Basic rules and principles of usability. Main principles of Usability and basic rules
Usability (from English usability - “ease of use) is a qualitative assessment of the simplicity and comfort of working with a site. The user should easily find necessary information, without getting lost in functionality and numerous pages, and at the same time receiving aesthetic pleasure from working with the resource.
Why is it important to follow website usability principles?
- Conversion. Properly designed navigation will prompt the user to perform a target action: call the company, download a price list, order a product, use a service, etc. It is important to correctly build the narrative and structure, because if the visitor thinks for even a few seconds or does not immediately understand what to do next, you can lose him. For example, if, having got to the main page, from the very first lines he does not learn about the scope of the company’s work, does not get his bearings where he is and what to do next, he will close the tab without regret. If he does not find detailed answers to the questions of interest in the form of an article, video, graphics, the same thing will happen.
- Attendance. The user will return to the site only if he enjoys working with it. Therefore, the resource must be convenient and understandable from all points of view: text, navigation, interface, sequence of actions, etc. Thanks to the abundance of choice, the modern consumer does not have to spend a long time understanding the intricacies of working with the site: if it’s difficult here, he will move on to competitors who have a clearer and simpler approach.
Principles of web resource usability
Website usability development is based on the main rule: “the simpler, the better.” The more familiar the structure and interface the user sees, the easier it is for him to navigate and the less time he will spend to find the desired section, because will feel more confident.
1. Design is the key to trust in the site
Do not overload the visual part with many details, colors and dynamic elements. Nothing should distract the user from perceiving the information. And if he spends a long time on the resource, he should not get tired of the abundance of contrast, poor readability of the text, and diverse graphics. The emphasis is on minimalistic design: in addition to uniqueness, you should consider the combination of background and font colors, the number and type of images.
Another important point: well thought out " appearance» website is a guarantee of trust on the part of a consumer who comes to you for the first time. Ease and accessibility of use, color combinations, style that suits your target audience pictures, quality of content, absence of errors - all this affects the disposition to the resource.
An example of a website oversaturated with graphics. The design is replete with eye-catching color combinations and an abundance of pictures.
2. Logical structured content
One of the main usability factors is comfortable perception texts. Structure, design, information content, logical breakdown, optimization, absence of errors - all these parameters are important to consider when writing an article. If this is a long manual text, make a table of contents in the form of links so that the user can quickly find the desired section.
According to reports from Clicktale and CX Partners, page length does not affect whether a user will explore the content below or not. What is more important is a well-thought-out structure of graphics and text: highlighting priority information, sequence of arrangement.
3. Important information - in the left corner
Visitors browsing web page in an F-shaped pattern: attention is concentrated in the upper left corner and limited to the first few paragraphs of the text in descending order. Therefore, when distributing important information, using such a scheme will increase the likelihood that the visitor will quickly find the necessary data and see the most important things by quickly skimming the section.
4. Communication with the user
Successful registration, accepted order, non-existent page- a person must always be aware of what is happening. And in every detail. If it is registered in the system, tell us what to do next if the order is accepted: indicate the number, call waiting time, contact information; If you land on a 404 page, how to find the information you need or where to return.
Once on such a 404 page, the user will not be confused and, most likely, will not immediately leave the resource.
5. Cancel action
A person should have the opportunity to change his mind. Eg, social network VKontakte allows you to restore a page after it has been deleted. Some online stores - change or delete an order after placing it, adjust the delivery and payment method. All of these are components of website usability.
6. Unobtrusive offer of help
There is no need to insist on communication. Large pop-up windows offering help in choosing, a colored strip with a phone number occupying a third of the screen - such elements not only look intrusive and repel the visitor, but also cover up part of the functionality. The example below shows a product selection form. The help window should be easy to hide, so crosses and other similar icons should be made visible, and not translucent or blending into the background.
It's better to initially this form was in a folded state, but at the same time noticeable - for example, in the form of a bright side tab. And at the same time it did not overlap some of the content on the page. The latter also applies to social media buttons.
