How Important is Usability in the Design of a Website

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When it comes to designing websites, there are a lot of elements involved. Of course, some elements are going to be more important than others. If you are creating your business website, one of the biggest issues that you are going to have to contend with is its usability. Usability refers to how accessible or user-friendly a website can be. The more usability that your site has, the more likely that people will visit, stay, and even invest in your business in some way. If your site is complicated and hard to use, people are going to find somewhere else to do business. It's a simple element among a long list of must-haves, but it is one that can make all the difference.

Usability includes a lot of different details. You should make sure that you take the time to create a website that is user-friendly in terms of the following:

Layout: The page layout should be simple to follow and give people access to all the tools and information that they need without requiring a lot of effort or hassle.

Navigation: Make it easy to get around your website. Don't bury useful information in 5 levels of sub-pages. Stick with a basic, simple site that is easy to get around and has accessible navigation tools.

Content: You need to make sure that your content is informative and engaging. If people aren't interested in what you have to say, why would they stick around? Give them something to benefit them, and use your content carefully. Keep it short, simple, and to the point.

Overall Design: Avoid lots of heavy graphics, logos, images, and other elements that will just clutter up your page and make it hard for people to know where to go next. Stick to the basics and make sure that they can use your site without feeling overwhelmed or having too many options.

When you build a website, a lot of different things are going to come into play. However, if you want to have a successful business in the online world, you have to make sure that your website is interactive, engaging, and that it has a high usability rating so that people will want to keep coming back for more. High-tech designs and complicated features might seem like they look cool, but the bottom line is that people want simple, straightforward information and resources and they'll do what it takes to get it. Make sure that your website is user-friendly and easy to use so that you can give people exactly what they want and get their business in return.

(courtesy: www.webdesignerdepot.com)

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