MetaGreg

Users appreciate quality and credibility. If they see high-quality content, they are usually willing to tolerate advertisements and a poor design. This is why websites with mediocre designs but high quality content gain a lot of traffic over the years. Content is more important than the design that supports it.

Users don’t read; they scan. When they analyze a web page, users search for some fixed points or anchors that can guide them through the content on the rest of the page.

Web users are impatient and insist on instant gratification. A very simple principle: if a website doesn’t meet users expectations, then the designer has failed to perform his or her job properly, and the company will lose money. The higher the cognitive load needed by users to process the website and the less intuitive the navigation, the more likely users will leave the website and search of alternatives.

Users don’t always make the best choices. They don’t look for the quickest way to find the information they want. Nor do they scan web pages in a linear fashion going sequentially from one section to another. Instead, users choose whatever “satisfices” (satisfy + suffice). They choose the first reasonable option that presents itself. As soon as they find a link that might possible lead to their goal, users will very likely click on it immediately. Optimizing is hard, and it takes a long time. Satisficing is more efficient.

Users follow their intuition. In most cases, users muddle through on their own rather than read the information a designer has provided. According to Steve Krug, the basic reason for this is that users don’t care. “If we find something that works, we stick to it. It doesn’t matter to us if we understand how things work, as long as we can use them. If we are audience is going to act you’re designing billboards, then design great billboards.”

Users want to have control. Users want to be able to control their browser and rely on consistently presented data throughout the website. For example, they don’t want new windows popping-out unexpectedly, and they want to be able to use the “Back” button to return to a website they had just visited.

From the Smashing Book, page 123.

1. Thou shalt not abuse Flash.
2. Thou shalt not hide content.
3. Thou shalt not clutter.
4. Thou shalt not overuse glassy reflections.
5. Thou shalt not name your Web 2.0 company with an unnecessary
   surplus or dearth of vowels.
6. Thou shalt worship at the altar of typography.
7. Thou shalt create immersive experiences.
8. Thou shalt be social.
9. Thou shalt embrace proven technologies.
10. Thou shalt make content king.

via BusinessWeek

All newspapers, magazines, and catalogs work the same way – you start at the front cover and keep turning the pages. That is not the case with websites.

When visitors arrive at a new website, they pause, look around, and figure out how to proceed. There are a lot of question marks in their head and as soon as your website answers them the better. Otherwise, your visitor will leave and may never come back.

Websites are difficult to use

All visitors suffer a moment of difficulty in a website. Some find it a simple annoyance while others become frustrated. Recognizing that websites are still not as easy to use like a newspaper is the right attitude when designing webpages.

Who does not want a visitor-friendly website? I’m sure you do but your actions do not say so. Too often your websites serve the needs of your company, or sometimes, even your egos. You cannot accept the truth that your visitor are finding it difficult to move around your website. This has to change.

When building the pages of your website how often do you ask yourself this question: “Am I helping my visitor with this webpage?”

We understand the pressure. Different people in an organization have different and often conflicting goals for the website. You throw up your arms and give up. Helping visitors requires fighting some fights. You may need to fight with the sales guy, the programmer, your boss, and yourself.

Yes, including yourself.

You thrust your own views upon your visitors. You want him to accept your website, your design, your creation. You want your visitor to change to satisfy you. When she does not, you call her stupid.

It is not just layout and colors

You have spent a lot of time designing the layout and choosing the right color combinations that you believe would appeal to your visitors but you forgot how to talk to them. Just like any human being on the planet we use words, not colors nor diagrams.

If you want to help your visitors, then talk to them in a language they understand. Use words and terms that are relevant to your visitors — not words only you and your friends understand. Craft your messages the way you would talk to a person face-to-face. The online world is a lonely place — your visitors need company.

Does it matter?

At one point, you have also visited a website that is inconsiderate of you. How does it feel? Don’t forget that you are a visitor, too.

Here are 10 guidelines for building the credibility of a web site based on research in Stanford University:

1. Make it easy to verify the accuracy of the information on your site.
2. Show that there’s a real organization behind your site.
3. Highlight the expertise in your organization and in the content and services you provide.
4. Show that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site.
5. Make it easy to contact you.
6. Design your site so it looks professional (or is appropriate for your purpose).
7. Make your site easy to use — and useful.
8. Update your site’s content often (at least show it’s been reviewed recently).
9. Use restraint with any promotional content (e.g., ads, offers).
10. Avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem.