Article: How to Design a User-Friendly Website in 10 Easy Steps
The friendlier your website is to the user, the friendlier the user is to your business. Designing a user-friendly website is not an easy task. There are too many things that you need to get right. But as long you use your common sense and imagination (and follow certain basic rules) it is not too difficult either. This article gives pointer on how to design a user-friendly website.
You have a clear purpose behind building a website. Maybe you want to spread your ideas; perhaps you want to promote and sell your products. To get the most out of your web presence, you need to design a user-friendly website. By making it easier for the visitors to use your site, you can substantially increase your chances of converting casual visitors into customers.
Also, your website is the virtual face of your business. You've got just one chance to impress the visitors and persuade them to perform desired actions. More likely than not, there are thousands of other websites out there vying for a piece of the same market. If your website takes too long to load, or if the visitor cannot find what he is looking for, you lose out to the competition. On the other hand, designing an attractive and user-friendly website offers a wide range of benefits.
Benefits of Designing a User-Friendly Website
- Easily Navigable – visitors can instantly find what they want
- Website loads faster – users don't go elsewhere out of impatience
- Ease of use translates into better conversion rate
- User friendly is also designer friendly – website is easy to build, redesign and debug
- Better user experience and website performance complement your SEO efforts
Design a User-Friendly in Ten Easy Steps
You cannot design the perfect website by focusing on just one or two elements. You need to get at least ten things right. Thankfully, it is not as difficult as it sounds. All you need is a little more focus and a little more effort. Even if you already have a website, you can use the following points as a checklist. If you take care of the following points, visitors will find it easier to interact with your website.
1. Build a Simple Navigation Structure
Understand the purpose behind all the links on your web pages. Are the links leading the visitor toward the conversion page, or are they simply making him bounce from one page to other? To ensure that the visitors do not get lost, use cookie crumbs to show them where they are. Clear call-to-action buttons instructing the visitors can also help in providing a better user experience.
2. Reduce Website Download Time
Users will open several tabs at a time and wait for the sites to open. If your website takes too long to load, the visitor may start viewing some other site and forget all about you. Also, Google and other search engines take the download speed of your website into consideration while determining search results. If your site takes too long to load, switching to a faster server can provide positive results immediately.
3. Create a Clear, Comprehensive Site Map
Site maps are useful to visitors looking for particular information, and they also help you to find favor with the search engines. Also, building a good site map frees you from the responsibility of providing a link to every page from your home page. A static site with half a dozen pages may not need a site map, but larger sites that have several pages need a site map.
4. Provide a Site Search Tool
If all else fails, a visitor can always rely on site search tools to find what he wants. Anyone who wants to design a user-friendly website needs to integrate a site search tool with the website. There are several software out there that offer site search facilities for free. One of the most popular tools is Atomz Site Search. You can get this tool for free (as long as your website has less than 500 pages).
5. Maintain Consistency in Design and Layout
This is a basic tenet of designing, but still many designers manage to miss it. Make sure that the theme, colors, layout, logo and graphics on all the pages of your website are consistent with each other. At time, inconsistent designs in web pages may make a visitor feel that he has been redirected to a different website. This can hurt your business.
6. Ensure All CTA Links and Forms Work
The call-to-action section of your site is the most important part of your website. Make sure that all the call-to-action links work perfectly. Ensure that all your forms are free from bugs. In case you are designing an online store, make sure that all the parts of the purchasing process work perfectly. If you get this wrong, you stand to lose the best of your traffic.
7. Make it Look Good
A good first impression can go a long way. If the visitors like the way your website looks, they will naturally be more open to exploring it further. Conversely, an unattractive web design will drive your visitors away. A user-friendly website is easy on the eyes; it has engaging themes, easy to read content, and sensible background color.
8. Use Simple, Scannable Content
An attractive design, easy-to-understand navigation and fast loading speed are not enough. To design a user-friendly website, you also need the right words. Complex language and wordplay may not be appreciated by visitors who simply want to find relevant information. The content should be clear, concise and easily scannable.
9. Ensure Browser and Device Compatibility
It is not too difficult to design a user-friendly website for PCs and laptops, but you also need to consider millions of users who may view your website on tablets or smartphones. You have two options: you can design separate websites for PCs and for mobile devices, or you can have a responsive web design that adapts according to size of the browser or the screen.
10. Make the Website SEO Friendly
All your efforts will go in vain if no one visits your website. There are hundreds of things you can do to get into the good books of search engines. Even if you do not plan to get on the first page of Google search results, you need to use logical titles, headings and Meta tags to make it easy for the search engines to understand what your page is about. This will also make it easier for visitors to find relevant pages of your website.
