A business’ online presence needs to perform a number of functions, from increasing awareness to nurturing relationships with potential customers. That makes having a user-friendly website an essential component of any successful online strategy, and user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) designers are key to making it happen.
Creating a checklist before you set out will ensure you stay on track and keep website usability at the forefront of every decision you make.
Every designer has their own ideas, but reference this usability checklist when creating your own set of parameters to make sure nothing is lost. While all projects are different and business goals must be taken into consideration, the common denominator is that users must not get lost as the website develops.
With media consumption on mobile having grown exponentially in recent years, no organization can afford to have a website that frustrates smart device users. A fully responsive website will make information instantly available to everyone who views your site, no matter where they’re accessing it from, and should encourage them to spend longer on it.
The argument that most people have broadband and therefore can wait for websites to load doesn’t quite fly. As Wi-Fi speeds get faster, your users’ patience diminishes, meaning your pages really need to come in at under 100KB or you can expect your audience to leave and look elsewhere.
As a designer, it’s likely you live for the aesthetics, but it’s vital you don’t prioritize style over readability. Take everything from the text-to-background contrast to font size and even spacing into account when designing your site. Test as you go to prevent having to make sweeping changes down the line on this front.
Branding isn’t just nice to have, as making your website instantly recognizable as part of your company’s offering increases trust and transparency. Place your logo in the top left corner of every page to demonstrate to the user that they’re still on your site and then implement an identity strategy that stems from your logo and is consistent across all parts of your website.