frustration levels increase, they too may opt to leave the site.

The middle of a shopping spree on your website is no time for natural selection to take its course. You want ALL the customers, including the lazy, tired, and easily confused, to make it to the checkout without quitting.

Okay, So Apparently It’s Important…But How Do I Increase Usability?

Since this post is just an Intro to Usability, I’ll just say this – the simplest websites to use are simple. Too many choices and unnecessary bells and whistles can distract and confuse visitors to a site. Now, that’s not to say a website with lots of functionality can’t be usable, too, if it’s been designed correctly. But I’ll save that for another entry.

For now, the takeaway is this – Usable websites are easy to use and navigate, customers prefer usable websites, usable websites are simple and straightforward, and IntelliSites loves to design websites that are simple and straightforward.

It’s that simple.

I overheard some people talking about “Hick’s Law” at a party the other day. (I really must stop attending such WILD social functions.) Anyway, sounds like the gist of Hick’s Law is the idea that it takes people more time to make a decision when there are many options to pick from. In other words, it takes much longer to decide between three options than it does to decide between two, and it takes significantly longer to decide between four options than it does to decide between three. And so on and so forth, until apparently it levels off. (At that point in the conversation, people started talking about logarithms, so I made a beeline for the buffet.)

Using This Idea for Web Design

Although they may not know that this idea is called Hick’s Law, good web designers take this concept into consideration every time they design a website. As a business owner, you don’t want people to come to your page and stare at it blankly while they try to decide where to click.  You want those visitors to explore, interact with your page, and stay interested. In order to make this happen, good web designers don’t crowd your page with a boat load of options; they keep it simple and easy to navigate.

Even complex websites that do involve lots of options tend to make the decision process easier by organizing the choices. It’s rare to visit a website and see fifty links right on the front page.  Instead, a website that has fifty pages to offer tends to organize these choices into categories and present them in drop-down menus. This breaks the decision making into smaller chunks and avoids wasting the website visitors’ time.

So Keep It Simple, Got It?

So there you go. I’ve been a fan of dynamic yet straightforward websites for years, and now I’ve got a law backing me up.  Get rid of clutter and unnecessary choices, and your customers will find your website easy to use and fun to visit. (Much more fun than, say, that party.)

Last week I promised to help you self-discover how well your web site is serving your needs. Answer these 12 questions as a way to concretely analyze how well a web site does it’s job.

1. Is the first impression “Wow!” or “Whoa…” ?
We all know how important first impressions are, and your web site has to make a good one. When someone visits your site for the first time, are they immediately impressed? You want a site that looks professional, fits your other branded materials, and communicates powerful reasons to buy from you.

2. Is your web site usable and easy to navigate?
The web is built on information. How easily can someone find it on your web site? If there isn’t an easy way to access every page of your web site within two or three clicks (your browser’s ‘back’ button doesn’t count), you’re testing your visitors’ patience.

3. Does it load fast?
By some estimates, you’ve only got five seconds to load your web site before your visitors get annoyed. Does your web site make the cut?

4. Do all the parts work?
I see this happen all the time – a business has a decent looking web site, but when you click the links they go to pages that don’t exist or are ‘under construction’. If you’ve been saying “I’ll get that fixed eventually” consider this – every person that clicks those broken links has a disappointing experience on your web site.

5. Does your web site quickly communicate a reason to buy from you?
The core question that your visitors want an answer to is “Why should I buy from you?” Your web site needs to answer that question quickly. The more time you let that question simmer in your visitors’ mind, the more likely they are to look for an answer somewhere else.

6. Does your web site ask for the sale?
Your web site needs to have calls-to-action in the right spots. You need buttons that say “Buy Now!” or “Get a Free Quote!”, and you need to put them in the right spots.

7. Does it read well?
The way your web site is written will have a significant effect on your visitors’ experience. The text on your site should strategically guide your guest from casual visitor to engaged buyer. The writing should target your audience, have an inviting tone, and highlight important talking points about your business.

8. Does it encourage visitors to come back?
Some visitors won’t be ready to buy from you on the first visit to your site. You need to give these people reasons to come back. Updated content, free services and discounts on overstocked inventory are good ways to encourage a return visit.

9. Is your web site updated?
Your web site needs to be updated regularly to make sure that it stays relevant to your visitors and your business. The web is constantly changing, and if you’re not updating your web site at least once a month, it can quickly become obsolete.

10. Is it ranked on search engines?
Statistically, most visitors come to a web site via search engines – so this could be the most important question. If no one can find your web site through generic keyword phrases, it doesn’t matter how good the site is.

11. Does the site reflect the current state of your business?
Has your business gone through changes since your web site was designed? If so, it’s time to update. Part of what makes the web so powerful is that it is up-to-the-minute. You web site needs to be, too.

12. Does it help you accomplish your goals?
Your web site should have some concrete goals. Is the goal to sell, either directly or through contact inquiries?  Is the goal to cut support hours? Or maybe to generate positive PR? Ask yourself how well it meets these goals.

Your web site is a complex tool.  Are you using it to its full potential?