Web Site Usability

Site Usability and Design Issues

Both search engines and humans require certain things to have a good experience at your web site.  It takes careful planning to design a web site that works for the search engines and is interesting and usable for humans at the same time. If it’s time for a new site, our team is capable of tackling any challenge.

Search engines are really very simple-minded programs that read and index content. So far, they can index html text and graphics. Pages that have html text are indexed and ultimately referenced in a catalogue of results that match the results of a query typed into a search box by a web searcher. I’m not all together sure why they index graphics but there is no relationship to getting good results on searches and the graphics that are indexed from your site that we know of.  There is however, a relationship between the text “tags” you assign to images and results on searches.

On the other hand, humans have high expectations derived from watching “TV” screens. Yes, television has warped people to expect “dancing bears” of some sort. Fortunately, we think that this has leveled off as people are coming to realize where the Internet fits into their lives: researching subjects, pastimes, doing business and buying products or services – along with a host of activities such as gaming and communicating with others.  If you studied corporate sites that have a direct interface with their consumers on the Internet, you would have noticed a huge change in their presentation over the past few years. It’s all about usability, ease of navigation – being able to get what one wants to get done in the shortest amount of time and, in many cases, a website designed to work optimally with search engines.

Here, then, are 10 Best Practices for usability and the design of search-engine friendly websites:

    1) Search engines only read html text. So far, they cannot read flash or crawl over complicated Java navigation links. While search engines do catalog graphics, they cannot relate them very well to what your site is about.2) Search engines read the html page from left to right. The most important real estate on an html page is the top left. In fact, using flash and fancy input boxes or Java navigation is absolutely fine – on the right hand side of the page if there are words on the left.

    3) Search engines like to follow plain old html text links. They take value into what the link itself says. So “click here” is probably not the best use of a static html link.  “Click here for the latest information on…” is decidedly more search-engine friendly.

    4) Every page needs its own title, meta description and meta keywords tag that is specific and individual to what that particular page is about. These “tags” can only support the html text on the page. It is the depth of content about a subject which most affects a search engine position.

    5) Create a site map page of html links, a links page, and an Articles or Press Release page that all have html text links from the home page. Search engines particularly like these simple-to-understand pages of cataloging and discussion.

    6) Do not use frames as a way to control or display information on your web pages. Search engines cannot read framed pages properly.

    7) Keep in mind that people are in a hurry to find what they are looking for. Do not hide your best offers, or any terms and conditions.

    8) Have a goal to make a sale or collect a lead from a certain percentage of visitors as a way of calculating conversion. Focus your site content on reaching that goal.

    9) Have a good, easy-to-find FAQ page that answers any and all questions that arise in a visitor’s mind en route to achieving your goal.

    10) Having a focus group use and evaluate your site is an investment in success.