Even Bill Gates has a hard time using Windows
Thursday, June 26th, 2008Have you ever tried to download a program or update only to find out that you’ll have to download another program to make whatever you just downloaded run? Or how about when you fill out a form but overlook a box and the whole thing gets reset? Infuriating isn’t it? Makes you question whether it’s really worth your time, right? I didn’t want that (insert product name here) anyway!
We’ve all had these experiences. So what can we do about it? As consumers we can leave the company feedback, as the creator we can conduct some usability testing!
What is usability you ask? To quote Wikipedia:
Usability is a term used to denote the ease with which people can employ a particular tool or other human-made object in order to achieve a particular goal.
How easy is it to accomplish a task using a tool?
There is nothing worse than having a frustrated customer. Imagine your qualified leads, searching you out looking for your product only to walk away because the door to your store sticks and they can’t get in. That won’t happen you say. But it will. Once a consumer lands on your website you have 8 seconds to capture their interest and convert them. If there are any roadblocks in the way there’s a good chance you’ve lost them.
So I ask you, when was the last time you actually used your website? Or better yet, watched someone use your website? Do you know how many clicks it takes to send your company an email? Where is the contact button on your website? How long does it take for the homepage to load and do you make the customer sit through a flash video after that or can they skip it? How usable is your website?
It’s easy to get overwhelmed. Take a deep breath. Start small and fix the little things first. But please before you do anything, ask someone who doesn’t work for your comapny (your mom, your partner, your sister…anyone) to complete a simple task on your website and let you watch them. Take notes, see where they click and let them struggle. It may be painful to watch but it’s more painful to lose all those wonderful visitors that sought you out just because your navigation doesn’t make sense.
You’re not alone - EVERYONE has usability issues. Even Bill Gates can’t figure out how to download a program from the Microsoft website. Really, it’s true, read this - you’ll feel better.
For more information on how to improve usability start here:
Jakob Nielsen’s Usability 101
Usability Professional’s Association
A List Apart
: Elise
