Website Development: Part 1 – What Is Website Usability?
Posted Under: Internet Marketing Information
Website usability simply indicates how easily a website enables navigation, and information access.
Websites are the means for internet users to communicate, search for information, and conduct business on the internet.
Without websites, there would be no internet highway as we now know it; they are the backbone of the modern internet universe, and provide all users easy access to trillions of bits of information.
One of the main concerns of web developers is the usability of websites.
Savvy web developers take into consideration, not only the everyday user, but also individuals who have some sort of physical impairment.
About 20 percent of our population suffers with some sort of disability, and the internet with all it’s new technology, allows the disabled access to areas that were not previously available to them.
Most operating systems, now allow functions to accommodate the disabled to easily access the internet.
Functions that were once impossible for the physically impaired to accomplish, are now convenient.
Websites are now being designed for maximum usability. Features are being incorporated into websites that assist every type of web surfer, to find what they are looking for.
Website usability is one of the factors that makes a website popular; the other, is good quality content.
Who wants a website that is packed with exceptional quality content, yet is not easily navigable?
Conversely; who would want a website that is easy to navigate with poor content?
A website that provides both exceptional content and easy navigation, is usually the most popular with web surfers, and is what distinguishes a great website from the rest of the competition.
If your website usability is not up to par, consider some interesting facts.
A recent survey showed that approximately 40% of the people who attempted to access services or products from the internet, were hindered because of poor website usability.
It stands to reason then, that improving your website’s usability, will result in customer satisfaction and benefit not only the physically impaired, but other web surfers, web developers, and the internet community as a whole.