Most of us regular internet users  have a long list of  complaints and issues concerning websites, but despite the same niggles being seen time and again, few web owners seem to get it right. The fact remains that websites contain mistakes. Website errors materialize in even the most respected of companies who maintain an online presence. It happens to small and large staffed businesses, even with professional web designers. It just happens…

Navigation is usually the area that baffles most web-users.  Fortunately,  more and more web designers are learning information architecture, studying taxonomies and how to arrange and better configure a site so that the navigation system becomes one of logic.

What are the most frustrating navigation issues confronting web-users today? There are two major trends in website navigation that are causing a stir. These are “Drop down navigation” and “Fat footer-navigation”.  Drop down navigation consists of dropdown menus linking the site’s landing page with its other component pages.  Fat footers are a jumble of links on a webpage, directing users to “click” on whatever they are interested in.

Fat footers seem to be decreasing in popularity, but CSS and AJAX have made header navigation exciting by displaying category structure along with a promotional item/article. The advantage of this grouping is not only in offering more choices to the browser, but it provides an additional chance to achieve a “call to action prompt” to an item being marketed.

Another frustration users confront, is not having their needs fulfilled once the user acquires one. Consider that every web-user has a goal in mind once he reaches any given website. When the user understands where and how to begin a task, (in order to achieve a goal,) their one hope would be that the website’s content is designed and structured to guide them along the way.  It’s  incredibly irritating when a website fails to provide relevant answers to fundamental questions on how to complete a certain task. This problem is more pronounced than one might think. It’s hard to find a website these days with good, follow-through- instructions.

By not giving simple user instructions or answering questions during an important task,( such as a purchase process), it not only creates frustration but also increases abandonment rates. Simply by adding a page title, the user can identify where they’ve landed. Yet, some websites still do not include page titles. *

How you can relieve some user frustration

  • Design error messages that are pleasant. (Preferably not in red text!) Try to offer a solution to the user’s problem/error. Highlight where the error occurred to prevent the user having to guess. Offer examples for how you want form field data formatted and add user instructions wherever it makes sense.
  •  Include accepted payment methods on the product page alongside its description. Most E-commerce sites remember to include relevant payment icons in their footer. (Some sites don’t like to, because they’re not appealing.) If you do decide to use these options in your footer, please remember to indicate a simple “MC/Visa/AMEX/PayPal accepted” statement on the product page.
  • Do not EVER implement/ask invasive questions as requirement to completing a form without first disclosing why it is necessary information.
  • Make it obvious from the start if your company conducts business locally or internationally. If you provide a cost-free telephone number for customer services or call-in orders, place it prominently on your header as well as in your footer. If call hours are specific, place business hours and/or your company’s time zone next to the phone number.
  • Use logic to position social media icons for plug-ins that share information or link to Twitter or Facebook or any other social network.

Emotional web design is usually referred to as a good method to achieve higher conversion rates. Unfortunately, unwanted kinds of emotions frequently arise. These cover everything from being angry to worried and tense to upset.

A basic action, like using a tool that stops performing or doesn’t work as expected, causes users distress. Occasionally there are back-end issues that suddenly go out of control. Every so often a poorly worded product description creates unwanted  customer complaints, because the customer didn’t understand the terms and conditions.

There are two important things you should keep in mind. Firstly, you need to predict/anticipate your user’s questions and secondly, try to answer these questions as soon, and as clear as possible.

Once you start this procedure, you’ll see there are countless means to integrate logic into your whole web-design.