7. Conversation in understandable language
Do not focus on specialized terms - speak simply so that the user does not have to waste time interpreting an incomprehensible word. If you can’t do without narrow concepts and explanations, develop pop-up windows. The same applies to filling out forms: if you dictate certain conditions in the form of name length, password, phone format, acceptable geography, indicate this in the form of hints.
8. Refusal of sudden changes
This applies to menu items, the name and type of buttons, and their location. Imagine a reshuffle in your favorite supermarket: after a year daily shopping you suddenly notice that management has decided to swap departments, products, and redesign. And now milk is on the counter for sour cream, porridge - where butter used to be, and instead of frozen cherries you find pork kidneys. The signs have become more beautiful, but completely different - just like the usual discount icons. Bottom line: you get lost and spend much more time than usual studying the new design and getting your bearings, getting used to it again.
The same applies to web design: the user will not only spend more time, but will also be disappointed when he notices that instead of the cart icon there is now “Add Product”, instead of “Catalog” - “Products”, and the usual volumetric buttons of the streamlined button have become flat and chopped. Therefore, having conceived a “rearrangement”, do not shock the visitor - the changes should be gradual and not radically change the familiar structure.
9. All possibilities are in sight
A good solution is when the user sees all the sections he can go to, because... at any moment he can quickly figure out where he is and how to get back. If a lot of content is planned on the site, it is reasonable to provide a horizontal top, vertical menu(both - perhaps with subsections), as well as a "basement". If we're talking about about a minimalist “business card” or landing page- only the top horizontal menu is enough.
If there are a lot of categories, add the “Site Map” item, which will allow the user to navigate which sections the resource contains and how to get there. Don't neglect " bread crumbs» - a navigation chain at the top of the content block, which tells you how the person got to the page.
Example of a successful site map
10. Registration and order form: the more concise the better
The more fields there are to fill out, the less time the user wants to spend on this. Moreover, the layout of fields, inscriptions, and selection of fonts may be ideal, but the length may be repulsive. Modern Basics Usability factors force web developers to reduce the length of these forms to a minimum, mercilessly throwing out questions about education, income level, profession, etc. But! Compare two forms: despite the presence of only a couple of additional fields, you want to fill out the first one less than the second. Not to mention the requirement to provide a phone number.
11. Noticeably long search field
The corresponding button is best helper visitor. Especially if we are talking about a large resource. The search bar should be easy for the user to find. So that when meeting someone for the first time, he doesn’t spend even a few seconds finding the corresponding line.
Another important point is the length of the search field. According to research by Jakob Nielsen, the average length is 18 characters, and the optimal length is 27 characters. In 90% of cases, even long request so that the user can see it completely and correct it if necessary. To set the desired width, use relative unit"em" equal to the size of the font used.
The search bar is not in the site header, but under the presentation, at the bottom of the page. Not the best convenient option, given that the user automatically looks for this option at the top of the site.
12. More free space
The site can be compared to a living room: if every square meter busy with something - a person will feel uncomfortable. It’s the same here: if the page is overcrowded with useful blocks, sections, remarks and other information, the visitor will get lost and won’t understand where to pay attention first. Modern design prone to minimalism: only the most important things are on the page.
A lot of blocks with almost invisible frames, an abundance of various graphics, and a lack of highlighting of priority information make it difficult to understand what to pay attention to first when arriving at the site.
After all usability principles have been taken into account, they move on to testing, which is carried out constantly, because any mistake can alienate a potential client.
Usability testing
The new interface is assessed from two points of view:
- High quality. This category analyzes the functionality of the resource, target orientation, competent structure and preparation of content, as well as other parameters listed in the previous section. It is important to check the site for errors: broken links, redirects, appearance of the 404 page, etc.
- Quantitative. Here the page loading speed, response time, transition between pages, search for the desired section or button are assessed.
Testing is carried out independently or with the help of special services- for example, Yandex.Metrica. To evaluate usability on your own, you need to spend a little time: recruit a group of 5-6 people from the category target users, prepare tasks and questions for them about the operation of the resource, draw conclusions from the results obtained, and correct any errors found. After changes made the focus group should be reconvened.
