Dane Jacob Nielsen, a world authority on usability and user experience, is one of the pioneers of applying usability techniques to user interface design. He has written countless landmark articles and studied more than 250 usability problems, which formed the basis for his “general rules” on the subject.
Here are 10 of the most important things to check when assessing whether your website is usable.
1- What’s happening on your website?
Visibility of system status
This means always keeping users informed about what’s happening on the website while they interact with it.
Some examples that aren’t always followed.
– Show the page loading progress. Some websites involve waiting times, and if users aren’t told, they don’t know whether the site has failed and may leave.
– Confirm actions. Confirmation messages, for example when signing up, purchase (order) confirmation, form submission confirmation, etc.
Never make your users guess what’s happening on your website.
2- Do we speak the user’s language?
Match between the system and the real world
It’s important for the website to speak the same language as our users, clearly and simply, avoiding jargon and hard-to-understand terminology.
This applies not just to content or text but to every element on the site: images, processes, how information is presented, etc.
The simpler and clearer, the better.
3- Can users browse and take actions freely?
User control and freedom
Users must have complete freedom of action on the website, both in browsing and taking actions. We shouldn’t restrict them or force them into actions we don’t know they’re willing to take, whether consciously or unconsciously.
We should never impose limits; instead, we should help users solve any problem they run into while using our website.
For example: form field validation (“this field is required”), password recovery, going back, or editing personal details entered incorrectly during sign-up.
If users feel forced or restricted, they’ll quickly leave our website.
4- Do you use clear, consistent and standard elements?
Consistency and standards
Your website must stay consistent throughout navigation. This means, for example, not changing navigation menus across different areas of the site, nor moving titles or the search bar, or changing colors, formats, section names, etc.
It’s also important to follow the standards that are used almost by default, rather than trying to set trends by changing them, because all we’ll achieve is users not understanding what to do or how our website works.
Prioritize functionality over aesthetics or design. Leaders like Amazon or Google are examples to follow.
5- Do you anticipate users’ possible mistakes so you can prevent them?
Error prevention
Don’t wait for users to make mistakes and then show them a warning telling them they got it wrong. Try to solve problems before they happen.
We can prevent errors by adding help text or messages, asking users to confirm, running real-time checks and removing unnecessary information.
For example, you can prevent a future error by adding a second password confirmation field at sign-up, with a real-time alert when the two passwords don’t match.
Prevention is better than cure.
6- Does your website remind users of the actions they need to take?
Recognition rather than recall
Website navigation should be simple and intuitive so users don’t have to stop and remember how to do something. It’s important that users don’t have to experiment, guess or hunt for information on our site.
Even more so for key areas like checkout, user sign-up or managing personal details.
You can add features that make information easier to find and access, such as recently viewed products, product suggestions in the search bar, or showing which step of checkout the user is on.
7- Is your website ready for all kinds of users?
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Your website should suit different user profiles, from beginners to experts. You can add “accelerators” for advanced users without confusing newcomers. These accelerators are shortcuts to specific areas that skip intermediate steps.
Interface personalization is a way to tailor the website to each user profile, adjusting to their needs based on their browsing experience.
The website should be designed so any inexperienced user can browse, understand and do whatever they need.
8- Does your website have a minimalist design that suits your business?
Aesthetic and minimalist design
It’s very important for the design to include the information users actually need. Unnecessary extra information adds noise and competes for attention with the website’s most important elements.
This applies to content, presentation, images and visual design in general.
Less is more…
9- Does your website help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors?
Error recognition, diagnosis and recovery.
A website’s error messages must be clear enough for any user to understand, and they should also offer a solution or a way out.
One of the clearest examples is the famous error page, which should be customized with a friendly message and options to keep browsing.
Another is the “empty cart” page, which often offers no options to keep browsing.
Deliver a negative message in a friendly way and help users stay on our website.
10- Does your website have a help or FAQ section?
Help and documentation
It’s often necessary to include help content users can check at any time, even if the website doesn’t strictly need it.
These dedicated sections are usually Help or FAQ (frequently asked questions) and should cover all customer needs. Not only technical questions, but also shipping costs and times, payment methods, security, returns, privacy, etc.
With this short starter guide you can begin analyzing your website to see whether it really meets the basic usability criteria.
