In the dictionary ‘usable’ means: that which can be used, or convenient to use. Usability is the ability to use something.
Wikipedia uses more flowery terms: Usability is a term used to denote the ease with which people can employ a particular tool or other human-made object in order to achieve a particular goal. Usability can also refer to the methods of measuring usability and the study of the principles behind an object’s perceived efficiency or elegance.
So you can see that usability is a measure of how usable a thing is, whether that thing is a website, a microwave oven, a cell phone or an automobile. Can a person use it or do they need an instruction manual (which they won’t read anyway, or at least not until they are stuck)? Can they pick up the thing and make some sense of it right away and perform the basic functionality? On my microwave I can just type in the time I want it to cook and press start. On my mom’s microwave I have to press a button to tell it that I am going to cook something and then type the time and then press start. Of course I am going to cook something, it’s a microwave, that is the basic purpose of the machine and it should be the easiest thing to do.
Needless to say I am passionate about usability, about making things easy, about the machine/computer/software/website doing the work so the people don’t have to.
So what does usability mean for a website?
Usability means that people can come to a site and do the things they need to do easily and with little or no effort. People refer to these websites as “intuitive” (my feelings about that word will be saved for another post). The site makes sense and flows. The path to the desired information is easy and clearly marked.
We’ve all been to un-usable sites. That’s when you are tearing your hair out and yelling at the computer because the links take you somewhere you don’t want to go. Just yesterday I was ordering a book online and the site forced me to go through a registration process before I could buy the book. I don’t want to be their friend, I don’t care if they remember me or not, it is unlikely now that I will return to the site because I just wanted to get a book and they wanted my life story. Now, I was able to actually order the book, and they did get my money, but my experience wasn’t very ‘user-friendly’ and I wouldn’t recommend the site to others.
If you are doing business on the internet your site better be usable to your customers. There are so many choices and so many other websites that if someone can’t use your site the competition is just a click away.
Suzanne Singman
April 15, 2009 at 1:19 am
This is a great definition of usability. I can’t tell you how many times I’m frustrated by a website that doesn’t work. I clink a link to nowhere, that loops me around to the wrong page over and over and it’s not just links that don’t work. Content that doesn’t fit on that page, and instructions that don’t make sense. I would like all website to have a usability review.
April 15, 2009 at 4:18 pm
So true! Your book buying experience is sadly the more typical case; most sites seem to be more focused on what they want rather than helping me easily get what I want. I don’t think they realize what their lack of usability is costing them. I hope the few sites that get it right realize how much of the value they are getting is due to their usability.
Can’t wait for you post on “intuitive” sites…
April 15, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Very good food for thought – especially for website designers, who rarely put themselves in the user’s shoes. I’ve also tried purchasing something online and was forced to ‘register’ before I could buy. Huh?! No thank you.
My mantra is to my clients is….make it easy for people to do business with you.
I’m looking forward to reading future posts. Maybe some tips on how to make something – website, program, a type of product – more usable.
April 16, 2009 at 5:14 pm
I like how you explain what you mean by the term usability. I, too, prefer to do business on websites that make doing business with them easy. I usually just stop doing business on websites that are too difficult for me to get what I want.
I like your blog, Suzanne.
May 29, 2009 at 6:35 am
Great post. And so true. I designed my website on my own on a budget. I’m more or less a total newbie! But always looking for ways to make it user friendly as well as finding those great resources for how to strategize and plan for the best outcome. I’ve gotten lost on websites before….makes me crazy!
looking forward to future posts!