Improve your website’s usability with t2’s expertise
The Internet’s a crowded place, competition for web-space, organic search engine results and user attention is fierce. Billions of dollars, pounds and yuan are spent every year on advertising and Search Engine Optimisation, to get people to visit specific sites. After putting such an investment in having an online presence, the last thing you want is people backing out of your website the minute they get there.
Some of the things which increase the likelihood of people exiting your site may seem obvious, simply common sense, others less so. All too often it’s the simple things which are neglected in favour of the latest fad or gimmick. You never know, your whole approach to promotion and website design may be in need of a re-think.
Do you Isolate your content?
Users scan read, they jump about, clicking on the first relevant piece of information they see. They want immediate gratification – so isolating your content by burying it where no one can ever find it will only encourage users to navigate away from the page. You could have the best content in the world, but if you need to click through an obscure link to get it the chances of it being found, and used, is minimal.
Think about placing your content in context, closer to the surface, with good copy leading users to engage with it on their own terms – make it on demand and easy to reach.
Are your features Obtrusive?
Loud, persistent, and irritating, Obtrusive elements are unpleasantly noticeable. Disrupting a user’s search with media auto-play, auto pop-ups or auto redirects destroys the relationship between them and your website, and encourages them to leave. Even Flash, used in the wrong way, can cause unnecessary disruption and diversion, with pointless introductions and long loading times.
Consider it this way, if you wouldn’t want to see it when you were online, why subject your visitors to it? User interaction and control is far more conducive than bombarding them with obnoxious information which they’re not interested in.
Have you Barricaded the entry points?
Logins and registrations may be designed to protect your content, collect user information or encourage customer loyalty however, used in the wrong way, they become a barrier to good user experience. Who wants to sit and fill out a form, or hand out their details, if they’re just looking for one small piece of information or media? Barricades reduce accessibility, and if the content is accessible elsewhere without all the “paper-work” then that is where users will go.
Plug-ins have a similar effect. Users are less likely to spend valuable time downloading a plug-in and installing it, for a media file which they might find elsewhere, in a more accessible format. If you want users to stay, barricades like these should be reduced wherever possible. So you might consider using a Youtube feed to show videos, allowing users to stream from a trusted and widely-used source, or else a professionally integrated flash component to avoid plug-in confusion.
It doesn’t have to be this way!
Website design doesn’t end once it goes online.
If you think your website may be Isolated, Obtrusive or Barricaded, it may only take a few key changes to keep more of the users you attract.
Contact our experienced team here at t2 studios, to discuss how best to improve the efficiency and usability of your online presence.