Robert-Jan from Marketingfacts, the site for good tips on marketing, usability, and SEO is specialized in eye tracking, usability research, and conversion optimization. He has created a highly valuable compilation of the 100 most important usability tips. Pleasant reading but certainly also important reading for every online store owner.
Usability Tip 1 Use enough white space to create calm. View the article on the use of white space.Usability Tip 2 The use of 'click here' is simply no longer acceptable. How to do it correctly can be found in the article about using hyperlinks.Usability Tip 3
Think carefully about the category names you give in your navigation menu(s). Users think of keywords in their minds and check whether that matches the category names. They consider whether what they are searching for might fall under a certain category name.
Usability Tip 4
Make sure you have a search engine on your site. This is widely used. And ensure that it works properly.
Usability Tip 5
Make use of a 'breadcrumb' so that users can easily find their way back.
Usability Tip 6 Only use the vertical layout for a fly-out menu as users find the horizontal layout difficult to make a selection. View the article about the use of fly-out menus.Usability Tip 7
Always provide a consistent link to the homepage in the same location on every web page.
Usability Tip 8
Ensure that the input field of the search engine on your site is long enough for users to see the keywords they are typing.
Usability Tip 9
Make sure that your contact details are easy to find.
Usability Tip 10
A fast loading time of your site is a must. A slow loading time directly affects the conversion.
Usability Tip 11
Start testing prototypes in time. Don’t wait until the website is finished.
Usability Tip 12
Use headings to keep long articles readable. Users can then scan the text more easily.
Usability Tip 13 You look at where they are looking. Direct the user's eyes by using faces or arrows. View the article on directing eyes.Usability Tip 14
When using web forms, consider what you want to know; too many questions mean a lower conversion.
Usability Tip 15
Ensure consistency on your site. This applies to navigation, buttons, forms, text, links, and terminology.
Usability Tip 16
Users are willing to click several times to reach their goal, as long as they feel they are making progress. If not, frustration takes over.
Usability Tip 17
Only use images on your site that are relevant, high-quality, understandable and have a calm background.
Usability Tip 18
Preferably avoid welcome texts ('Welcome to...') but briefly and concisely explain what users can do on your site.
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Usability Tip 19
Preferably do not use pop-up windows. Users immediately ignore these and often see them as ads and close them as soon as possible.
Usability Tip 20
Do not use tools on your site that have no relation to the content or for which users came to your site. For example, weather reports; users go to a weather site for that.
Usability Tip 21
Are you redesigning the site? Do it piece by piece so users can easily adapt to new elements.
Usability Tip 22
Use different colors for clicked and unclicked links. E.g. blue for unclicked and purple for clicked links. Preferably avoid gray for clicked links as it is difficult to read.
Usability Tip 23
Has a user asked a question through the site? Then send a reply with the subject, when you will respond, and how.
Usability Tip 24
If you have long web pages, ensure that it is clear that they continue below the 'fold'. Cut images in half or use headings.
Usability Tip 25
Check your site's log files for the keywords users type into your internal search engine. Benefits: better insight into user desires and improvement points for your content and navigation.
Usability Tip 26
Ensure that users do not need to install plugins to use your site. Most users won't do that anyway.
Usability Tip 27
When a user has incorrectly filled in a form input field, clearly and politely point this out. Indicate in understandable language what was filled in incorrectly and how it should be corrected.
Usability Tip 28
Call to action: a proper button color increases conversion. Red buttons have a very positive impact on conversion. Green or orange also works well. Ensure that the button color contrasts sufficiently.
Usability Tip 29
Call to action: use an active button text. “Buy now” or “Try now” are ‘soft’ ctas and indicate a kind of ‘immediacy’ (now) without risks (Try). The ‘soft’ ctas lead to increased conversion.
Usability Tip 30
Call to action: provide a convincing message above the cta. With a convincing message, trust increases. For example: ‘do just like those other thousands of people who use..’.
