Developing my first brand new website…ah, I remember the excitement of it! Like a painter with a clean white canvas, I was ready to put my creative talents to the test.  After diligently working to put a draft together, I presented it to my manager who promptly said, “Now that you have the site in place, what about the usability of the site – the user experience?”

Being absorbed in the site designing process, I was thinking more about the colors, the pictures — the overall look and feel of the site, but not the usability.  I was not thinking about the user.

Website abandonment is a major concern among e-tailers today.  With more and more online competitors, having a website that does not provide a good user experience can make all the difference between success and failure.

Having the greatest looking website that is search engine optimized to the hilt and is on the first page of  Google for your main keyword terms doesn’t amount to anything unless users can find what they are looking for on your site.  Getting users to your site is one thing; getting them to stay is another.  If a person has to try to figure out what your site is about, they will abandon your site quicker than you can say “website usability.”

Here are some tips on how to make your site more user friendly:

Tell Me about Yourself

• Does your website clearly define what the site is about?
• Is your product offering clearly identifiable?
• Is your company logo visible on every page?
• Is there sufficient content on your site to describe your product?

Your website is your window to the online world — make sure potential customers can see through the window.

Call to Action

A call to action needs to be ideally at the top of the page on every page of the website. Whether it is to call a toll-free number, download a coupon, access a shopping cart or request information, it needs to be visible and present.

Site Navigation

Clear site navigation is key for a positive user experience.  If a user can’t navigate through your site to find what they are looking for, they will probably go somewhere else.  Be sure that all navigational links work properly. Seems like a no-brainer, but how often have you gone to a website where a link takes you to a page that does not exist? And always be sure that your site logo links back to the Home page.

Shopping Cart

According to Marketing Sherpa, the average shopping cart abandonment rate is nearly 60%.  There can be many reasons for shopping cart abandonment, some of which are:

• Customer does not feel “secure” – no security icons (ex: Verisign)
• Shipping instructions are not clear
• Unclear return or exchange policies
• Shipping costs or taxes are too high

How to Improve Your Site Usability

An analytics tool such as Google Analytics can help identify page abandonment areas on your website.  It can also show the funnel of your shopping cart, and show where the drop off points are during the purchase process.   It can be something as simple as how a policy is worded, but it could be impacting a person completing their purchase.

It is also helpful to have a usability analysis done of your site. An objective review of your site can provide valuable insights into what your site is doing well – and where it can use improvements.  Many SEO companies offer this as a service offering.  Another way to understand your site’s usability is to get a group of users to “test drive” your site prior to launch, and provide their feedback.   Take the extra steps to ensure the user experience of your site is a good one.