Web Design Buzzword: USABILITY

Linda Vivers , Raleigh, North Carolina
123Triad: Website Design & SEO Company

There is a cute little buzzword floating around the Web: usability. This word, it seems, automatically brings up its root word “use” and the association of the root word to “user”. The word “usability” connotes user-friendliness, and is good to have around in the field of custom web design.

Try to pause for a while and ponder on the phrase “custom web design”. Do you notice that the word “custom” suggests something done specifically — in a special way — for a particular person? It would be very nice if the particular person referred to is the user. Is it? The potential user or customer hopes so.

It is natural for the public to assume that when a company offers custom web design service, the company has the user or customer in mind. The assumption is based on common experience that anything custom-made, say, for John is built around John, not Jane.

If it is custom-made shoes, then the measurement of the shoes is taken from John’s feet, the design of the shoes comes from John’s decision, and the material of the shoes is based on John’s specifications.

In other words, if it is custom web design, then elements of the future webpage are taken from John’s intended use of it.

It is possible that the web design company has, indeed, the user in mind when it advertises its custom web design service. However, is true for the web designer to whom the service is assigned by the company? It should be.

The designer has the responsibility of making sure that the user finds 100% usability on the resulting website.

What does the designer have to watch for to ensure that usability is factored into his/her design?

The web designer should be guided by the five criteria developed by Jakob Nielsen, a Usability expert: learnability, remembarability, efficiency of use, reliability in use, and user satisfaction.

Usability is present when the user and the general public:
* find the site easy to learn;
* can remember with little effort, if any, how to use the site;
* can use the site quickly and effectively;
* can trust that the site consistently delivers expected services at all times;
* are happy about the site.

123Triad webdesign offers affordable custom website design. Our full service website design company only hires certified website designers. Please contact us today on 1-800-720-0816 for your next web site design project.

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