Web Usability – What is web usability?

Web usability refers to how easy a website is for its visitors to use. If it is easy for them to access and interact with it, we will say that the site in question has good usability.  

Improving usability requires optimizing website navigation. To achieve this, access and interaction for visitors must be simplified as much as possible, making their navigation as agile, comfortable, safe and intuitive as possible.  

Both the technique and the aesthetics of your website must focus on the visitor. Rest assured that if you don’t make it easy for him, he will hardly give you a second chance. Therefore, it is a key aspect in any marketing plan.   

 

  

Advantages of good web usability

Good web usability has the following advantages:

  • Increases traffic and duration of visits,  which translates into increased sales.

  • Improves conversion rate. 

  • Decreases the bounce rate. 

  • Build user loyalty and encourage them to share the website.

Understanding what web usability is through its requirements

To be sure that your website has correct web usability, you must be clear about the following requirements:

  • Coherent structuring:  the contents of the page must be logically hierarchized.

  • Clear design:  typography, colors and multimedia resources must be understandable and easy to access.

  • User guide:  for this it is essential to have clear titles, friendly URLs, good link building and an always visible menu.

  • Power and facilitate interaction:  with forums, chats, forms, comments, etc.

  • Simplified content:  using short paragraphs and sentences, as well as using keywords sparingly and naturally, will enhance usability and, in the process, improve SEO.

  • Speed ​​of loading and access to all the contents of the website:  WPO is key for this.

  • Multi-device website:  your website must be visible without a problem whatever the size of the screen your users use, that is, it needs a responsive design.

Relationship between usability and user experience

User experience (UX) is the positive or negative perception that the visitor feels when browsing a web page. Many aspects influence it (usefulness, security, ease, desire…) and it can be measured through an A/B test.   

Usability and user experience  are two online marketing concepts that, without being synonymous, are closely linked. The first refers to ease of use and the second focuses on satisfaction.  

User experience is a broader and subjective concept that encompasses usability. In fact, there can be good usability without UX, but not the other way around. 

In short, usability is not the same as user experience, but it is an essential element to achieve it. The work of a good web developer should focus on maximizing the first in order to improve the second.