David Russell

Create a Web site that is usable. Don’t add function or flair for the sake of it. Add function or flair to enhance the user experience. The first step in creating a usable site is just a matter of sitting back and evaluating whether or not you can navigate through the pages. Then, gather a group of people to test the site and measure usability. Watch as real visitors interact with your site for the first time. Don’t guide them; instead, evaluate their actions and make notes of the problem areas. Usable sites keep modern (and even not-so-modern) Web conventions in mind. Here are a few practical tips to help you measure up:

1. Splash pages are a complete waste of time for everyone. Do not use them.
2. Use includes, single files repeatedly embedded into each page of the site, to produce a consistent header—including your logo—navigation, and footer on every page.
3. Have a link to the site Home page in the main navigation area. Many visitors use the Home button as an escape when they’d like to “reset” their experience to zero and start again through the site.
4. Make sure your logo or banner links to the Home page.
5. Keep main navigation simple. You can easily add all those pages you’ve lovingly crafted if you think carefully about the major sections and how other pages fit in the sub-navigation.
6. Create a good 404 error page. Most sites just allow their server to harshly inform the site visitor that a page isn’t there. Take control and build a 404 page that includes your branding and some navigation. Offer a few commonly requested pages for the visitor to browse.
7. Make contact information easy to find. Some sites place it in the footer of every page. Include a general email address (info @ yourdomain . com is a common standard) and a contact form that can be filled and submitted on the page. And make sure that contact form data gets to a human!
8. Please, oh please use simple link structures. You’ll never be able to explain to a site visitor how to get to http://yourdomain.com/index.asp?p=j22445&c=9Cu3R14AohPnfLsaId0N98K. But if you told them http://yourdomain.com/about, you can be certain they’ll get where they are going. If you are using a content management system that doesn’t produce clean URLs, hire a programmer to fix it or get a better content management system. Search engines will love you more, too. Another way to keep it simple is to never use spaces in links; use hyphens or underscores for character separation. And be judicious with capital letters.

[tags]web, usability, tips, how to[/tags]