What is Usability?

We were told to go research what usability and accessibility means in relations to our web designs.

The first word I looked at was usability and this led me to a man named Jakob Neilson, the guru of usability. I found that usability is a quality that is used to assess how easy user interfaces are to use. It also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.

Usability has five quality components:

Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?

Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?

Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?

Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?

Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?

So why is usability important when designing?

Well if a website is difficult to use, people are going to leave. If a website is difficult to navigate around and then they get lost, they will leave.

Usability is important as company websites will not survive if their customers cannot navigate or find what they are looking for simply. If they can’t find it then how can they buy it? Leaving a website is the easiest defence when users cannot find what they are looking for easily on the internet, so they then navigate off your design and find another website where they can access the product easily.

So usability and my web design:

Who is the user? Customers browsing my work and potential buyers/interest in my work.

What do users want? To find what they are looking for easily and as few clicks as possible.

What do the users know? By having a header stating clearly what the website is (Ria Joynes Photography) they will know what the website is about and what they can expect to find.

What can the user learn? They can find out about my past present and maybe even future work and contact details.