26. JAN, 2011 
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This world has now turned into a global village. Internet is being used all over the world and this is exactly why each and every brand wants to have their own website in order to promote their business and brand. Websites are considered to be a true representation of any company so one should provide special attention to all the major and minor details of a website. If you have manages to create a website which is user friendly, you have made a great website.
After all, the websites are developed for the users and they are not interested in knowing how and when it was developed. They just want a smooth running throughout the website. If your website is a combination of good branding, usability, functionality and a great content, you will have a happy user on the other side of computer. If not, you have lost yet another visitor who will never visit your website again because for him the navigation is not as simple as it should have been.
The user’s experience of your website will help a user perceive things about your brand as well. If your site if sufficient enough to provide them with the necessary information, they will have a good impression of your website. If not, you will just end up with a frustrating user. Since a lot depends on user’s mood as well, the thoughts of the users can be subjective but while designing a website, you should keep in mind a few basic points which can help user with an easy navigation. If you follow some set trends and best practices, you can definitely avoid having frustrated customers. Since call-to-action websites have become way too important, all designers and developers pay special attention while designing and developing a website.
Following are a few things that designers and developers should keep in mind while developing a website so that they can save customers from useless frustrations;
In order to make your website successful, you will have to think like a user. Always keep in mind the factors you notice whenever you visit a website. These days no one has enough time to sit, relax and scan each and everything on your document. Visitors are like customers in a store, they will take a round, grab important things and leave.
Similarly, most of the users are simply going to scan a few important things on your homepage, look at the pictures and will decide if they really want to stay on your website and if you really have some useful information to provide to them. You need to set your priorities while designing a website. The most important things related to your brand should be highlighted on your website. Put yourself in the visitor’s shoes and you are sure to get answers to all your questions.
The world is moving so rapidly that you need to come up with something extremely creative andeye catching so that you can attract visitor’s attention and make him stay. If you are able to make him stay, only then he will be able to visit different pages of your website. The reason why video marketing is famous is because it attracts the attention of the viewer like anything. Same goes for your website, if your homepage is not impressive enough, you won’t have a loyal visitor regardless of the fact what kind of content your website is providing. You will have to keep a good balance of text and images. Images are expected to gain more attention than text so images should be able to talk for themselves.
The web page should be as simple as possible. Making a complicated page just because you want something different is not a good idea. Your website should be simple and self explanatory. Whatever you have designed, it should be obvious for the users. As a designer, complications are for you to handle. At the end of the day users should know what they want from your website and they should be able to find it easily. If a user is confused after visiting your website, you probably need to learn a lot on designing and developing.
These days’ users are not interested in reading long paragraphs of text. They are more interested in learning more and reading less. The only way to achieve this is by incorporating interesting images in your website which are self explanatory and should be able to answer users’ questions as well. It is you job to put an end to all the question marks in a user’s mind.
As a designer, it is quite natural to show your creative side in a website. However, too much ofdesigning will also irritate the visitor. Always remember that less is more so you should try to keep things simple and convenient for the user. A simple page is easily understandable by the visitors and it also makes the website user friendly.
Having too much on your home page will make a visitor leave your website immediately. You should leave a few white spaces here and there so users can find some free space on yourhomepage and this spaciousness will make users comfortable.
A website is always incomplete without a search button. There is no way that you forget to add a search button. A user will be annoyed like anything if he is unable to find things easily and rapidly, a search button helps the user in finding everything on your website. If he has to go through everything again in order to find a particular thing, he might never visit your website again. Nothing more irritates a user than wandering on a website not knowing what to do. So, give your visitors an option to search the content they liked on your website.
The links and tans on your website should be working, always. The broken links will give a very bad impression of your website. Also, you are gaining irritated visitors who are leaving your website because whatever they click, it leads them to nowhere. Make sure that you take care of such link on regular basis. Keep your website updated and every link on your website should be click-able.
Registration forms are important but they should not be way too long. No one has enough time to spend hours on filling your registration form so keep it simple, to the point. Avoid never ending registration forms and ask for the information which is really required.
User experience has everything to do with the user and how easy you make the entire web-visiting experience for him. A best website is what we term as a call-to-action website and such a website should be user friendly and easy to navigate. If a user is able to find whatever he is looking for and that too easily, you have successfully made a good website. A user should leave your website on a good note and relaxed and he should want to come back to your website. The first user’s experience of your website has to be good as the first impressions are way too important.
