Web Usability Metrics - How your business can benefit

How effective is your current Web site? Is your target market completely satisfied with the information they are receiving from your Web site? Not sure? Maybe it’s time you step into the age of Web usability.

Web usability isn’t a new thing. In fact, it has been around almost as long as Web sites have. However, the importance of Web usability first became apparent to the masses during the Browser Wars of the late 90s, mainly between Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. These were the times of unstable browsers, shaky Web-standards, frequent crashes and countless security holes. This was also the time of the great Dotcom boom where everyone wanted a Web presence with flashy bells and whistles. High-tech ‘solutions’ nobody really needed were what users supposedly wanted.For obvious reasons, customer satisfaction was at an all-time low. Enter Web usability.

The fact is that web developers and graphic designers alike do not necessarily speak the same language as the rest of the populous. We speak in code and pixels. Take this into consideration. A client comes to me looking for my company to create a Web site for a health insurance company. His demographic is men/women 45-65 years of age with low to moderate Internet exposure. Now can I properly develop a Web site that will be used by that demographic without properly testing the site with members of said demographic? It simply isn’t possible. This can be said about any business. Without proper testing by a professional Usability Specialist, you can never be sure your Web site is effectively reaching your intended market.

For more information go to: http://www.twelve14studios.com/usability.html