Beyond the use of specific applications to detect elementary
problems in the format or body of the texts, the size of the pages, the
download times and the links.
There are only two reliable ways to judge the usability of a
website:
1. Test it
with real users
2. Analyze
it based on a list of guidelines
The best known of these list of guidelines is Jakob
Nielsen's 10 Heuristic Principles of Usability :
1. System
status visibility . The system must always keep the user informed about what is
happening, using appropriate feedback in a reasonable time.
2. Agreement
between the system and the real world . The system must speak the language of
the user, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to him, beyond the terms
oriented to the system. The conventions of the real world must be followed,
making the information appear in a logical and natural order.
3. User
control and freedom . Users frequently choose some system functions by mistake,
and need a clearly labeled "emergency exit" so that they can return
to the previous state without going through complex or lengthy dialogues. Hold
and support "undo" and "redo" actions.
4. Consistency
and standards . Users should not deal with different words, situations, or
actions that mean the same thing. Follow the conventions of the platform.
5. Error
prevention . Although a well-designed error message is good, it is much better
to take care of the design and avoid the problems. Try to eliminate the error
possibilities, or determine what they would be and show them to users with a
confirmation option before they take action.
6. Recognition
before calls . Minimizes the memory load of the user giving visibility to
objects, actions and options. The user does not have to remember information
from a previous dialogue when reaching another. Instructions for use of the
system must be visible or easily accessible when necessary.
7. Flexibility
and efficiency of use . There should be accelerators invisible to the novice
user that provide speedy interaction for expert users, so that the system
satisfies both. Allows users to automate frequent actions.
8. Aesthetic
and minimalist design . Dialogs should not comprise information that is
irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra bit of information competes with that
which is relevant and diminishes its relative visibility.
9. Helps
users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors . Error messages must be
expressed in natural language, without specific system codes. They must
accurately state the problem, and constructively indicate the possible
solution.
10. Help and
documentation . Although it is thought that it is best if the system is usable
without manuals or user guides, it is always necessary to include some kind of
help and documentation. In this regard, all information provided must be easy
to find, be focused on the user's task, list the specific steps required and,
above all, not be too long.
The following list is also from Jakob Nielsen , this time
focusing on what to avoid in terms of usability .
These are the ten biggest mistakes in web design:
1. Bad
search . Search engines that are too literal reduce usability because they are
unable to handle misprints, plurals, hyphens, and other variants of search
terms. A linked problem is when search engines prioritize results based on how
many search terms they contain rather than the importance of each document. It
is much better if your search engine places the "best options" at the
top of the list, especially for important questions like, for example, the
names of your products. Search is the lifeline when navigation fails. Although
the advanced search can help at times, the basic search usually works better
and should be presented as a simple box, because that is what users expect to
find.
2. PDF
documents to read online . Users hate going through a PDF while browsing,
because it interrupts their flow. Even simple things like printing or saving credentials
are difficult because the standard browser commands don't work. Designs are
often optimized for a sheet of paper that rarely matches the size of the user's
browser window. Goodbye, smooth scrolling. Hello, tiny letters. Worst of all,
PDF is a blob of undifferentiated content that is hard to navigate. PDF is
great for printing and distributing manuals and other large documents that need
to be printed. Save it for that purpose and convert any information that has to
be navigated or that needs to be read on the screen into real web pages.
3. Visited
links that do not change color. A clear view of your browsing history helps you
understand where you are, as it is the culmination of your journey. Knowing
your past and present locations one by one makes it easier to decide where to
go next. Links are a key factor in the navigation process. Users can exclude
links that were unsuccessful in their first visits and, conversely, revisit
links that they found useful in the past. Most importantly, knowing which pages
they have already visited prevents users from unintentionally returning to them
time after time. These benefits only accumulate assuming something important:
that users can see the difference between links visited and to be visited
because the site displays them in different colors. When the visited links do
not change color,
4. Non-scannable
text . A wall of text is poisonous for an interactive experience. Intimidating
Bored. Tired of reading. Write for the web, not for paper. To get users to text
and ensure scannability, use well-documented tricks:
1.
2. Dotted
enumerations.
3. Highlighted
words.
4. Short
paragraphs.
5. The
inverted pyramid.
6. A simple
writing style.
7. A language
without frills or marketing resources.
5. Fixed
font size . Unfortunately, CSS style sheets give websites the opportunity to
disable the "change font size" button and specify a fixed body. About
95% of the time, the fixed body is tiny, significantly reducing readability for
most people over the age of forty. Respect users' preferences and let them size
the text however they want. Also, it specifies the font sizes in relative
terms, not as an absolute number of pixels.
6. Page
titles not very visible to search engines. Search is the primary way for users
to discover websites. Exploration is also one of the most important avenues
users use to navigate to individual websites. The modest page title is your
primary tool for attracting new visitors from search results and helping your
users locate the specific pages they need. The page title is inside the HTML
tag and is almost always used as a "clickable" headline for results
lists (SERPs). Search engines usually show around the first 66 characters, so
this is really micro content. Page headings are also used as the default entry
in the "Favorites" when a user adds a site to their bookmarks. Start
your home page with the name of the company, followed by a short description of
the website. Don't start with disagreements like "the" or
"welcome to" unless you want to be literate in the "E" or
"B". For all other pages, start the title with some of the salient
information, including words that describe examples of what users will find on
the page. Just as the page title is used as the title of the window by the
browser, it is also used as a label for that window in the taskbar under
Windows, which means that advanced users will move between multiple windows
guided by the first or first two words of each page title. If all of your page
titles start with the same words, you have severely reduced usability for
"multi-window" users. Taglines on home pages are a related matter:
they have to be short and quickly communicate the purpose of the site.
7. Anything
that looks like an advertisement . Selective attention is very powerful, and
Internet users have learned not to pay attention to any ads that get in the way
of their targeted browsing (the main exception being text-only ads from search
engines). Unfortunately, users also ignore justified design elements that look
like common forms of advertising. Afterwards all, when you ignore something you
don't study it in detail to find out what it is. That's why it's best to avoid
any design that looks like an advertisement. The exact implications of this standard
will vary as new forms of advertisements appear. For today, follow these rules
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