There's a science to looking good

Web sites are meant to be used, and users approach each web site with two fundamental needs: to find specific information, and to be informed on what's important. So, web sites should be designed with that in mind.

Usability is a science, bringing a mix of academic and practical skills to web site design. Whatever your aim, A well-designed and usable site will positively affect the outcome of your initiatives. Conversely, poor site design will seriously impair your results.

Unlike a brochure, which need only look great while providing a trifle of information, a web site is interactive mechanism that helps people accomplish tasks. A site that looks beautiful but functions poorly is about as useful as a sleek new Ferrari with a stammering engine. A usable site, on the other hand, is an invaluable tool in helping users achieve their goals in the simplest way possible.

A few of you might fear that choosing usability over design will dull the web's vibrant soul with shades of corporate grey, turning it into an incredibly boring place. But trust me, pragmatic design will make the web more enjoyable.

Form needs to yield to function

This simple concept is too often overlooked - the breakout of web pages that serve up snazzy animation without offering any clues as to the site's purpose bears witness to this. The solution: designers need to cut out the superfluous stuff and make their sites as practical as possible.

But, in order to make a site easy and intuitive to use, designers require a deep understanding of the way that users' approach their tasks.

Usability comes before design

Usability should drive the early stages of your project, and comes before design is even started - when you define what the system should do, what its features should be, and how users' tasks should be supported. By proactively building usability into your web from the word go, you will save yourself the hassle of having to fix usability problems later.

Issues like expectations in navigation, logical and intuitive site design and content are huge considerations. Add to this architecture issues, transactional requirements and performance expectations, all while trying to maximise user profiling and personalisation, dynamic content assembly and interactivity, and you will understand the importance of incorporating usability from the start. Also, get these fundamentals wrong and no design can save you.

Good usability is made of this.
But usability shouldn't be considered as a way to prevent potential problems, but rather, as an opportunity that realises greater possibilities.

A well-designed, user-friendly site will reflect the priorities of the business and streamline workflow, reduce costs, predict and measure desired behaviour, track competitive differentiation, establish service levels and build a brand through a targeted, positive user experience. A user experience that has a direct tie to market competitiveness.

The ultimate challenge is to integrate usability into your strategy so that it becomes a key part of the process of planning, design, development, testing and launch.

Getting what you want

Users come to your site to get a specific job done - now. So if you're not helping, you're hurting.

Jupiter Research found that 70% of consumers, failing to quickly find what they're looking for, or coming across a disorganised site, will leave. And make no mistake: when users come across a difficult page or find one they cannot navigate, they won't return! So, making the page usable is a necessity if you are to survive on the Internet.

Ultimately, your web site should serve two true objectives: realising business goals through targeted objectives, and happy customers.

To achieve this, you will need to create an intuitive, quick-loading site. After all, what's more important: a good-looking site - or a site that has you looking good?