Keeping these points in mind while designing or redesigning your website will help you design a user-friendly website. Such a website will help you increase the rate of conversions, reduce bounce rates, attract valuable traffic and build a stronger web presence.
Owner: IndiaNICPortfolio:http://www.indianic.com/projects-portfolio?type_id=5You have a clear purpose behind building a website. Maybe you want to spread your ideas; perhaps you want to promote and sell your products. To get the most out of your web presence, you need to design a user-friendly website. By making it easier for the visitors to use your site, you can substantially increase your chances of converting casual visitors into customers.
Also, your website is the virtual face of your business. You've got just one chance to impress the visitors and persuade them to perform desired actions. More likely than not, there are thousands of other websites out there vying for a piece of the same market. If your website takes too long to load, or if the visitor cannot find what he is looking for, you lose out to the competition. On the other hand, designing an attractive and user-friendly website offers a wide range of benefits.
Benefits of Designing a User-Friendly Website
- Easily Navigable – visitors can instantly find what they want
- Website loads faster – users don't go elsewhere out of impatience
- Ease of use translates into better conversion rate
- User friendly is also designer friendly – website is easy to build, redesign and debug
- Better user experience and website performance complement your SEO efforts
Design a User-Friendly in Ten Easy Steps
You cannot design the perfect website by focusing on just one or two elements. You need to get at least ten things right. Thankfully, it is not as difficult as it sounds. All you need is a little more focus and a little more effort. Even if you already have a website, you can use the following points as a checklist. If you take care of the following points, visitors will find it easier to interact with your website.
1. Build a Simple Navigation Structure
Understand the purpose behind all the links on your web pages. Are the links leading the visitor toward the conversion page, or are they simply making him bounce from one page to other? To ensure that the visitors do not get lost, use cookie crumbs to show them where they are. Clear call-to-action buttons instructing the visitors can also help in providing a better user experience.
2. Reduce Website Download Time
Users will open several tabs at a time and wait for the sites to open. If your website takes too long to load, the visitor may start viewing some other site and forget all about you. Also, Google and other search engines take the download speed of your website into consideration while determining search results. If your site takes too long to load, switching to a faster server can provide positive results immediately.
3. Create a Clear, Comprehensive Site Map
Site maps are useful to visitors looking for particular information, and they also help you to find favor with the search engines. Also, building a good site map frees you from the responsibility of providing a link to every page from your home page. A static site with half a dozen pages may not need a site map, but larger sites that have several pages need a site map.
4. Provide a Site Search Tool
If all else fails, a visitor can always rely on site search tools to find what he wants. Anyone who wants to design a user-friendly website needs to integrate a site search tool with the website. There are several software out there that offer site search facilities for free. One of the most popular tools is Atomz Site Search. You can get this tool for free (as long as your website has less than 500 pages).
5. Maintain Consistency in Design and Layout
This is a basic tenet of designing, but still many designers manage to miss it. Make sure that the theme, colors, layout, logo and graphics on all the pages of your website are consistent with each other. At time, inconsistent designs in web pages may make a visitor feel that he has been redirected to a different website. This can hurt your business.
6. Ensure All CTA Links and Forms Work
The call-to-action section of your site is the most important part of your website. Make sure that all the call-to-action links work perfectly. Ensure that all your forms are free from bugs. In case you are designing an online store, make sure that all the parts of the purchasing process work perfectly. If you get this wrong, you stand to lose the best of your traffic.
7. Make it Look Good
A good first impression can go a long way. If the visitors like the way your website looks, they will naturally be more open to exploring it further. Conversely, an unattractive web design will drive your visitors away. A user-friendly website is easy on the eyes; it has engaging themes, easy to read content, and sensible background color.
8. Use Simple, Scannable Content
An attractive design, easy-to-understand navigation and fast loading speed are not enough. To design a user-friendly website, you also need the right words. Complex language and wordplay may not be appreciated by visitors who simply want to find relevant information. The content should be clear, concise and easily scannable.
9. Ensure Browser and Device Compatibility
It is not too difficult to design a user-friendly website for PCs and laptops, but you also need to consider millions of users who may view your website on tablets or smartphones. You have two options: you can design separate websites for PCs and for mobile devices, or you can have a responsive web design that adapts according to size of the browser or the screen.
10. Make the Website SEO Friendly
All your efforts will go in vain if no one visits your website. There are hundreds of things you can do to get into the good books of search engines. Even if you do not plan to get on the first page of Google search results, you need to use logical titles, headings and Meta tags to make it easy for the search engines to understand what your page is about. This will also make it easier for visitors to find relevant pages of your website.
Keeping these points in mind while designing or redesigning your website will help you design a user-friendly website. Such a website will help you increase the rate of conversions, reduce bounce rates, attract valuable traffic and build a stronger web presence.
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