Website Usability

There are several things a business can do to makes its website stand out from the crowd. Instead of making a site flashy, make it easy to use.

Disabilities

A business might consider those that have disabilities when considering website usability. For example, we discussed in my Electronic Publishing class that about 50% of males are color blind. Using colors like red and green to differentiate on a business site would not be the best idea. Also, computer screens are back lit and tire the eyes easily. Too much white or black back ground can worsen the effect. Striking a balance between white space and color saturation is safe bet.

No Frills

In addition to considering those with disabilites one might want to take a streamlined design approach. In the Article "Is your Web site usable?" columnist Kim Komano writes, "...elegance is simply not going to win over users. If your site is not easily navigable and doesn't contain relevant and up-to-date information, you're driving customers away". Kim discusses six different ways one can improve a business site. She puts emphasis on keeping the site simple and testing it over and over again.