Usability Design and Navigation

Usability Design and Navigation: User Friendliness Commercial Web Site Accurate Content Sidebars

"User-friendliness", or more specifically the lack of it, is a problem with many of today's commercial websites. Often times, poor usability design and navigation structure make it difficult for a potential customer landing on a page through a search engine link to find the information they're looking for, or locate it elsewhere on the site.

Usability Design and Navigation: Keep It Simple

When someone visits your website, it should be easy for them to find the information they want. The information should be presented in a concise, eye-catching, informative manner. Direct links in web page content should be provided to other areas of the site that may contain additional relevant information.

Individual page design is an important factor in usability. Too much information can be as harmful as too little. Providing accurate, to-the-point content in an easy-to-read format is essential to keeping your visitor's interest. Other usability design issue include:

		Sidebars - provides additional, related information
		Submission Forms - to request additional information
		Footers - usually contains contact information

Usability Design and Navigation: Where Am I Now?

When visitors land on your website, it is to your benefit if they stay a while to see what you offer. One of the best ways to achieve that goal is to make it easy for visitors to navigate through your web site and offerings.

A number of navigation standards exist for good website design that either let someone know where they are, or how to get where they're going, including:

		Site Map - a comprehensive root directory listing of all main areas on the site and their sub-level pages
		Breadcrumb Navigation Trail - top-of-page links back to upper level pages
		Menus and sub-menus - easy to follow links to other areas of the site
		Active links within the body of the text to pages with related information

At DRIVE, we address these and many other usability design and navigation issues during the site development process.

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