Usability Tip 31
Ensure that certain important elements on your website do not look like a banner. These are ignored by users (banner blindness).
Usability Tip 32
Ensure that your website is search engine friendly. If necessary, have it checked by a specialist. Good findability always pays off.
Usability Tip 33
Web videos featuring talking people should not exceed 1 minute. Users are quickly distracted, so distracting elements in the video itself and the frame in which they are placed should be avoided.
Usability Tip 34
In e-commerce product videos, ensure that the item is seen in action. Integrate these into the product page. For complex products, provide an instruction video and even better: made by people who already have the product.
Usability Tip 35
(e-commerce) Ensure that the shopping cart is visible and easy to find on every web page so that users can go to checkout at any time.
Usability Tip 36
(e-commerce) Try to complete the payment process in as few steps as possible; otherwise, users become impatient.
Usability Tip 37
(e-commerce) Show users which step in the payment process they are on. This way, users know what to expect.
Usability Tip 38
(e-commerce) Bound the payment process. Remove navigation and other links so users are not distracted.
Usability Tip 39
(e-commerce) Preferably show the delivery time of articles as early as possible in the ordering process. No delivery time in sight costs you conversion.
Usability Tip 40
(e-commerce) Offer the online buyer the option to make the purchase without registration.
Usability Tip 41
(e-commerce) Ensure that the correct landing page is linked when using AdWords. So no homepage, as users would have to search again.
Usability Tip 42
(e-commerce) Indicate as early as possible in the ordering process whether items are in stock. If not in stock, indicate via email notification when they will be in stock.
Usability Tip 43
(e-commerce) Provide various payment options that are well secured (https).
Usability Tip 44
(e-commerce) Present your products in 3D and ensure that users can view them from different angles.
Usability Tip 45
(e-commerce) When selling similar products, ensure that users can compare them in such a way that the overview is maintained.
Usability Tip 46
If you have a header with changing displays, make sure the display is visible for at least 5 seconds. A too quickly rotating header distracts too much and is irritating.
Usability Tip 47
Use a web statistics package to monitor traffic on your website. Which pages do users find interesting and which cause them to leave your site.
Usability Tip 48
Ensure social proof on your site: popular items, testimonials, what other customers bought.
Usability Tip 49
Try to create scarcity to encourage people to buy. Desire increases when you think you might not be able to get something: ‘only this week’, ‘only 2 in stock’, ‘sale ends today’.
Usability Tip 50
Create a 404 page for not found pages and files. Explain in plain language what went wrong and offer an escape.
Usability Tip 51
(e-commerce) If you apply cross-sell and up-sell, ensure that users smoothly return to the funnel.
Usability Tip 52
Ensure that you have a sitemap. Implementing a footer sitemap is recommended for large websites.
Usability Tip 53
Have someone else read your web texts to catch grammatical errors and typos.
Usability Tip 54
Use ALT text for images for the benefit of visually impaired individuals and search engines.
Usability Tip 55
Conduct a keyword analysis to know which keywords your target audience uses to find your products and services.
Usability Tip 56
If you are going to conduct eye tracking research, check the metric 'time between looking and clicking'. The shorter this time, the better.
Usability Tip 57
Ensure that when linking to a new web page, the browser's 'Back' button always works so that users can return.
Usability Tip 58
Offer users on long web pages a short table of contents (with links) so they can quickly get to the desired content.
Usability Tip 59
Let users know if a web page will be shut down after a certain time (timeout) for security reasons.
Usability Tip 60
Let users know how long it takes to download documents at a certain internet connection speed.
Usability Tip 61
Ensure that lists or tasks on your website have a logical order so that people can choose effectively and efficiently.
Usability Tip 62
When registering on your site, offer the option to create a new password with the same email address.
Usability Tip 63
Use as few background images as possible. If you do use them, ensure they are simple. Especially if they are behind text.
Usability Tip 64
When showing videos, provide a brief introduction about what users will see. The video must be user-controlled.
