What Makes Website Design and Development Features User-Friendly?
When it comes to digital design and development, it’s important to remember that websites are ultimately made for the user. In other words, your brand’s website should cater as much as possible to the wants and needs of your clients. Giving customers an easy, enjoyable user experience will help to establish a loyal client base, benefiting your business enormously in the long run. For this reason, Blank Theory has created a comprehensive guide to user-friendly design and development.
Design That Engages, Excites & Directs
A user-friendly design is one that directs the user seamlessly through the site with a well-organised, logical and responsive layout. The content is dispersed throughout the website in a way that is not only visually appealing, but coherent and useful for the reader. The website is also intuitive and easy to navigate, with an obvious and effective search feature; clear, clutter-free menu items; and internal links that anticipate the user’s needs.
The website should be formatted in a way that makes the content scannable. Headings, subheadings, bullet points and links are great additions to a website, as they give readers an easier and more efficient way to gather information. A carefully-selected colour scheme will also contribute to scannability, as contrasting colours make written content easier to read. It can also be helpful to incorporate infographics and illustrations into your design.
It is crucial that the website you build is accessible to users of all abilities. Choosing a contrasting colour palette, for instance, becomes especially important when we consider those with visual impairments, as colours need to be easy to distinguish. Any forms that are sourced through your website should also be designed for accessibility, with detailed, straightforward instructions and fields that are clearly labelled. This includes using body text that is no smaller than 14px to ensure readability.
Development Features That Delight & Adapt
User-friendly web development will mean that the website is consistent across every browser and electronic device. For example, when users open a user-friendly website on their phones, they won’t have to zoom in to read the text or click the correct buttons. Instead, the website will operate as smoothly and intuitively as it would on a PC.
Lucrative websites also tend to have fast loading times, as slow websites discourage returning customers. Furthermore, web developers should employ the correct coding and error messaging to ensure that the website is bug-free and usable.
Effective web development considers accessibility at every turn. While intuitive navigation is great, automatic navigation is troublesome. Carousels, sliders and media files that play automatically should be avoided, as they are frustrating for users who need more time to take in the displayed information.
Additionally, websites should be compatible with the resizing features that exist on most browsers and devices. If your website is built to support these features, then visually-impaired users will be able to resize text without the design breaking and becoming difficult to use.
Leave Your Users Smiling
At Blank Theory, our expert designers and developers can build you a website that accurately reflects your brand and engages users. Contact us today and invest in your brand.