Usability is a term that generally refers to the “ease of use” and “usefulness” of a product or service. However, in the web industry, the meaning is slightly different. We will explain the meaning of usability in the world of web marketing, how to test websites, and points for improvement.
What is usability?
Usability generally refers to how easy a product or service is to use. In the web industry, it means “website operability, visibility, and credibility.”
A website with good usability makes it easy for users to get the information they want, reducing stress and increasing satisfaction.
Definition of web usability set by ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
“The degree of effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction with which a product is used by a specific user in a specific usage context to achieve a specified goal.”
The widely recognized definition of website usability is that of ISO (International Organization for Standardization)’s international standard ISO 9241-11. This standard defines website usability as described above. According to this definition, usability measures whether the following three items are met:
| item | Measurement method |
| effectiveness | Is the information on the site accurate? |
| efficiency | Can users quickly and accurately find the information they need? |
| Satisfaction level | Can users easily and quickly operate the site? |
Note that the required usability will change depending on the user, usage situation, purpose, etc., so appropriate measures are required for each web page. Be careful when considering web usability.
Jacob Nielsen’s 5 characteristics that improve web usability
A website with good usability allows users to easily obtain the information they want. To make this possible, Jacob Nielsen, a leading expert on usability research, defines Web usability as having the following five characteristics in his book*1.
| Ease of learning | Is it easy for users to learn? → It must be easy for users to learn so they can start working with it quickly. |
| efficiency | Can users use it efficiently and increase productivity? → Once learned, it must be able to be used efficiently so that users can increase productivity. |
| ease of memory | Are the site operations easy for users to remember? → It must be easy for users to remember so that they can use it immediately when they want to use it again, even if they don’t use it for a while. |
| error | Is it difficult for errors to occur, and is it easy to recover from errors that do occur? → The rate of error occurrence must be low, and even if errors occur, it must be possible to recover. Also, fatal errors must not occur.” |
| subjective satisfaction | Can users enjoy using the site and feel a sense of satisfaction? → You need to make it fun so that users can be personally satisfied and like it. |
Both the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) definition and Jacob Nielsen’s definition recognize “low stress” and “high satisfaction” as important elements for improving web usability. When considering web usability, let’s focus on these two points and verify them.
*1Book “Principles of Usability Engineering”
Why usability is attracting attention in web marketing
Users often use websites for specific purposes, so sites with poor usability quickly become unusable. On the other hand, websites with high usability can be expected to increase the number of page views and conversions. Therefore, usability cannot be ignored in web marketing.
Usability is also important for Google measures
The “General Guidelines” published by Google list the following three points to make your website more easily recognized by Google’s crawlers.
・Enable Google to discover your page
・Enabling Google to understand your page
– Make it easy for site visitors to use the page
The third of these, “making it easy for site visitors to use the page,” refers to usability. In other words, improving web usability is an essential element for SEO measures.
Also, when considering usability, don’t forget to adhere to the following basic elements.
・Make the design suitable for the device used by the user
・Eliminate broken links
・Make the page lighter
The above items are the same as those recommended by Google as specific examples of “making it easier for site visitors to use the page.” Improving website usability in this way is essential for Google’s website evaluation measures.
The need for mobile-first usability
With Google’s mobile-friendly update in 2015, websites that are easy to view and use on mobile devices such as smartphones have become a prerequisite for ranking high in search results.
In fact, in today’s age of widespread IT, you can access the Internet not only from your computer but also from a variety of other devices such as smartphones and tablets. As of 2015, smartphones overtook computers to become the top device in terms of the percentage of devices used to browse websites, and the gap is growing larger every year.
Additionally, the situations and purposes in which users use the Internet are diversifying, and traditional websites are no longer able to handle these needs. To bridge this gap, you need to build websites that are easy to use from any device.
Difference between accessibility and usability
What is accessibility?
Accessibility, which is often confused with usability, means that everyone can access and use the information they need, regardless of age, disability, or usage environment. For example, for the visually impaired, you can add a feature that allows you to adjust the font size on your site, or add a text-to-speech feature.
For accessibility quality standards, please refer to the ISO/IEC international standard “WCAG2.0” and the JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) “JIS X 8341-3”.
