Whether you have a older website or are looking to establish a web presence in Calgary or anywhere else in the world, you will need to examine these critical 10 web design usability issues:
1. Make A Great First Impression
Studies have shown that the human eye generally reads a webpage in an “F” pattern, from top left to right. Therefore, the hottest screen area on your corporate web site is the top left area. Post your critical info there, especially your corporate logo. The only exception to this may be to center the logo in the top area if the logo is symmetrical. Overall, your website needs to create a great first impression and establish confidence and trust in your visitor. A Web design should not outshine or overwhelm content or branding on any page, including the home page.
2. Good Navigation is Key
It is ideal to have consistent and universal navigation on your business Web site. This means having top menu that can access all pages at any time and this menu is “above the fold” – see notes below for that.. This makes it easy for users to find the information that they need quickly and smoothly and also maintains confidence in their experience with your company. Having supporting menus such as breadcrumbs or contextual “previous” and “next” buttons or links to related items will reinforce your web presence’s overall usability. Consistency is so important, and remember that navigation, such as text links and a site map, is also used by search engine robots when indexing your web site pages for their search results.
3. Make it Easy to Contact You
Make it easy for web users to contact you by displaying your current office address or phone number clearly on all pages of your web presence, or at least on your key pages. You can also have a contact us page that has details, such as different branches, key contacts or a contact us form. On today’s websites,it is also common to see live chat options so a visitor can connect with your staff as they surf!
4. Get Visitors to Act on Something
Even if it is just to get a visitor to call your office, a website needs a “Call to Action” – this is an action that is created through a combination of site navigation, content generation and site functionality, including e-commerce processing. What do you want visitors to do on your site? Where do you want them to go? What is the next logical step once they have found your web site? Is it to call you? Buy a product online or educate themselves? Or perhaps pass on information to a co-worker in the form of an e-book or pre-recorded video.
5. Keep their Focus “Above the Fold”
Keep the critical information in the top area of your Calgary web site, or wherever you are, above the fold, which is the bottom of the browser window,where someone has to scroll down to read more. This is why logos, menus and the main calls to action appear in the top part of the site design – they need to be accessible, without the viewer having to scroll down the page to find the web content they want. Of course, when indepth information is needed pages can be quite long and still flow well, however, as an alternative consider using a PDF document for more archived items and content, as it keeps the web article concise and easier to manage, plus you can brand your PDFs as a source of viral marketing, with Web links back to your site or email. Google and other search engines also index PDFs similar to Web pages, so your PDFs will also turn up in the search engine results.
6. Web Content that Invites and Offers a Return
A relationship is an ongoing commitment from both sides, it is not a one way street. While the visitor is looking for a product or information, your Calgary business is looking for that potential lead and the sale they hopefully will bring– and as it has been said, it is so much easier to sell to someone who has already bought from you before. So, when I say “offers a return” I mean it’s a return for both sides, the returning customer finds ongoing value in your offers and you retain them as a repeat customer. So keep content fresh, updated and consider adding a blog or Content Management System to your Calgary Web site.
7. Clear Content Layout
Organize your web content so your viewer can go from one web page to the next. Make sure that information is prioritized in a hierarchy of need (both for them and you) and provide the information or product to them as efficiently as possible. Consider the home page as the gateway to the site and lead the visitor to what you can offer them (e.g. latest deals, latest information package, latest blog entry, etc.) and then give it to them. Ensure that each page follows a consistent layout for navigation and branding and that the content area is organized in a clean manner so the design elements of the site does not interfere with content delivery.
8. Looks Do Matter
A web presence’s impression is made not only by what is included in the web site, but what is left out. Bypass banner ads, third party advertising, non-interactive flash media and overwhelming colour schemes that blatantly fight for the visitor’s attention. Visitors are generally looking for one thing on your site, so make it easy to find by keeping the structure and layout of the site simple, clean and direct.
9. Trust & Security
With billions of Web pages online these days, visitors need to know, more than ever, that they can trust their valuable time and money to your site’s offerings. Get security seals and trusted third party endorsements, a 256-bit SSL Certificate tells your visitor that you have planned to secure your Cochrane web site properly. However, there are subtle, yet effective, ways to show your visitor that they can trust your site: include properly written privacy policy, terms of use, shipping and returns policy, Unique, secure login areas, state clearly you will never sell or share their information with a third party unless they agree and only email them to the degree to which they have agreed. A certain way to create trust from the first impression is to have your Cochrane or Calgary Web site professionally developed as this shows you have invested your own time and money in something you feel is worthwhile to others.
10. Triple Check Every Web Page
Errors happen, it is technology after all, and while we all want to believe that technology can deliver 100%, 24/7 – is that reality? The reality is understanding errors do occur, glitches happen and once in a while things need to be fixed. The reality of the Web is that technology has to keep expanding and those tools made to make your life easier still take time to learn and use. As technology expands we must be prepared to make upgrades, updates and expand along with it. By working out all of the errors such as broken links (this requires ongoing maintenance), spelling errors, broken image links, browser inconsistencies, etc. you can present a well-polished gem to your website visitor, which will return the investment in maintenance in its visual appeal, optimum functionality and delivery of relevant, needed content.
Please consider the above 10 key points to improve your current web site or if you are looking to start a new Calgary Web design project.
For more information about Calgary Web Design and Calgary Graphic Design Services, please visit www.blinddrop.com.
