Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How can I  make sure my site is "user friendly"?

A. You might have a great looking web site but it isn't going to do you a bit of good if your visitors can't use the site effectively. Here are some guidelines to follow to increase your usability factor:

• Has the visitor arrived at the right spot on your site?
  Are your pages set out so that the visitor knows where they are in your site? Provide a sitemap if you have a complex site so visitors can see at a glance where they want to be.

• Do you have a clear visual hierarchy that leads the visitor where you want them to go or do what you want them to do?
  Make your most important information more noticeable than the rest of the page with the next most important slightly less noticeable and finally the least most important information in a regular format. The eye tracks from left to right so you might want your most noticeable information larger and on the left side of the page or in the middle of the page. An example would be a noticeable box in the left hand navigation of the page for a subscription to a newsletter.

• Make the most important information (what you want the visitor to notice/do/act upon) the most noticeable.
  Bold or use red text to make important points stand out. Bullets are also a very good way to highlight important points.

• It is better to be clear than cute.
  It doesn't matter how 'cute' your site is if your visitor doesn't know what you are offering or how to accomplish what you want them to do. Simple, clear, and clean is better. Don't have a lot of things on your site pages to distract your visitor from your message.

Keep with familiar concepts with the layout of your site

More and more people are becoming accustomed to seeing things in web sites in a certain way or in specific places. The more familiar your site is, the easier it will be for visitors to get around in it. Here are a few things to keep in mind as far as familiarity with web site navigation:

• Logo - upper left hand corner, clickable, takes you to the Home page

• Navigation - top of page or down left side

• NEVER underline words that are NOT clickable

• Use Arial or Verdana for the text font. A non-serif font is easier to read on a monitor screen.

• Use buttons or tabs for clickable items ONLY

• If graphics are clickable ALWAYS provide an alternate way to click (text link, etc.)

• Make sure buttons say exactly what the button or link will do

• Use consistency throughout the site (layout, text, colors, navigation)

• View Cart Button at the top of each page (the visitor MUST have a way to get back to the shopping cart easily)

• Breadcrumbing - letting visitors know where they are in the site - Home/Resources/Articles/Domain vs ISP Email for larger sites. Page heading is OK for smaller sites

• Secondary navigation for more complicated sites - always keep Primary navigation visible on every page

• Stay away from drop-down menus. These can be difficult for some visitors to use if they don't have their mouse in the exact position. Drop-downs are not followed by SEs, especially the javascript drop-downs

• Minimize 'noise'

• Insert Buy buttons frequently throughout the site

Do the Grandma Test

• Find someone who can operate a mouse and ask them to look at your site.

• Watch them as they use your site.

• Give them a goal - purchase an item or tell you what the site is about

• Keep your mouth shut - just let them struggle and watch them to see what they are having trouble with