In 2022, there is a multitude of reasons for you to have your own website. Whether you sell handmade wax melts or you want a place to centralize your creative writing projects, you deserve a professional-looking website that will attract (and keep the attention of) plenty of users.
A user-friendly website is essential, but the term itself can be loaded and difficult to understand. In this guide, we’ll break down the core aspects of what makes a website user-friendly, and how you can implement these in your own site’s design.
Which Fonts Should I Use?
Readability and accessibility are significant factors in website design as they directly affect how user-friendly your site is. Users with visual impairments, dyslexia, and other learning difficulties can struggle reading serif fonts (such as Times New Roman) because the letters are close together and decorated. You should also consider how colours impact readability. For example, black text on a white background will make for a pleasant reading experience.
While this may initially seem difficult to get a handle on, there are online sources that can tell you which are the valuable fonts to use when designing your website, from Arvo to Lora, as well as cover web typography rules and free options. The main thing is that you should know why the font choice is so important for making your site easy to use and go from there. But whatever you choose, your website’s font should be:
- Appropriately sized (big enough to read easily, but not so big that it’s distracting) – remember that people will be accessing your website from devices with different sized screens
- Consistent – some variations are okay, especially when switching to a new section, but too many different fonts in a small space will be visually unappealing
- Optimized to emphasize the most important content
Ultimately, if you have your heart set on a particular font, feel free to use it; but it’s important to keep in mind that, the more aesthetically pleasing your website is, the more likely people will visit it.
The Importance of Layout
First impressions can be tough, but it’s not just poor font choices that can make for a frustrating experience for your website’s users. Whether you’re promoting your small business or you are just publishing your blog posts, it’s vital that your website makes its aims clear immediately. For example, if you visit Airbnb’s webpage you’ll be greeted with the search form so you know what the site’s purpose is instant.
You must also consider that 92.6% of Internet users visit websites via mobile, so you should have a mobile-friendly version of your site if possible. For example, pop-ups are often difficult to exit on a smaller screen, and minimalist layouts will be easier to navigate. Additionally, search engine optimization for mobile (SEO) is different from its desktop equivalent. If you want your website to hit the top of the search engines, being mobile-friendly is essential.
How Fast Are Your Load Times?
Web users have come to have extremely high expectations when it comes to how long it takes for a page to load; in fact, over half of the visitors to a site will leave if it takes more than three seconds to load. If you run a business and/or sell goods, this will be the difference between gaining and losing a customer. Thankfully, there are things you can do to reduce your site’s load time and make it more user-friendly. These include:
- Don’t make images larger than they need to be – you can compress them while still retaining their quality using Photoshop and other editing software
- Remove popups
- Embrace a minimalist theme
- Incorporate “lazy loading” (where the page only loads as the user scrolls to it)
Checking your load times isn’t a one-and-done deal; rather, you’ll need to check frequently to make sure your website is still performing at the top of its game.
Keeping Your Website Updated
Leading on from the last point, it’s not enough to set up your website and never touch it again. There’s nothing that will put users off more than dead links and outdated graphics. Frequent updates (at least once every few months) help to keep your site ranking in search engines, as well as keep up with trends and therefore attract new users.
It’s good practice to adopt a strategy that you’ll use each time you go to update your website. Here’s an example:
- Browse your website as if you’re a user and check for broken features
- Check your analytics – which pages get the most attention etc.
- If applicable, update your contact information and the “about” section
All in all, it’s obvious that your website will underperform if it’s not user-friendly enough. Our guide should help you to determine its current “friendliness” and what you can do to improve it.
