Darren

I am writing on Websites Fan, a website reviewing other websites :D

56 responses to “5 Timeless Usability Principles for Website Designers”

  1. Yacht Davits

    Good points of usability. I forward this post my designer and tell him focus on these point. Thanks…

  2. Namjies

    Yes, it seems very accurate. I’m pretty novice in desiging. I’m more of a coder (PHP/Apache url rewrite/structuring) than a designer. But I always like to have logo top left, navigation right under as a bar or a left navigation.

    Guess I’ll have to start getting into a professional set of graphic tools if I’m to catch up with the best design firms.

  3. 5 Timeless Usability Principles for Website Designers « HUE Designer

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  4. Tiffany Reed

    Great post and one that I will save and remember. I completely agree with sticking to conventions . It is great to experiment with unusual layouts and user experiences, but not when good usability is the main objective for your project. But then again, going back to what Michal Kozak said above, that still depends on who your core audience is.

    Again, great job:)

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  10. SEO Software

    The most web designers these days are thinking of the great design effects, brushes, sliding, paddings, transparency and so on, but they have totally forgotten about the usability and UX, and it’s so simple.

    All you should need to do is think about the primary objective of your site (Is it buying something? Sharing something? Reading something?) and how the page you’re looking at fits into that objective (Checkout page? List of posts?). Now ask yourself, is this obvious?

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  13. affiliate

    Even if they change, they change very slightly, the fundamentals remain the same.
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  15. dilip

    Hi Michal,
    I think Tip#4 is same as your view

  16. dilip

    Hi Michal,
    Tips #4 is same as you wrote..

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  18. Hadith

    Regular user doesnt know about usablity and accesiblilty, but I guess those who are using less fortunate and require screen readers or are using text only browsers get to feel left out if your site is not created without those in mind?

  19. Bill

    excellent post! I am just starting to build my vacation rental website using the http://pagebuzz.com site builder and your tips will help quite a bit. Us newbies need all the advice we can get.

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  21. رواد الغرام

    Useful tips and nice also
    Thanks
    .-= رواد الغرام´s last blog ..ÝæÇÆÏ ÔÑÈ ÇáãÇÁ æ ÇáÃæÞÇÊ ÇáãäÇÓÈå áåý … =-.

  22. Nicole Foster

    Very nice post! The best tip, I think, is #4. Users scan over EVERYTHING. I personally was doing that just now with this article so I can get the gist of it.

    When I was working my portfolio, my boyfriend (who has ADHD) was the one to suggest I make everything short and easy to scan because users do not want to read long, boring text. They want short paragraphs with important information bolded, italicized or underlined. It’s easy to forget about that, but users are naturally like that, so we have to cater to it or our websites will not be successful.

    1. Saad Bassi

      Totally agreed with You Nicole. No one will read a single paragraph of 200. Its easier to read 4 paragraphs of 50 words. This is the art of Technical writing.

    2. swing trading strategies

      I too agree with you Nicole!
      .-= swing trading strategies´s last blog ..Forex Market Trading and a Little about Swing Trading strategies =-.

    3. valentines gift for him

      count me in as well :)

  23. Tech Guy

    wow, very thorough post. I enjoyed it alot.

  24. Offset Printing Company

    These are core principles that should be taught in web design seminars, sadly I think they are often overlooked. If more sites took advantage of these the user experiences would improve.

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    There are some usability principles which change very rarely. The reason for this is because they are deeply ingrained into our human nature. Even if they change, they change very slightly, the fundamentals remain the same….

  27. Cheap Logo Designs

    I absolutely agree with you and especially with the point that it’s better to focus on conventional style of designing because most users are used to it and may find initial difficulty in accessing the site. It may thus hamper the first impression of a visitor to the site.

  28. Designzzz

    Nice tips man !
    .-= Designzzz´s last blog ..25 Beautiful Portraits of Various Animals =-.

  29. Matthew Heidenreich

    great article, thanks for this share! Always useful stuff here. Great work guys.
    .-= Matthew Heidenreich´s last blog ..Brick & Stone: Texture Pack =-.

  30. Yagnesh Ahir

    Nice helpful post, I was actually searching for this only ( for developing my own site). Keep Posting.
    .-= Yagnesh Ahir´s last blog ..Mental Practice. =-.

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    [...] Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:33:25 +0000 Darren Go to Link Comments [...]

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  34. Tom Batey

    I agree with the focus on conventions statement. Most of the web sites being developed are for target markets that would contain your average web user. These users get used to conventions in web design, the principles that are good practice, and so appreciate web sites that they don’t need to figure out how to use.

