Many webmasters often create sites as if they will be the only visitor to it. No wonder that clumsily designed sites with difficult navigation often drive away visitors who hardly return. If you decide to build your own website, make sure that you stay away from such mistakes. To create a user friendly website, you will need to keep certain things in mind:
Easy navigation: Unless your site visitors can surf the web pages at their own will and with ease, they are unlikely to stay for long. Your site should also offer a hassle free way to return to the main menu or the home page from anywhere else on the site. You can even put up a site map to let visitors see what’s on offer at a glance and take their pick without wondering here and there, trying to figure out what pages they would like to visit.
Clean design: The layout and design of your site should not overwhelm your visitors. There should be some uniformity in the general color scheme, logo, position of your link attributes etc so that the users become familiar with the design and can surf your web pages without any difficulty.
Easy to understand language: No one likes a site that pretends to be different with lots of jargon and mumbo-jumbo, most of which are difficult to understand. Even when you deal with technology or the like, try to keep your site language easy and simple so that even a novice can get hold of your message.
Search tools: Though many sites often integrate a Google search tool, it would pay you a lot better if you can include an internal search function where the user can search your site for products, services or information that he or she wants to know about. So, empower your site visitors with the ability to search your site for specific keywords that are relevant to your niche.
Proper functioning of links and forms: Check your links, feedback forms, guest books etc from time to time to ensure that they work properly. Nothing frustrates a visitor more than a broken link, or a dysfunctional order form and the like. So, don’t drive away your potential clients by ignoring these factors.
Contact details: Include your physical store address, email ids, phone numbers etc so that your site visitors can contact you if they need to do so. Displaying your contact details prominently on your website will build trust in people and they will be more likely to buy from you.
There is nothing wrong in making your site search engine friendly but don’t compromise on the user friendly aspect by concentrating more on coding, design etc and neglecting the readability of your copy or the usability of your site for human users. Try to blend both these aspect into your site to make it interesting for human visitors and search engine spiders alike and see your business soar in no time.
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