Before the term of ‘user-friendly’ came into use, website developers didn’t really have a way for describing well-designed websites that did an excellent job in terms of engaging visitors and turning them into potential customers. Well, with the advances in technology and marketing strategies, users became extremely demanding when it comes to functionality, website design and all the small details. If you’re aiming to keep users on your website and give them a reason to return, having an user-friendly website is a must. If you’re not sure how to obtain that, we’ve made a list with some tips that should give you a head start.
Design the Website with The User in Mind
The most common mistake made by web developers when building a website is forgetting about the person that will use the website the most: the user. Sure, a site map might seem easy and accessible for a programmer, however, it can be a totally different story for a regular user. That’s why you need to keep things simple and intuitive. Make sure to name each page accordingly and that navigation is seamless. A search field is definitely great help when building a user-friendly website.
Make it Mobile-Friendly as Well
If you think your website is already optimized and easy to use on the desktop version, do the same for the mobile version. Actually, since trends clearly show that most of the traffic come from mobile devices, you should start with optimizing the mobile version first. Make sure your website is responsive and compatible with all the different Operating System and devices out there.
Keep Everything Simple but Not Shallow
Simplicity as a trend in web development and design is not at all a new thing. However, as information gets more and more accessible and we’re surrounded by tons of it every day, users tend to prefer things to be as intuitive and simple as possible. So, instead of coming up with a complex infrastructure for your site with multi-level navigation try going with a linear design. Make sure your users get the needed information from the first minutes of their visit and don’t make it a struggle to access the important features.
Make it Easy to Go Back to the Home Page
It’s usually through the logo that this action is performed. And even though it might seem like an ancient technique, you have no reason to leave it out if it works. Make sure your logo is visible on any page and that it is clickable to return to the home page. Besides making navigation faster, it will help emphasize the brand image and make the product or service you are selling easy to remember.
Make Content Easy to Digest
As mentioned before, your users need to access the info they need in a fast and intuitive manner. That can be achieved by high-quality content. Make sure you make it concise and simple by using sub-headers, bullets and by making the information easy to be scanned. Another great idea is to avoid industry jargon in order to keep the meaning of the content clear and accessible. A good example in that direction comes from the online casino industry where titles like Wheres the Gold Pokie are described in common terms so even a person that didn’t play a casino game in their lives could understand.
Balance Media and Text
It’s no secret that media attracts more attention than text, however, you should be able to keep a good balance between these two methods of giving information. Use high-quality images to back up the info provided in your text, however, make sure to not overcrowd the pages.
The above set of tips are just the tip of the iceberg – if we’re allowed to make this small joke. But starting from these tips and through testing and functionality tweaks, you should be able to build a competitive website that users love.