It is important to apply usability rules not at the very last moment: the sooner the developer begins to plan the structure and appearance of the future resource, the more aspects he will think through, the better the result will be obtained and he will be able to make all the adjustments without haste. You should first analyze your competitors’ websites, identifying their weak and strengths, as well as evaluate the previous resource, if available, identifying points that require improvement.
The article was prepared by Victoria Zakirova.
IN modern world Understanding the basics of usability is a must. Most website visitors do not take the actions that resource owners expect from them. People don’t order goods, don’t register, don’t subscribe to updates, etc. What is the reason for this user behavior?
The reason is simple - the resource turns out to be inconvenient for the user. For example, in order to “order” a product, you have to go through several pages, and the registration button is completely impossible to find. This makes the resource uncompetitive.
How to reduce the number of refusals to use the site? If a project needs a thorough approach, you can contact the studio and specialists. Usability labs offer not only various options testing and interface design. And if your budget is limited, you can try to learn the basics of usability yourself.
To develop an interface yourself, you need to consider a few simple rules:
- Rule of 7.
It is known that the abilities human brain not limitless. A person is capable of holding no more than 5-9 entities in short-term memory. Therefore, you should not place more than 7 items in the navigation.
From this point of view, the site tutu.ru certainly deserves good reviews, since the main functionality was placed in the site header, limited to 4 menu items and a drop-down list.
While the Russian Railways website is an excellent example of what not to do. The amount of scattered information makes your eyes dazzling, you just want to close it and never enter again. - 2 second rule.
The less a user waits for a response from a program, website or application, the greater the likelihood that he will not give up using this product. 2 seconds is the optimal time interval for the program’s response, and this is what you should strive for. So you should think a hundred times before installing a heavy flash screensaver on your site, as they did on mtv.ru. - 3 click rule.
Nobody likes to surf pages looking for necessary information and functionality. The visitor should be able to get from the main page to any other page of the site by making no more than 3 clicks. This also contributes to more successful indexing of the site by search robots. - Fitts rule
A model of human movement published by Paul Fitts in 1954 determines the time required for fast travel into the target area as a function of distance to target and target size.
Metaphorically, the rule can be explained as follows: it is easier to point to a lighter than to a match. But pointing to a cliff or a huge airship is equally easy. If an interface object, such as a link, is already quite large, there is no point in making it even larger. - Inverted pyramid
Usability guru Jakob Nielsen himself adheres to this principle. The article should begin with a summary statement, followed by key points, and end with the least important information for readers. This is optimal for the web, where the user wants to get information as quickly as possible.
Testing consists of four stages:
- Focus group selection. Testers must match your target audience. You shouldn't ask grandma to test an application to find driver updates.
- Drawing up a test plan– a list of tasks for which your product is designed. This is the list that testers will follow. If you are running an online store, the list should include such tasks as searching for a product, obtaining information about a product, the path from receiving information about a product to ordering it, and removing a product from the cart.
- Testers complete a list of tasks and fix errors. Anything can be considered an error: a captcha that is too complex, a lack of a message from the server that “an item has been added to the cart,” the inability to change the number of items in the cart or cancel an action, etc.
- After identifying and correcting errors, the testing cycle must be completed again. The cycle must be repeated until the results meet the necessary requirements.
As a rule, 5 testers are enough to identify major bugs.
Example on topic
Finally, let's look at typical mistakes using the example of the website of the famous performer Vlad Topalov. Suppose we want to arrange a performance with his management and want to find their contacts on the website. And this is where the quest begins!The first thing we see on the site is a black splash screen with an “enter” link and a proposal to update the flash player.
The “enter” button sounds like a call to get to the main page of the site. But instead of the main page we find ourselves on a “blank slate”.
Here the image of a red ribbon catches our eye, and we, of course, think that this is a link, and maybe even to a menu. But no - this is just a symbol of the fight against AIDS, which is intended to indicate the singer’s social position and nothing more. And then the hand reaches to the upper left corner. And there’s not a menu at all, but a button full screen mode. A few seconds of confusion, and the search is over, the coveted menu is at the bottom, in the center of the screen. Click... and see the PLAYER! We have been deceived again.
