Site Usability

Site usability comes under the category of a site being 'user friendly.' Site usability is basically the definition of how easily a user can maneuver around you site. This aspect of website building is extremely important. If your site is not user friendly or fairly easy to use, users will get frustrated with your site and do one of three things: 1. Get mad and give you a piece of their mind. 2. Not use or go to your site at all. 3. Talk bad about your site and tell others not to bother going to it.

Websites which are easy to navigate are a pleasure to visit and use. Consider these necessary tips when putting together your web site. You will be glad you did when you see the steady amount of traffic that you draw.

Ease of learning This means how fast a person who has never even seen your site can find their way around your site to explore and get familiar with it.

Efficiency of use This means once a user has learned your site how quickly can they accomplish tasks they need to do.

Familiarity This means how memorable your site is to users. How well can your site be used and remembered to do daily tasks the next time they have to complete a task is an important trait. They should not have to start over and relearn the site to do what they need to do each time they visit.

Error frequency and severity This refers to how often users make mistakes using your site. How often the errors are made and how users are able to recover from these errors can make a big difference in their willingness to return. This is where site users can have a bad experience using your site.

Subjective satisfaction This simply means how much the user enjoys using your site when they visit and how effective the experience is toward what they are looking for.

Usability is the single most important aspect of site creation. It affects the way users experience your site. If they have a bad experience they are less likely to want to use your site again. Many site developers get so caught up in the creative aspects of creating the site that they forget to consider if it's easy to use. This is where problems exist and bugs are present in software and sites. These bugs and problems need to be worked out for the program or site to work correctly. If not, users are likely to avoid your site again if it is too complicated.

Consider these things when creating and building a website. It can mean your success or failure as a business or site owner. Website creation and building is time consuming and somewhat of an investment. Think about the above tips before you create a site which is hard to use or hard to understand. People are often afraid of computers and depending on their experience with them. Do not make using the site an unpleasant experience. This can be avoided. Try it for yourself and have friends attempt to use it before you try to attract live traffic.