Usability

In web design, usability describes the ease at which website users are able to fulfil the purpose(s) of the website. Usability is a fundamental aspect of web design that must be taken into consideration from word go.

As a web designer our goal is to maximize the usability of a website so that it is very easy or ‘intuitive’ to use and so that visitors naturally follow the content in a logical manner. As a business owner our aim is to maximize conversion rates, among other things. As visitors/customers to websites we are looking for answers or we are looking to fulfil a pre-determined objective, such as to purchase an item.

The web designer must consider all of these demands on a website. For example, you must take into account website visitors who have never visited the site before and may not know what it is about, while also making the website quick and easy to use for repeat visitors.

Tags: Usability

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 8:09 am and is filed under Web design glossary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.