While the clip is broadcast in the player, we continue to search for the menu. Now it is at the top, in the very center. In the drop-down list, we finally see the coveted word “Contacts”. But even here, not everything is so simple. These contacts cannot be copied. You'll have to rewrite it manually!
Now about the numbers. The waiting time for a response may vary depending on the connection speed, but in any case it will be more than 2 seconds. And the path to the management contact page took 7 clicks. And it could take just one.
Vlad Topalov, of course, can afford such “creative” solutions. But it is obvious that such decisions are simply disastrous for business.
Good afternoon to you, dear readers of my blog. A popular tool for selling services and goods on the Internet is a website. How to make sure that users don’t just come to admire beautiful pictures, but did exactly what you needed: made purchases, subscribed to materials?
User behavior on the site can be controlled. For this purpose, there is usability, the basic principles of which we will consider in the article.
But even if you don’t have your own website, understanding the basics of usability can be turned into a source of good money. Interesting? Then read on.
The problem for most website owners is the same. A lot of money has been invested in web development, but the tool does not work!
Users do not perform the actions that the seller expects from them. They don’t buy, don’t subscribe to updates, leave quickly, low percentage of repeat requests. What's the matter?
And the answer on the surface is that the site is inconvenient for the user!
What does it mean? For example, to find information about payment and delivery, the user needs to scroll through several pages. Nobody wants to spend extra effort to search. Therefore, we need to offer simple solutions.
Principles of usability in the interface
There are a few important rules in design that need to be taken into account when developing it.
First rule is called "Rule 7". It is based on the peculiarities of human short-term memory.
A person can pay attention to from 5 to 9 objects, on average there is no need to overload the pages with an abundance of objects among which it is easy to get lost, limit yourself to seven.
Second rule This is the two second rule. Nobody wants to wait for a complex page filled with graphics and flash screens to load. Therefore, you should think many times before doing this.
Perhaps this will make the site visually more attractive, but people will not use it.
Next rule sounds like the three click rule. This means that the user must make a maximum of three transitions before he finds the information he needs. Such sites are loved not only by visitors, but also by search robots.
Fitts' rule. Its essence is that there is no need to make large objects even larger; a person will already notice them.
Inverted pyramid principle. This means that the visitor should receive the most important information first and gradually move on to less important information. This approach saves time on searches, which evokes positive emotions among users.
Interface testing
Even if you are sure that you did everything correctly, the interface requires mandatory testing. To do this, you need to gather a group of people who will take part in the test and prepare a list of the most popular tasks that the user must solve using your site.
For example, find a product, place an order, pay, change the product in the cart, get delivery information and others.
All errors that pop up during tests must be recorded in writing, even the most insignificant ones. Eliminate all defects. Repeat the steps until the desired result is obtained.
By someone else's hands or on your own?
Interface development can be done independently or by hired specialists.
For example, on this exchange weblancer.net You can order services for website design and layout. The investment will pay off very quickly.
You can also be trained in the art of creating working websites. For example, Here you will find many high-quality, working courses.
These programs can be useful not only to website owners, but also to people who are interested in well-paid work on the Internet.
After completing the training, you become a specialist who can help you efficiently on the Internet and make it more profitable.
Such specialists are in demand on the labor market and can count on good pay.
Training courses contain video materials from leading experts Russian Internet, practical materials, checklists and mind maps. You can study the information at a time convenient for you.
For example, on the course " Conducting a website usability audit"you will learn to see and correct mistakes that lead to loss large sums money, you can ensure that you get into the top 10 only by correcting these mistakes.
Principles of content usability
When talking about usability, don't lose sight of the importance of content. No matter how convenient the site may be from a design point of view, the main thing why a person comes is quality information and content.
Signs quality content:
consistency of information;
ease of submission;
presence of structure.
Text written on a sheet is not perceived. Such articles are closed without even trying to read them. Therefore, any article should have clear structure: subheadings, lists, sidebars, highlighted main ideas.
