Web site usability and user-friendliness are critical to the success of any web presence. Here are five easy ways to make an immediate impact on the usability of your site.

Home – Site visitors use your homepage as an anchor, and they want to see a link to that homepage at the same place throughout your site. That place is traditionally the top left corner of the page. Don’t make the mistake of frustrating your users by placing it elsewhere in the name of “creativity”. Stick with the conventions to keep your users happy.

Navigation – Easy navigation is central to the usability of your site. Conventionally, the navigation bar – whether text or graphic – should be located horizontally across the top of the page under the logo or vertically down the left side. Placing your navigation on the right side will again confuse your visitors. For the best result, always keep your navigation in the same place on every page. If you use graphic buttons for your navigation, we recommend also including a duplicate textual navigation bar at the bottom of your web pages, as well. If visitors have to search to find your navigation, they will lose interest and and you will lose the opportunity to do business with them.

Content – Though content is usually not mentioned as an aspect of usability, it is so important to use web standard practices for your written content. In this case, less is always more. Your site is NOT an online brochure. Web users don’t read, they scan. Use short, active sentences and calls to action that are engaging. You can do this with bold, bullets, buttons, and call-outs.

Text Size –Designers strive to limit size of the text in a webpage as much as possible. However, if users cannot easily read your text, they’ leave your site in favor of one that makes them more comfortable. We recommend that you keep your text at 10-11 pt. Conversely, text must be proportional to the page content. If text is too large, the site will be deemed as amateurish and visitors will leave because they don’t trust your content. You must develop an eye for proportion.

Links – The conventional treatment of links in a web page is to use blue, underlined text. Designers don’t like it; but it quickly indicates a hyperlink, so users love it. The standard blue, underlined text shows users implicitly that the content is a link. As time goes on, it is becoming more acceptable to change the color; but underlining text that is not linked is sure to confuse and frustrate visitors who are trying to make their way around your website.

Placement – Site visitors are creatures of habit. The more they surf the web, the more they learn to anticipate the function and placement of various standard features. For example, they not only expect your logo to be located in the upper left corner of your pages, they expect that it will be linked to your homepage, as well. If you will be using a Site Search feature, you can best please your visitors by placing it at the top right side corner. Experts have done eye-tracking studies that show that users start at the top right, move to the left, scan back and forth down the page and end up at the top right, expecting to complete an action.

The 8 Second Rule – This rule states that you have approximately 8-10 seconds to interest a new visitor when they land on your homepage. If they are unable to determine what your site is about and that it is worth their time to remain and go deeper in that timeframe, they will exit your site and move on to another.

Most websites will fall short of these rules in one way or another. If you expect to convert site visitors to customers, it is essential that they remain on your website long enough to make contact or otherwise do business with you.


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This article is the property of the Gilman Group, and it may be shared provided this block is included and proper credit is given. Pam Hoffman is the owner of the Gilman Group, Web Presence and Marketing firm in Glen Rock, PA. (www.gilmangroup.com). Their clients span the globe and come from many different industries. If you are considering a new website or a website makeover, consider the Gilman Group (800-317-5145).