Does this blog fail usability?

Website usability is a hot topic these days. Blog usability is also a hot topic and maybe even hotter since so many people are using blogs for business purposes.

Generally, the term usability refers to how easily one can navigate around a given website and find what they are looking for.

It also refers to a few other things that are less about function or form, but more about content. Nothing drives me nuts more than going to blog that has no direction, no focus and doesn’t immediately let me know what it’s all about.

In most cases, this can make it tough for new readers to understand the site and develop trust with it’s author(s). Oh, wait a minute? This sounds like my site! The tag line around here these days is “things I am inspired to blog about”.

Actually, I aim to develop a readership of people who arrived on the site because they are looking for something in one of my categories.

Well defined categories and a half decent about page (one of the most visited pages in my blog), can help eliminate this problem. Here are some other things that I’ve learned which will help increase your blog (or website’s usability).

1. Work hard to say more, with less words.
2. Use bold and bullets because people don’t read, they skim and scan.
3. Use video whenever possible. People want infotainment – so give it to them with video.
4. Don’t force users to open your links in new windows or tabs to keep them on your site. If they don’t like you or your content, they will leave anyway.
5. Mix up your sentence structure and length.

For a few more ideas check out ne of the best posts on this subject from Performancing Ads. It was written a few years ago and it still is just as accurate today.

You can read it here.

Do you have any comments or suggestions of your own that you’d like to add?

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