Website Usability Research
One of the biggest problems that users face when going online is frustration. Often website visitors can't find what they want, in the way they want and this leads to them leaving the site before they've even had a chance to look around. Where will they do next? Most probably to your competitors. Why do users suffer frustration? It's because the website isn't usable enough or isn't designed in the correct way.
By conducting usability research on your website, you significantly reduce the chances of your website failing. Usability research helps to identify how your potential website visitors use your website, and where areas can be improved.
How to conduct website usability research
To get a full understanding of website usability, a vareity of methods can be used. Here are just some of the ways to evaluate your website for usability;
- Focus groups help web users to voice their thoughts on how they use the website and what can be improved
- Online questoinnaires or forms allow people to give their opinions annoymously, with interesting comments often being thrown up
- User walk throughs help the web designer understand how the users interact with the website and how their designs can be progressed. This is typcially achieved with the user at the computer and the designer watching them, in a one-to-one session
- Click tracking software can be used to identify where users click on the website. This demonstrates 'hot' areas of the web page and areas which need addressing. An example is shown below.
Taken from Eyetools.com
The web usability mix
It is important to remember that only by using a mix of methods, will you get a full picture of how your users interact. Quite often they will say one thing when face to face wtih someone, and then proceed to do something very different in the privacy of their own home or office. Additionally once the first set of 'problems' have been highlighted and fixed, retesting then needs to take place to ensure that actual improvement has been made.
How we can help
If you would like to improve the usability of your website or would like to carry out some website usability research we can help. We are a full service web design agency with office across the South of England. We would be happy to discuss your website needs to see how we can help. Please call one of our friendly team on 0845 260 2343 or send us an email online.