Difference between accessibility and usability
Accessibility aims to design websites that are easy to use for as many users as possible, including the elderly and people with disabilities. Usability aims to help users achieve a specific goal. Both are similar in that they design websites to be easy for users to use, but their priorities for implementing measures are different.
Relationship between UI/UX and usability
What UI and UX have in common is that they are conscious of user-friendliness. We will explain the relationship between UI, UX, and usability.
What is UI (user interface)?
UI is the interface between the user and the service. In terms of a website, the UI includes all parts that the user can see, such as the display screen, search window, input form, text, and buttons. UI has a huge impact on the look and usability of your website.
What is UX (user experience)?
UX refers to all the experiences users have with a product or service. In the case of a website, UX refers to what users perceive as “easy to search for the articles they want to read on the site,” “easy to understand the position of menus and buttons,” and “easy to read fonts.”
Relationship between usability and UI/UX
Usability and UI/UX are closely related. If you design your website with usability in mind, you can improve the quality of your UI/UX. In other words, websites with excellent usability often have excellent UI/UX, and can be said to be good websites that provide high user satisfaction.
Click here if you want to know more about UI/UX
Usability evaluation method | Usability testing
Usability testing is one of the methods for evaluating websites. This is a test in which users use the website you want to test, observe how they use it, and discover objective issues with the website. Rather than simply asking people to use the service, setting scenarios such as usage scenarios and purposes will help clarify more specific problems. This usability test will tell you two things:
| User psychology | Understand user interests, concerns, questions, and needs |
| Site assignment | Understand specific site issues based on user psychology |
Points to be aware of and specific examples for improving usability
・Nimble operation
・Easy to operate
・Useful and fulfilling content
・Optimization according to user’s purpose and situation
There are four points that web developers should be aware of to improve usability. I will explain each in detail.
Easy to operate
In order to achieve nimble operation, a website needs to be “light”. Avoid excessive images, videos, and animations as they will make your site heavy. Users will quickly abandon your site if they find it slow and slow to access. Especially on mobile devices (4G devices, etc.), avoid using excessive effects as the operation will be slower.
Specific example
・Images, animations, and JavaScript are placed appropriately and displayed quickly without making the user wait.
Easy to operate
It is important that the path to the desired information is easy. A website where users don’t know where to navigate is not recommended from a UX perspective, as it forces users to spend a lot of time and effort. Consider measures that will allow users to easily find the information they are looking for.
Specific example
– Has a table of contents and search window
-Easy to understand navigation
・The structure of the site is simple, with no unnecessary subdivision of content.
Convenient and fulfilling content
A useful website means “does the content meet user needs?” You need to make users realize that this website is useful for them by providing content that matches their search intent. While it is important to have sufficient content, you need to be careful as broken links and mistakes in internal links will reduce user satisfaction.
Specific example
– There is enough content that matches the search query
– No internal link errors, pages under construction, broken links, etc.
Optimization tailored to user objectives and situations
If you want to further improve usability, it is important to optimize your website according to the user’s situation and purpose. It is important to carefully anticipate the timing and purpose of users’ use of your website, and provide content with a high level of satisfaction.
Specific example
– Rather than copying similar existing sites, the UI is tailored to the user’s situation.
(In the case of a mail-order site where the purpose is to view a catalog and order products, place the product number input field in a prominent place, etc.)
SEO measures to keep in mind when improving usability
When it comes to SEO, don’t forget about search engine optimization. From a usability perspective, it is important to reduce and narrow down the amount of information on a web page, but if you reduce the amount of information significantly, search engines will think that the amount of information is small, and your ranking may drop.
Also, internal links that may seem unnecessary to users are essential for crawlers to crawl your website. If internal links are not installed, the entire website may not be evaluated correctly. However, be careful not to include too many internal links as this will reduce usability. Make sure to place internal links in the right places to serve both users and search engines.
Summary: Improving usability is also effective for SEO measures
Improving usability also applies to the “general guidelines” published by Google, so it is also effective as an SEO measure.
Especially in modern times, many users use not only computers but also smartphones and tablets, so there is a need to improve usability to suit each device.
A website with excellent usability will have high user satisfaction, and you can expect an increase in the number of page views and conversions. If you are worried about improving your website, why not try verifying its usability once? If you want to do marketing but don’t have the knowledge, time, or know-how, please feel free to contact us.