3 Tips You Can Use Right Now to Improve Your Web Sites Usability

Studies done by Jakob Nielson the man touted as the, "King of usability" by Internet Magazine showed that people do not read on the web like they would normally read offline.

So what does this mean to you and why should you care?

Visitors to your web sites are in a rush, they want the information you promised and they want it NOW.

If they don't get the information they want they will leave and this means you lose the sale, the opt-in or whatever action you want the visitor to take while at your site.

The following 3 tips will help you give your visitors what they want and in a way that will increase your web sites usability.

1. Concise Text

By keeping your paragraphs down to one single idea you can help speed up how your visitor absorbs your information.

For example, instead of:

"In today's market place many people tend to become overwhelmed with the over hyped and highly charged writing that most web sites employ to gain visitors business. This causes people to be turned off by the sites language and ultimately they will click the back button on their browser and leave."

Why not say,

"Today more than ever people are turned off by over hyped marketing language of websites they visit and because of this frustration they will end up leaving your site."

See how that short, to the point paragraph says the same thing but quicker?

Go through your home page first and take out long, multiple thought paragraphs and edit them down to be precise. One idea per paragraph once you finish your thought (in 3-4 lines) start another paragraph.

2. Scannable Text

Web site users do not read online text. They scan it.

Use short bold text, for example in the form of a hyperlink, to make important information stick out from the page.

Bullet lists are an invaluable tool as well. Put your important sets of words in bullets. For example instead of,

"You will learn how to create your own web site, design pages that load faster, pick the right color scheme, and improve your sites navigation."

Use this,

"You will learn:

How to create your own web site

Design pages that load faster

Pick the right color scheme

And improve your sites navigation."

Use Subheadings through out the page.

As you go through your pages pick out the important points and put them in heading tags. Heading 2 and 3 work the best but the heading 1 tag will also work.

This will break the page up for the reader and they will be able to get the information they want simply by scanning your pages.

3. Be Objective

Far to many web sites are "me" oriented. In other words your site is about making money for you and you want your visitor to stay at your site and buy from you.

So what do you do?

You force them to stay at your site even if they are not interested in your product or service any longer.

Doing this only serves to damage your reputation and cause visitors to leave with a bad taste in their mouth.

Being objective means putting links to other related sites through out your web pages and allowing the visitor the free will to either stay at your site or leave and find the information they are looking for somewhere else.

In the end this is not a bad thing because you, as the site owner, can direct them to the sites you want them to go to.

However, seeding your pages with a bunch of recommendation to other sales sites is not the smartest way to do this.

Offer them free information along with sites that you receive compensation from as well.

This way you are being objective and offering your visitor valuable information they can use at the same time.

In Conclusion

Take a few days and walk through your web site and find the long paragraphs and make them more concise.

Bold important text, create subheadings for extremely important points and create more bullet lists where needed.

Finally, add more out bound links to your information and show them you are objective and care about their needs.

Internet users are getting tired of the hype and they are speaking out with their browser's back button.

By taking the time to make these changes you will improve your sites usability and your visitors will thank you for it by doing business with you.

About the author: Jason Mann is a profitability consultant for online businesses who specializes in finding untapped profit areas and showing business owners how to increase their revenues by tapping these unseen resources. For more web business articles visit: http://www.majorprofitmargins.info

MORE RESOURCES

People Locator find anyone in the USA

RELATED WEB SITE DESIGN ARTICLES: Ten Steps to a Winning Home Page There's no doubt about it - the first page your site visitors see is the most important page of your website. If your home page isn't appealing, chances are the rest of your pages will never even be seen by your visitors. Online Businesses Still Ignoring Dial-up Market In this article you will find the parallel between two Internet connection that makes serious action trough financial market, leading this to great profits or huge losses.The first type of connection that it will be detailed is Dial-up connection. You Need RSS, Atom, and ROR/RDF Codes on Your Website--Now You Need Google Sitemap as Well! Do you have a website? If so, you need an ROR XMLNS code button which leads to a full ROR/RDF code page for your website. This code tells search engines all about the special details you input into the code about your website. Browser Compatibility Internet Explorer, created by microsoft has been the most popular web browser for many years. But the gap is shrinking with the release of Mozilla Firefox, by an open source community. Choosing A Color Scheme When you begin the design of your Web site, one of the first things you need to do is decide on a color scheme. Although choosing colors seems like a relatively easy proposition, it's not easy at all. Web Design:10 Magnificent Millionaire Dollars Ad Copy Secrets To Empower Your Website.. Hello, how is your website doing?Are sales flowing in?If you answer no, may I offer you 10 eye-popping web design secrets to make your website sell!1. Use a hand written letter on your ad copy instead of text. Website Savvy: 10 Key Steps to Turn Your Customers ON! "How to turn "slightly interested" customers into "I've got to have it!" customers!"I am truly amazed as to the lack of information websites contain. You would think that a business would realize that a potential customer would at least like to know how to contact the customer service department. How Do You Make A Website? No, that's not the real question. The real question is "How in the Heck Do You Make a Website???"You do not have to buy software. When Good Computers Go Bad Remember the day that you got your new computer (or the hand-me down from Uncle Larry) and you pulled that shiny case out of the box? Once you finally had all of the cables properly mangled into an unmanageable ball, you powered on, the screen lit up and off you went. The PC was fast, programs loaded in the blink of an eye, and Internet surfing was a breeze. How to Chose Stock Photography for your Web Site So you've decided to take the plunge. You know that stock photography is an effective tool for your web business, but where do you start and how do you choose the stock photo that's right for you. Is a Web Site Builder Right for You? A web site builder can be a real life saver to someone without advanced HTML knowledge or tools. Web site builders allow a relative newbie to the internet create a professional website in very little time. Quality of Your Text Layout and Design Why is the quality of your text layout and design important on your web site? For the simple reason that people tends to stay longer on a web site that radiates quality and simplicity.Why?Because it gives you a more professional impression and the text is easy to read. You Too Can Have Fun With Sepia Images! If you are one of those who wonder how people come up with the cool looking sepia tone prints that you admire so much. If you are doubling up with jealousy over a sepia tone, here, we will give you tips on how you could achieve this sepia tone, too. Tips for a Successful Website for Any Organization, NGO or GO Most NGOs (Non-Governmental Organization) don't understand these important aspects of a successful website. Even many governmental organization (GOs) could improve their sites by following these tips. Ten Basic Steps For Building A Web Site That Works 1. Assemble a web site development plan that is integrated with your overall marketing processes; the content should be consistent with offline materials, the graphics/images don't have to be identical with traditional media, but should be consistent with your overall branding, style guide, usage of colors etc. Choosing Form Over Function Kills Your Site Never put form over function. Why? Because it's crucial that visitors actually be able to USE your site. Website Design: 10 Smart Tips To Improve Your Ad Copy Your website design may be affecting your sales in ways that you may not believe.Here are a few website design tips to help you improve your website and ad copy for greater profitability:1. Affordable Web Design In Birmingham If you have a business, big or small you may be thinking of getting yourself a website.The world wide web is another way of spreading your message or selling your product. Graphic Design Using Color Color is everywhere and conveys a message even if we don't realize it. While this message can vary by culture it pays to know what colors "say" in your own corner of the universe, and even what color means to your target market. Website Basics The Basics You have a flourishing business - everything is in its place. You just miss one important piece of marketing: an Internet Presence a website.