There are approximately 200 million active websites. Given that the Internet is now the primary channel for many people in terms of entertainment and shopping, that’s a lot of competition.
That can make the drive for more traffic feel like the thing that requires your utmost attention. It’s certainly why so many businesses focus on digital marketing techniques like search engine optimization.
Unfortunately, getting people to your site is only half the battle. Then, you must keep them. Without a user friendly website, that’s a nearly impossible task.
After all, who hasn’t run screaming from a site with terrible navigation? If you’re wondering if your site makes the grade, keep reading for the non-negotiable features of a user friendly website.
Speed
A slow load time doesn’t necessarily put your site in the non-user-friendly category, but it sure doesn’t help. At the very least, it frustrates your visitors and encourages them to leave.
On top of that, it’s one of the SEO factors that will determine how your site pages rank in search results.
Clear Navigation
Good navigation is part of a good web design, but that doesn’t always happen. Sites grow over time, add categories and sections, and all of those additions can leave your navigation a mess.
You don’t want your visitors stabbing their phone screens or hitting their mouse buttons harder and harder as they try to find the thing they want.
Clear navigation is one of the most important features of a user friendly website. You should review your navigation setup at least once a year.
Mobile-Friendly
With more mobile devices offering high-speed Internet access, web traffic via mobile devices has soared in recent years. That means you need a site that can function well on a phone or tablet.
Making a website user friendly and mobile-friendly typically starts with either responsive design or a responsive theme. Responsive sites and themes reorganize the displayed content to fit the screen of the visitor.
Clean Design
Design trends for websites come and go, just as they do for fashion or home interiors. Yet, just as with fashion or home interiors, certain principles hold true over time.
You need a clean design for your site. Minimalism is usually a safe strategy because it keeps the site from looking cluttered. It also provides more white space to highlight text or images.
You also want to steer clear of offbeat fonts. Comic Sans might work well in a graphic novel, but it’s almost never a good choice for a website. Unless you run a website devoted to graphic novels.
Creating a User Friendly Website
A user friendly website takes some thought and planning, but it’s a very achievable goal. You just need to make sure you incorporate the website features that make for user-friendliness.
You need a site that loads fast and offers clear navigation. The site should prove mobile-friendly and operate well on mobile devices. You also need a site with a clean design.
Pencil & Coffee provides web design services to SMEs. If you need a new site or a site overhaul, contact Pencil & Coffee today.
