What is the purpose of web usability? Simply put, it’s to make websites easier to use. Good usability makes the site more intuitive to the end user. This should be at the core of any website design.
Apple understands usability better than most companies. If you review Apple’s product catalog you will find one thread of consistency – simplicity. Take a look at Apple’s iPod, their core colors are black and white, no obtrusive buttons or screws. One would wonder how it was even manufactured, seems as though the iPod was born that way. You are left with a colorful lcd screen and compass-style navigation wheel which you can control with one hand. Apple’s method to their madness is not to charge for what you don’t have but give you what you paid for – a simple way to navigate and listen to your music collection.
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The main challenge between designer and client when the topic of usability comes up is education. There is a lot to consider when the melding of minds between design and client occurs – project requirements, likes and dislikes, site goals, conversions, call to actions, etc. All this must be accomplished while still maintaining the integrity of good design and ease of use. This is the real challenge, it’s not like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, but it’s pretty darn close. Here is how designers are separated from the pack. Give them what they want while still keeping people coming back.
Eric Burke, stuffthathappens.com, created a satiric image that I feel really illustrates this concept of “less is more” approach.
Consider the model that Apple and Google have taken. Create simple products so you don’t overwhelm your target audience. Or do as most sites do, add options and features that no one looks at so the only percentage that goes up is your bounce rate.
