Top 10 Website Design and Usability Elements

Posted on November 12, 2009 in Website Design & Usability

top10

Do you have these essentials on your website? No matter how small or large your website is, these basic design and usability features should never be overlooked.

1. Prominent Logo

Make your logo prominent on every page of your website, and make sure it always links back to the home page. Skipping this step is a usability annoyance. We are all creatures of habit. I’m always disappointed when the logo on an internal page doesn’t link back to the home page. Think of it as a Help! button for site visitors who want to get their bearings or a fresh start.

2. Site Search

This is a must-have for large websites. WordPress and Google both have great site search features that easily can be integrated into any website. This especially appeals to the growing number of people hooked on “Google” style web browsing, who ignore the website navigation and type in the product they are looking for. Site search data also is a gold mine of information that you can use to improve the website by seeing what people want and making sure they can find it.

3. Descriptive Headlines

Don’t make visitors read 4-5 lines before you tell them what the page is about. You have less than 4 seconds to impress a visitor, so make a strong case right away. (It’s also a good idea to optimize these headers, so Google also knows what your page is about.)

4. Manageable Read Line

Make content easy to read, and easy to scan. Don’t run it all the way across the screen or use all caps – both of these methods make it difficult for our eyes to pick up phrases quickly. Making your content easy to read is a sure way to increase user engagement as well as your overall conversion rate.

5. Phone Number

No matter what the end goal is on your website (sales, information, products, charity), you MUST provide a working phone number on every page.  Home and Contact pages in particular should never be missing a phone number. Also, always check the accuracy the phone number. True story: One hotel website I reviewed was prominently displaying a 1-800 number for a phone sex line on their home page! Shocker.

6. Nice Photos

Right after content, website photos will make or break a website. This is especially crucial for all websites that are selling products (e-commerce) or experiences (hotels, spas, travel). Visual appeal of the website is greatly increased by good photography. Cheap stock photography that does not match the purpose of the website annoys and alienates visitors. My own personal pet peeve? The photo of a phone operator with a headset on. Does anyone really think she’s answering their call?

7. New Colors for Visited Links

This is a usability must that is often sacrificed in the name of design. Once a link has been clicked on, it should change color so that website visitors will know which pages they have already viewed. Make browsing efficient and remove frustration and confusion to increase the possibility of more pages being read on your website.

8. Links Opening in Same Windows

This is a simple thing to look out for and update on your current website. Once upon a time, search engine marketing and usability “experts” wanted people to spend more time on your website. The hack solution was to have outgoing links to other websites open in new browser windows so that the original window stayed open longer. This turns out to be a bad idea for the simple reason that this step also disables the “Back” button, making it hard for people to get back where they started.

9. Title Tags

DO NOT SKIP THESE!  Title tags are extremely important!  Ex: Don’t let your home page title tag say “Home.” This is one of the easiest and most important ways to give your search engine rankings  boost. Add a descriptive and keyword-rich title tag that includes your company name and/or the product or service being discussed on the page.

10. No Music

Adding music to the site a bad idea. Why putting music on your website is a bad idea.

Clean, simple websites with great content almost never fail on the web. Follow the basic tips above to make your website, and the internet, a better place.