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How often have you encountered a Web site that, despite it's hip graphic design and well-intentioned functionality, is extremely difficult to use?
Remember how quickly you moved on to something better/easier/simpler?
Usability is an overlooked and often dismissed aspect of Web design (why? see below). If the user can't accomplish the task, then the design fails the company that paid to have it implemented.
How often have you not been able to:
:: find the company's contact information?
:: get back to the home page?
:: figure out "how you got here?"
:: tell how much your current order total is?
:: figure out "what to do next?"
:: find that article someone told you about?
:: turn off that very earnest Flash intro or background music?
How often has someone said they can't find something on your Web site? When is the last time you asked?
Why is usability overlooked?
Usability is perceived to be too difficult and potentially expensive. And some firms charge enormous fees to perform incredibly rigorous and thorough usability testing. But iNKBLiNK believes usability need not be difficult, expensive or a "nice to have" for only the biggest of companies.
iNKBLiNK believes in making a series of smaller tests as the site is developed. In fact, if you approach usability as a part of the development and design process, it will ultimately save time and increase return on investment.
By injecting usability testing upstream in the process, the corrections made to the finished product are less severe, and thus less expensive. By waiting until the end, usability feedback can call for overwhelming, too-expensive changes.
iNKBLiNK believes that the usability testing and analysis process can be performed in a way that keeps costs low while still delivering meaningful results. As needed, we can deliver analysis with increased complexity and depth.
The key
It sounds simple, but the key to usability testing can be difficult in practice: you must listen to the user. The design team and client are best served by putting aside preconceived notions (as well as egos) -- and listening. In each stage of usability testing, there is always something meaningful that can be learned, and often it's unexpected.
Get started
If you believe your Web site's next design would benefit from your customer's feedback, click here to contact us.
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