| How important a consideration is usability in the | | | | they have called up for viewing. |
| development of a website? Both web designers and | | | | Almost the same can be said of websites that have |
| SEO specialists everywhere will tell you, nowadays, | | | | huge images in them. These large images, while |
| usability is as much an important consideration in the | | | | effectively being eye-candy to many, can also make |
| development of a website as the entire architecture | | | | your website's loading time suffer significantly. This is |
| of the web site itself. | | | | the same issue that arises from having to much |
| A lot of website designers put a huge amount of | | | | animation on your website. Flash animation tends to |
| work and attention to the entire look of the website, | | | | goggle up bandwidth as it is called up from the |
| putting eye-catching elements such as complex | | | | server, so that means a longer waiting time for users |
| animations, huge number of graphics, and large | | | | wanting to see your website. |
| pictures. Others will pour their creativity into making | | | | Navigation is also a significant issue with web |
| otherworldly ways to navigate through the website, | | | | designing. While a creative way of getting around the |
| with emphasis on "otherworldly" because the | | | | site seems appealling in theory, users are more prone |
| navigation can get so creative that users will often | | | | to follow a familiar way of getting to the pages they |
| get lost in navigation. These are just two examples | | | | want to get to, hence, a familiar lay out, or at the |
| of what goes on the website development if you | | | | very least, an easy to understand navigation is key |
| don't consider website usability. | | | | to keeping users happy while they are on your site. |
| But then what is website usability? | | | | To optimize a website's usability, consider using less |
| Website usability is the characterized by the ease | | | | animation on your homepage and try using smaller |
| with which a user attributes to your website. It | | | | images to display whatever pictures you may have |
| starts with the loading of the actual website itself. A | | | | on your website. An even better way is to have the |
| recent study shows that an average user who | | | | web designer use thumbnails instead to show a small |
| happens to be interested in seeing your website will | | | | view of the image and then make a link to the larger |
| wait for at least 8 to 10 seconds for it to load | | | | image on a deeper page. |
| before moving onto another website. If your website | | | | These are just a few items to considering a |
| takes longer than 10 seconds to load, don't expect | | | | website's usability from the standpoint of a web |
| too many users to wait for it, as the internet has | | | | designer. A lot more can be done to ensure that |
| effectively conditioned most users everywhere not | | | | your website is usable enough to keep users coming |
| to wait too long for whatever page or site it is that | | | | back to your site to see more. |