• May192009

    Top 5 things users want in your website

    Posted by Gene in Design, Usability

    Here is another great blog post talking about what users look for in your website, be it copy or design. This one is from Patrick Neeman on usabilitycounts.com.

    Users want the message to be clear
    Users want context to see if they fit
    Users want consistency
    Users want to be heard without having to shout
    Users don’t want the shiny (unless it’s in context)
    Users want to be guided (without being guided)

    This is all about giving the user what they want expect and not what you the designer or developer think is a cool feature or the way you think it should be done. I’ve had the privilege of taking part in a good amount of real user studies on website’s i’ve worked on in the past, every time it is an eye opening experience and I learn something new about how people use the things I design. I couldn’t recommend more doing a simple usability test on something you are working on. Do it right now, go grab a friend put them behind the site you’re working on ask them to complete a task that is one of the main things the website is supposed to do and watch. Simple as that!

    My absolute favorite part of Patrick’s post is this:

    What does work are sites are are intuitive enough and forward thinking enough to provide a path for the user to go. The elements of user experience should be defined enough so the site acts the way the user thinks it should act i.e. the user shouldn’t have to learn it, especially for consumer facing sites. It’s about predictive user experience.

    • Post a Comment 2 Comments

    1. Posted at 3:40 pm on 04/10/10

      Expert

      there’s so many other things that impact users much more; I think that’s the main reason. This is all about giving the user what they want expect and not what you the designer or developer think is a cool feature or the way you think it should be done. But I’m glad that Google did get around to it.

    2. Posted at 1:17 pm on 04/14/11

      Gurdeep

      friends i want user to my site plz come on

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