Usability Tip 65
If you want to present data with large differences, use a graph to visualize it.
Usability Tip 66
To facilitate the filling out of web forms, ensure that the requested data is near the input field.
Usability Tip 67
Use radio buttons to make an exclusive choice and checkboxes for multiple choices.
Usability Tip 68
When presenting a table, ensure clear titles for the row and column. No abbreviations allowed.
Usability Tip 69
Only use bold text if it is important to draw the user's attention.
Usability Tip 70
Present data and other information without requiring the user to convert/calculate/translate it into useful info.
Usability Tip 71 If users find your site attractive, it’s because it looks neat and somewhat unique. View the article on the aesthetic aspects of a website.Usability Tip 72 Users judge in a split second whether a site is attractive or not and will remember it that way. View the article on assessing a website.Usability Tip 73
In the design process of your site, make use of personas and user stories to ensure they align well with desires and needs.
Usability Tip 74
Do you have lists on your site? Then place the most important/most used items at the top.
Usability Tip 75
If it is not necessary for the user to view a full-size image, ensure a thumbnail that can be used as needed.
Usability Tip 76
Invite only motivated respondents from your target audience for user research of your site.
Usability Tip 77
Analyze what the top tasks are on your site and ensure that users can perform them flawlessly. Also focus on improving them.
Usability Tip 78
Let at least 20 respondents look at the desired web pages if you want to investigate viewing behavior on your website. Only then is the viewing behavior reliable.
Usability Tip 79
Check with users when developing web applications which ones they are accustomed to from other web applications.
Usability Tip 80
Ensure that icons used on your site are universal and whose meaning is immediately clear.
Usability Tip 81
Mouse tracking provides interesting info but is not an alternative to eye tracking.
Usability Tip 82
Preferably do not use background music on your site. Users always want to turn this off as quickly as possible and then have to search for the button.
Usability Tip 83
Users quickly get used to unconventional designs, as long as it is consistently implemented throughout the site. A navigation on the right can then work perfectly.
Usability Tip 84
More links on a webpage lead to more pageviews but not necessarily to a higher conversion rate.
Usability Tip 85
If you have a complicated webpage, the likelihood increases that visitors exhibit unpredictable behavior and may miss the call-to-action.
Usability Tip 86
Provide users with structured webpages where they can quickly find what they are looking for. Cluttered sites are quickly clicked away.
Usability Tip 87
Preferably avoid captchas on your forms. They are barriers and often difficult to decipher.
Usability Tip 88
When your system generates passwords, ensure they are not confusing. Consider '0' and 'O' or '1' and 'l'.
Usability Tip 89
If users must use sliders to change a number, make it clear how that works.
Usability Tip 90
You do not need an FAQ on your site if all the info that users want to know is easy to find.
Usability Tip 91
If you also have non-Dutch speakers as target audiences, ensure they can find and use the language option.
Usability Tip 92
Preferably do not use a Twitter widget on your site. Users do not come to your site for your tweets.
Usability Tip 93 If you want to use results from a webcam eye tracking study, be aware that this is not accurate. Read the article about the value of webcam eye tracking.Usability Tip 94
Ensure that your site can be accessed by "www.companyname.com" and "companyname.com".
Usability Tip 95
Preferably do not use a 'guestbook' on your business website or webshop. It comes across as amateurish and provides no added value.
Usability Tip 96
Abbreviations on your site: first write them out and then include the abbreviation behind them. Preferably avoid abbreviations in the navigation unless they are explained.
Usability Tip 97
Ensure that checkboxes, buttons, and dropdowns are nearby when users need to take action.
Usability Tip 98
Ensure meaningful titles for your web pages that clearly convey what they are about. Preferably ≤ 75 characters.
Usability Tip 99
Ensure that your site displays well in different browser types like IE, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.
Usability Tip 100
Involve the end user as much as possible in the development of your site to ensure usability. Test at all stages of development.
Source: marketingfacts.nl