    A happy user uses your clients web sites and converts more often. This makes your client happy. Conventions become conventions for a reason, they are the best way of approaching that particular item.

    So focus on conventions is true for the most part in my view. When it is not true is when you are specifically trying to push the boundaries as Robin Cannon stated, when you can be a bit experimental and try new things. An example might be music band web sites where conventions are often ripped up and part of the user experience is trying to figure out how the navigation works.

  35. Codesquid

    Good post! All websites are ultimately created for their users, so you should always have their needs and wants in mind when designing. If you don’t, you risk having an unusable site. it’s as simple as that.
    .-= Codesquid´s last blog ..Web Design and Development in 2010 – Best Practices =-.

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  40. Roxy

    there is nothing to add, all is correctly described!
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  41. Soft-mario

    Already read this article on other site!
    .-= Soft-mario´s last blog ..Recovery BartPE Live BootCD (18.02.2010) =-.

  42. Jordan Walker

    I think you are very right to usability amongst designers. It is also really important to listen to what your client wants due to them knowing their customers.

  43. Hillary

    Good post!
    Though, I have to say that conventions IS good for professional websites, businesses ect. Portfolio websites I think you can stray away from going towards the norm, because it’s bringing out the creativity in the individual and making them stand out. You can still make navigation and usibility out of the normal, but still being easy to navigate. It’s just all in how you think about it, and how the website moves the eye around the page.

    Thanks!

  44. Darren

    Btw, Cedric Dugas, it’s a PRINCIPLE not a RULE. There’s a huge difference between a PRINCIPLE BASED and RULE BASED design.

    Principle based = yeah you can focus on other things than conventions but test them.

    Rule based = you can focus on conventions and they’re going to work for sure.

  45. Darren

    Hi there. Conventions are essentials IMO if you’re designing a site about a client who wants CONVERSIONS and not to just leave the visitors impressed.

    Even with that in mind, in psychology, people want familiar things and are more likely to comply with requests from things that are familiar.

  46. Cedric Dugas

    I meant last statement…..
    .-= Cedric Dugas´s last blog ..Plupload, upload files using HTML5 with fallback for older browsers =-.

  47. Cedric Dugas

    Hey, nice post,

    However, I also would not agree with the last post,

    Conventions are not necessary good, everyone was using a splash page before and it was not a good convention. We can move forward experimenting with new ways of doing things, it just need to be thoroughly tested..

    I understand why you added this rules, but I think you could have summarize it in your third point
    .-= Cedric Dugas´s last blog ..Plupload, upload files using HTML5 with fallback for older browsers =-.

  48. Michal Kozak

    Good post, but I wouldn’t entirely agree with the last statement, to be honest (“Focus on conventions…”).
    .-= Michal Kozak´s last blog ..michalkozak: gonna watch Sherlock Holmes today – for the third time! it’s awesome ;D =-.

    1. Dainis Graveris

      Can you explain why? If we need to create user-friendly website, we need to focus on familiar things, so even first time visitor would feel like home in the website.

      1. Robin Cannon

        I think there’s a trend for web design to become too derivative. For a relatively young discipline it’s already become too constrained by what is the “right” thing to do.

        As a result, boundaries aren’t being pushed enough. While not denying that having navigation in a certain place is user friendly, the accepted structure of a web page is too static. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with pushing the envelope in design terms, and seeking new alternatives that might improve usability beyond accepted (and rarely questioned) standards.
        .-= Robin Cannon´s last blog ..Burn The Evil Conservative Twitter Heretic! =-.

        1. Nepathean

          I totally agree on that one :)

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          I agree too
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      2. Michal Kozak

        (Sorry for late response. )

        - Sure I can :).

        This is a good, almost key point:
        - “If we need to create user-friendly website, we need to focus on familiar things, so even first time visitor would feel like home in the website.”

        BUT it all depends on who your audience is/will be.

        For example if your trying to sell some product with your website or provide some kind of educational information – rule applies here. You don’t know who can pay you a visit, so it’s safe to design something intuitive.

        But if you’re building website for particiular kind of people, let’s say designers and developers, you freely assume these people will get what’s going on even if you decide to design something really creative and break the rules. They will manage with no problem, they’re smart and experienced web users, they’ve seen many different and odd things already.

        So basically it all boils down to knowing who your audience is/will be, who you’re targeting to. When you know that – you know how to design your website.

        Hope that’s enough of explanation :).
        .-= Michal Kozak´s last blog ..michalkozak: http://goo.gl/sQEB – Creating a Furry Possum in Photoshop, very nice tutorial. =-.

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