All this allows the user to save time on searching for the necessary information.
Where can I get such texts? You can write them yourself, hire professional copywriters for the work, or buy ready-made content on the exchange, for example, here - textsale.ru
Usability principles: clear, convenient, comfortable. Briefly about the main thing
- Digital Professionals Hub Blog
In today's world, understanding the basics of usability is a necessity. Most website visitors do not take the actions that resource owners expect from them. People don’t order goods, don’t register, don’t subscribe to updates, etc. What is the reason for this user behavior?
The reason is simple - the resource turns out to be inconvenient for the user. For example, in order to “order” a product, you have to go through several pages, and the registration button is completely impossible to find. This makes the resource uncompetitive.
How to reduce the number of refusals to use the site? If a project needs a thorough approach, you can contact the studio and specialists. Usability labs offer not only various testing options and interface design. And if your budget is limited, you can try to learn the basics of usability yourself.
To develop an interface yourself, you need to consider a few simple rules:
- Rule of 7.
It is known that the abilities of the human brain are not limitless. A person is capable of holding no more than 5-9 entities in short-term memory. Therefore, you should not place more than 7 items in the navigation.
From this point of view, the site tutu.ru certainly deserves good reviews, since the main functionality was placed in the header of the site, limited to 4 menu items and a drop-down list.
While the Russian Railways website is an excellent example of what not to do. The amount of scattered information makes your eyes dazzling, you just want to close it and never enter again. - 2 second rule.
The less a user waits for a response from a program, website or application, the greater the likelihood that he will not give up using this product. 2 seconds is the optimal time interval for the program’s response, and this is what you should strive for. So you should think a hundred times before installing a heavy flash screensaver on your site, as they did on mtv.ru. - 3 click rule.
Nobody likes to surf pages looking for the necessary information and functionality. The visitor should be able to get from the main page to any other page of the site by making no more than 3 clicks. This also contributes to more successful indexing of the site by search robots. - Fitts rule
Published by Paul Fitts in 1954, a model of human movement quantifies the time required to quickly move to a target area as a function of distance to target and target size.
Metaphorically, the rule can be explained as follows: it is easier to point to a lighter than to a match. But pointing to a cliff or a huge airship is equally easy. If an interface object, such as a link, is already quite large, there is no point in making it even larger. - Inverted pyramid
Usability guru Jakob Nielsen himself adheres to this principle. The article should begin with a summary, followed by key points, and end with the least important information for readers. This is optimal for the web, where the user wants to get information as quickly as possible.
Testing consists of four stages:
- Focus group selection. Testers must match your target audience. You shouldn't ask grandma to test an application to find driver updates.
- Drawing up a test plan– a list of tasks for which your product is designed. This is the list that testers will follow. If you are running an online store, the list should include such tasks as searching for a product, obtaining information about a product, the path from receiving information about a product to ordering it, and removing a product from the cart.
- Testers complete a list of tasks and fix errors. Anything can be considered an error: a captcha that is too complex, a lack of a message from the server that “an item has been added to the cart,” the inability to change the number of items in the cart or cancel an action, etc.
- After identifying and correcting errors, the testing cycle must be completed again. The cycle must be repeated until the results meet the necessary requirements.
As a rule, 5 testers are enough to identify major bugs.
Example on topic
Finally, let’s look at typical mistakes using the example of the website of the famous performer Vlad Topalov. Suppose we want to arrange a performance with his management and want to find their contacts on the website. And this is where the quest begins!The first thing we see on the site is a black splash screen with an “enter” link and a proposal to update the flash player.
The “enter” button sounds like a call to get to the main page of the site. But instead of the main page we find ourselves on a “blank slate”.
Here the image of a red ribbon catches our eye, and we, of course, think that this is a link, and maybe even to a menu. But no - this is just a symbol of the fight against AIDS, which is intended to indicate the singer’s social position and nothing more. And then the hand reaches to the upper left corner. And there is not a menu at all, but a full-screen mode button. A few seconds of confusion, and the search is over, the coveted menu is at the bottom, in the center of the screen. Click... and see the PLAYER! We have been deceived again.
