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Follow Nigel T Packer Internet Marketing Author, International Business Speaker and Managing Director of Business for Business Internet Marketing on: |
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INTERNET MARKETING |
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Usability and User Experience Put simply, there is no point in getting visitors to your website if they find it difficult or confusing to use when they get there. Should you care if your users are confused or frustrated? The short answer is YES. The long answer is definitely YES, because good website usability is necessary for the survival of your organisation. Website Users those people who might be your current or future customers will simply leave if the website is difficult to use, and will be unable to carry out the functions the website offers: whether you want users to sign up or register, buy something, or find out information. Common Questions Answered: What is usability? Usability is concerned with the experience that your website users have. It aims to predict likely problems your users will encounter on your website by carrying out (in the first instance) a review, followed by if necessary or justifiable user testing. If your website is not performing as you expect it is not always a question of marketing, if your conversion rates are low, then it may be a usability problem. We ALWAYS recommend that a minimum usability review is carried out PRIOR to any online marketing. Put simply, there is no point in getting people to your website if they cant use it when they get there. Even though most current internet users can carry out basic tasks with confidence, when they encounter a new website all the known usability issues still cause problems. It is normal for anyone involved in the organisation including the website designers - to think that the website is easy to use. However, this does not mean that it is easy for your users. This is because everyone involved knows far more about it than the typical or target user. This may be due to a major issue, but is more often a series of small elements that when combined cause unforeseen problems, and result in confusion or frustration. Documented research results indicate that on average: Brochure or information Web sites (that don't sell online) can double the conversion rates for goals such as generating leads or subscribers. Websites that require a high level of improvement (most commonly B2B websites) can record even greater improvements in key performance indicators, such as visitor numbers, downloads, signups, or other indicators of lead generation. By implementing known usability guidelines and recommendations ALL websites see improved performance. Typically, the expected Return on Investment (ROI) on any kind of usability is a minimum of 100%, B2B websites can often experience far higher with measurable results of over 500% improvement on performance. Will everything then be OK with the website? It should be noted that the goal of a usability review can NEVER be to fix all the problems at once, in any interactive system that is used by people of varying degrees of skill and experience, any change will have a knock-on-effect. Therefore, the aim is to address 70-80% of issues, prioritizing resources where they will have greatest effect or biggest outcome for smallest investment. This should then be seen as an iterative process, where the website is subject to a further review at some point in the development process or lifecycle.
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"Following a very successful Web Marketing course run by Nigel via the British Marine Federation we decided to request a one-to-one consultancy day with him to review our new website. We were very impressed that Nigel & Lorna had spent time prior to our meeting reviewing our current & new website which meant that the time was fully utilized in achieving our goals for the day..."
Marie-Louise Rogers |
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Business for Business INTERNET MARKETING Limited | Registered in England and Wales No. 06225488 | VAT no GB 978 3981 45
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