Usability is often explained in terms of “ergonomics,” that is, ease of use. It is one of the most important conditions for a high-quality, effective website. Usability is a way of organizing the information structure of a website so that it is as convenient as possible for visitors. Everyone who comes to the website should find the information they need quickly and easily, and good usability is what makes that possible. The website design, interface, navigation, text formatting and so on play a very important role here.
A visitor forms an impression of a website within the first few seconds. If the information on the page is hard to take in or is not useful, they will leave. Users prefer simple websites with a friendly interface and an intuitive structure.
What does usability affect?
In the big picture, the success of the website. Usability deserves proper attention before you invest in advertising and promotion. Otherwise, that spending will be ineffective. How well usability is thought through determines the following website metrics:
- Conversion rate.
- Bounce rate.
- Number of repeat sales.
- Website technical support costs.
A convenient, informative website builds visitor trust in the brand and lets people meet their needs quickly: find the information they need, order a service or buy a product. This is very important for the website. Visitors do not leave too early, do not abandon checkout “halfway through” and come back. All of this makes the website easier to promote and, naturally, has a positive effect on profit.
But to get the structure and operation of the website right, you need to understand what usability should look like and which shortcomings to fix in time so that the website fully satisfies users.
Common website usability mistakes
There are countless flaws that make a website unpopular. We will list the most serious ones, which make it almost impossible to promote your website online:
- There is no search field on the website, which makes it harder to find the right product category, service or information.
- Missing contact information or contact information in the wrong place reduces visitor trust.
- Missing or poorly placed service information: product delivery, available payment methods, warranty periods and so on.
- Mandatory registration or a registration process that takes too long. This irritates many shoppers who do not want to spend time or share their personal data.
- Uninformative product pages make it harder for shoppers to find exactly the product they need.
- Uninformative product images can push customers to another website where they can take a close look at the product they are interested in.
- Complicated forms with a large number of fields. Bulky forms go against usability rules because they force the shopper to take unnecessary steps.
- Various errors during checkout, registration and so on.
- No message about the error the user made (for example, they entered the wrong data).
- The cart is not saved. If the user accidentally leaves the website or the network fails and the contents of their cart are not saved, they will not want to put the order together again.
- No exact, up-to-date price. The shopper will not be satisfied if, at checkout, they cannot see the amount they have to pay.
- There is no option to buy a product quickly with a one-click purchase feature. This can cost the website shoppers who are ready to buy here and now.
- The website is simply outdated. What was effective and fashionable a few years ago does not always fit today’s reality, so you need to run usability audits regularly, identify the website’s problems with web analytics and fix them in time.
Look at popular online stores: you are unlikely to find these mistakes on their websites. All you need to avoid them is a competent specialist and periodic changes to the website. Adding new features and making some design changes in line with current usability rules is the key to success. And it does not matter what kind of website you have: an online store, a blog or a landing page.
Now let us look at the elements that, by contrast, improve website usability.
Tips to improve usability
It is not enough to simply fix the mistakes in the website structure, because you can make it even better. Improving the usability of an online store helps increase sales and attract new shoppers. Here are a few recommendations that make a website much better.
Key information on the home page
This is the first place a potential buyer lands. If you put all the most important information on the home page, it significantly increases the chance that the visitor will take the desired action. Here you should tell visitors about:
- current promotions
- popular products
- the company’s competitive advantages
In addition, the user should be able to use search, filters and sorting right from the home page. This makes it much easier and faster to find the right product and complete the purchase.
Clear steps for the user
The main rule of checkout is the simpler, the better. For checkout to be easy, the user needs to understand clearly what to do. Give them clear prompts, for example: “Proceed to checkout,” “Pay” or “Choose a delivery method.” It is better to avoid vague prompts such as “Continue,” because the shopper does not always understand what will happen after clicking that button. You also need to let the customer know that their order has been received.
Simple navigation
If navigation is clear and simple, the visitor can move around the website quickly and without obstacles and find the items they need. Every online store should follow this rule, otherwise a potential customer will turn to another company. You need not only to arrange the elements on the page well but also to give them clear names so that a person can see where each piece of information is.
Filters and sorting deserve a separate mention. Let users choose products by different characteristics, and you will get more orders.
Fast page loading
Even if the website usability is fully worked out, the chances of success drop when pages load slowly or freeze. Most internet users prefer fast websites, because they inspire trust and do not waste their time.
Up-to-date product data
A common usability mistake in online stores is missing stock information. Nobody wants to order a product and only then learn that it is out of stock. The website should show whether each product is available. If some items are not in stock, the shopper should be able to place a special order for them.
Another good move is to show how many units of the product are in stock. This gives the shopper extra motivation to buy.
Cart optimization
First, products in the cart should be shown with their characteristics. This reduces ordering errors and speeds up the purchase, because the customer does not have to go back to the product page to make sure they chose the right color, size, model and so on.
Second, the cart should always be easy to reach, so that the visitor can open it from any page of the website and place or edit an order.
Similar products
This is a very simple feature that increases the average order value. It lets you offer the shopper related or similar products, popular items or special offers.
When you need a usability check
A usability audit is very important for a website owner. Fixing problems and adding new features has a positive effect on the behavioral signals of your audience, and this directly affects how the website ranks.
You should definitely run a usability check in the following cases:
- Before the project launch.
- To increase the conversion rate.
- When adding new features to the website.
Anyone who plans to order a website, as well as those who build and promote websites, should remember how important usability is. If there are problems with it, neither skilled promotion nor competitive advantages nor active advertising will help.