While the clip is broadcast in the player, we continue to search for the menu. Now it is at the top, in the very center. In the drop-down list, we finally see the coveted word “Contacts”. But even here, not everything is so simple. These contacts cannot be copied. You'll have to rewrite it manually!
Now about the numbers. The waiting time for a response may vary depending on the connection speed, but in any case it will be more than 2 seconds. And the path to the management contact page took 7 clicks. And it could take just one.
Vlad Topalov, of course, can afford such “creative” solutions. But it is obvious that such decisions are simply disastrous for business.
The term “usability” refers to the convenience of a website for the user. Today it's very important parameter, which can seriously affect the promotion of the resource. If the site is convenient for the user, then he will spend more time on it, which affects behavioral factors, which, in turn, are reflected in positions in search engines, and they are paying more and more attention to the user’s actions, it can be assumed that over time this trend will only intensify.
When it comes to sites with several pages (business card sites, etc.), they rarely think seriously about usability - this is not necessary. Enough good design and content. But in the case of large and complex projects, you have to seriously rack your brains over usability.
Why is this necessary?
According to various studies, on average people spend about 30 seconds on one page. In addition, few users view the page to the end. This is explained a huge amount websites, many of which contain useless or bad information. People are used to this, and they need to be hooked literally in the first seconds.
In addition, a person should easily navigate the resource; navigation should be intuitive. There are a number of standard and effective solutions, but I will talk about them below.
It turns out that a site with good usability should immediately grab the user’s attention and retain it, and also allow him to easily get into any section, even if he is on your resource for the first time.
Many developers strive to simple solutions, which is absolutely correct. IN in this case simplicity is the key to success. In some cases, simplicity is sacrificed due to necessity, but you always need to be very careful. For example, green text on a black background will definitely attract attention, but it will be inconvenient for anyone to use such a site.
We make a convenient website
How a person perceives information
Jakob Nielsen conducted a study in which he created a map of the movement of a user’s gaze on a website. Most people perceive information like this:
The image shows people looking at left side screen. This happens subconsciously. That is why menus and other most important elements on the site are most often added to the left side. This has already become a standard, so in this case there is no need to invent anything new. People are accustomed to the fact that the menu will be either on the left or at the top of the site. Other solutions can disorient a person.
Three click rule
A long time ago, someone came up with the three-click rule, according to which a user should go from any page of the site to any other with no more than three clicks. Obviously, this is not suitable for resources with a complex structure. Example: " Home page– store – bicycles – mountain bikes – brand.” It already turns out that a person needs to make four clicks. But in this case we cannot say that this is bad.
If you exclude any item, for example, “mountain bikes,” then the user will have too many products on the page, some of which he does not need (for example, road bikes). This example shows that on sites with big amount pages and a complex structure, you need to think not about three clicks (or any other number), but about user convenience.
About navigation
- the presence of a logo at the top of the screen, which leads to the main page;
- contact information is in the footer if we are talking about a selling site;
- links should be visually different from the text.
It is stupid not to comply with these standards. Simply because all users are already accustomed to them. Their observance can be called the basics of usability in the field of navigation; there’s definitely nothing worth inventing here, unless it’s required non-standard solutions in the field of design, but these are special cases.
If on the site a large number of pages, then you definitely need to do an internal search. Usually the line is placed on the right top corner(as on my website). If the number of pages does not exceed 900–1000, then absolutely simple search, and if there are much more of them, then it makes sense to do a complex search (error correction, search tips etc.). However, you should never try to replace poor navigation with internal search. The ability to quickly find the information you need is just an additional option.
About content
The quality of content and its design also directly relates to the usability of the site. If you have meaningless articles on your resource Bad quality, then it doesn't matter how good the other elements are. And if you have excellent articles, but terribly designed, then their quality doesn’t matter at all - they won’t be read. There are generally accepted rules for text formatting that are suitable for almost any site, and they are worth following, if only for the convenience of users.
