Avoid usability errors
No responsive design
Mobile surfing. Like everyone, your customers will be increasingly using their smartphones or tablets to surf the Internet. This means that your business website should also be accessible on your customers’ mobile devices. You can achieve this by using a “responsive design”, a technique which ensures that webpages adapt themselves automatically to the device on which they are displayed. There are some excellent examples of responsive design at Betterment ( http://www.dtelepathy.com/blog/design/responsive-design-great-ux ) and Responsive Design ( http://responsivedesign.is/examples ).
However, in practice, only half of websites are currently responsive. A missed opportunity, especially in light of the Mobile Marketing Statistics 2015 given by Smart Insights ( http://goo.gl/paQFV ). These figures show that 80% of all Internet users already possess a smartphone.
Things to bear in mind. Importantly, your webpages should be legible on a small screen without your customers having to zoom in. In addition, the content should be adapted to the screen size, so that users don’t need to scroll horizontally or vertically. Clickable components should be sufficiently large and not overlap, so that they can easily be tapped. Finally, make optimal use of the possibilities offered by touchscreens, such as swipes.
How? Your website designer will be able to tell you how to make your website responsive. Apply the Mobile First principle, which says that a website should first be designed for the smallest smartphone screen. This ensures that the essential content will be visible to everyone. In subsequent steps, the design and the content can be expanded in accordance with the screen size.
How about carrousels or sliders?
Round and round. 44% of all websites contain animated “carrousels” - a series of photos or banners which are switched automatically. Examples can be found at Zappos ( http://www.zappos.com ), Ballard ( http://www.ballard.com ) and Hilton ( http://www3.hilton.com/en/index.html ). However, as customers expect you to guide them through your website, such features may cause confusion. Should I Use A Carousel ( http://www.shouldiuseacarousel.com ) provides a fun illustration of how annoying carrousels can be.
Not convinced? Suzuki Belgium conducted a test with the help of usability expert AG Consult ( http://www.agconsult.com/en/about-agconsult/clients/suzuki-more-leads-less-bounces ). The homepage of this car manufacturer originally showed a carrousel of four photos, each which a clear call-to-action ( Discover Here, Book Now, Reserve Online , etc.). This design was replaced by two test variants: one with four static banners, and one with two static banners. The result: variant A led to 28% more clicks than the carrousel, and variant B, 54% more clicks. Therefore, don’t flood your customers with options but present your own selection. Less is more.
Still want to use one. If you still want to use a carousel, avoid the five usability mistakes collected by UX Movement ( http://uxmovement.com/navigation/big-usability-mistakes-designers-make-on-carousels ).
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