Use standard fonts like Arial, Tahoma, Verdana or similar ones. Custom fonts can be used for headings, but this will not be the case for body text. the best solution. Not everyone will be comfortable reading a large article with such a font, even if it looks interesting:
Black font on a white background - standard and optimal solution. Non-standard options do occur, but the text and background should be contrasting, and bright colors should be avoided. For example, red font on a green background will create heavy load visually, and most visitors to your site will simply find it unpleasant to read such text. Dark background It is permissible to use, but even here you need to very carefully choose a combination of colors and shades. Good example:
The font size should not be less than 12 pixels. Also avoid crawling lines and blinking text - these techniques make it difficult to read and are simply annoying for many people. No need to abuse bold text, key points can be highlighted, but you should not do this in every sentence.
The quality of the content is also important. There are certain rules for writing and formatting articles that are relevant for almost any resource. In general, this is a topic for a separate article, but I will mention the main points that greatly influence usability.
- It is more correct to write articles in the form of an “inverted pyramid”, that is, the most important information and the key takeaways should be at the very beginning, and the least important ones at the end. This helps to immediately capture the user’s attention: he must quickly understand whether the article will be useful to him or not;
- The size of the article does not matter (including from an SEO point of view), it must fully answer the user’s question. It is clear that if an article of 10–15 thousand characters is in the top, then with an article of 2–3 thousand characters you will not occupy a leading position. Simply because you cannot answer the user’s question fully enough in such a volume;
- For large articles, it is worth creating a table of contents (with anchors in the text), which will allow you to quickly get to the desired section;
- Headings, lists and thoughtful structure of the material greatly facilitate its perception.
How to identify problems
Usability problems can be found on any website; in this sense, there can be no limit to perfection. Exist various methods, you can do the analysis yourself, or you can seek the help of specialists. A clear signal of problems with usability can be a decrease in website conversion.
Studying statistical data
Statistics can provide quite a lot of food for thought. There are very advanced tools, for example, Yandex Webvisor, which allows you to look at your site through the eyes of the user. Yes, studying this data will take a lot of time, but you don't need to look through the eyes of every visitor. Usually they pay attention to refusals and only those that came in response to targeted requests.
In addition, ordinary statistics can also suggest weaknesses in a resource. Here is a screenshot from Yandex Metrics with data on traffic to different sections on the site:
I have highlighted the data for one section that is clearly different from the others. The viewing depth here is much higher than average, and this can also be said about the time on the site. The bounce rate is slightly below the average for the entire site. What's the matter? It's simple: this section of the site is completely finished, there is a link between articles and additional elements navigation (recommended articles). This alone gave +0.64 viewing depth and +1 minute and 13 seconds to time on the site.
An extremely simple method that will allow you to quickly find weak points in your project. It is far from certain that problems will arise specifically in the area of usability, but it is still necessary to work with web analytics.
User rating
In this case they ask real people evaluate the convenience of the site and give detailed feedback. You can ask friends, you can hire third-party specialists who will provide detailed reports and make recommendations. If you ask your friends or relatives, the main thing is to meet one condition: they must visit your site for the first time. There is such an effect as “blurring the eyes”, so only New user will be able to pay attention to weaknesses that you yourself do not notice, since you are accustomed to your resource.
Testing
Testing is the most the hard way, but he gives the most best result. Typically, focus groups of 5-8 people are used to evaluate the site. Before the test, parameters are determined that testers will need to evaluate. The option is not the cheapest, but it really is the best.
Actually, there are a lot of testing methods; there are a decent number of scientific publications on this topic, so I will not go into details, since it will not be possible to completely cover the topic completely within the framework of one article. For an ordinary webmaster, the first two methods of assessing the usability of a website will be quite enough - they will identify the most critical problems.
Conclusion
User friendliness should be a top priority for any website today. If you really want to do successful project, then he shouldn't have weak points. After all, there will always be competitors who have everything perfect. By paying increased attention to usability, you are laying a solid foundation for the future of your site. And don’t forget that although there are generally accepted standards and recommendations, no one forbids experimenting, and the success of each solution can only be determined after real tests.
