The website must be user-friendly to improve behavioral factors. Regular audits can help identify if your site has any problems in this area.
A usability audit involves several steps:
If translated literally, usability means “suitability for use.” The term itself already implies value. If the usability indicator is low, the website is inconvenient, and users achieve their goals less often than they could. This leads to three serious consequences:
Thus, working on usability is not just about caring for users. It is a purposeful improvement of key site qualities: the ability to rank in search and help visitors achieve goals important to the site owner.
There are several degrees of priority indicators according to which you should check your site during a usability audit.
According to the advertising network, the share of mobile traffic in the internet space has reached 58%. Therefore, optimizing the site for viewing on smartphones is not just useful but necessary.
Internet access technologies are advancing, but the fact remains: only some parts of the world have access to 4G, not to mention 5G. Therefore, if a site takes longer than 1-2 seconds to load with good internet access, it’s already a bad indicator that turns away many potential visitors. People don’t like to wait: if your site loads slowly, they may leave to find another with similar content and functionality.
This point is especially important if your site hosts advertisements, such as banners through RTB networks. Understandably, any banner takes up some useful part of the screen – this is normal. However, it’s certainly not normal if it causes the layout to shift or, for example, moves the “Close” button off the screen. The same applies not only to banners but also to interactive elements – such as a popup form for a callback service or an online consultant.
This refers to forms and buttons like “Buy” / “Order” and other similar elements of the site. If they don’t work, the goal to which you should lead the user is technically unachievable. Ideally, one of the CTA elements should always be visible on the screen. For example, if a “Leave a Request” button follows the user on the side of the page.
Such information includes descriptions, photos or videos, cost, options for configurations/tariffs. Don’t assume that photos and videos are only needed for products and not necessary for services. For example, if it’s a page about apartment moving, it’s important to show the fleet and rigging equipment.
From the heading visible on the first screen, the user should understand in 1-2 seconds what the page will be about. Remember that a user can land on any page via a direct link, for example, from saved bookmarks. They should easily remember what the page is about and why they visited it.
A dedicated section where phone numbers, messengers, and email are listed is the bare minimum. If there is a possibility to purchase products offline, it is critical to have a map indicating store locations. If users can’t quickly understand how to contact you with questions, they are likely to be lost to you. Ideally, basic contacts and links to social networks should be presented in the website header so they are always visible.
Unless you are a brand at the level of Amazon, it is critical for users to understand that they are on the site of a trustworthy company. Office address, names of top managers, certificates and awards, brief history, etc. – the more substantial information available, the better.
What specific service sections a particular site needs depends on its specifics. For example, an auto parts online store would need all the mentioned sections.
Ideally, key information should be available in text format (so it can be easily copied, saved, or forwarded) and illustrated with media content – photos, videos, diagrams.
Filters familiar to most users – by price, characteristics, popularity – are important.
For example, if the website format implies that a manager will call the user after filling out an application, this should be stated after its completion. Ideally, you should be able to at least roughly orient the user about the time of the call: for instance, “we will call you back within 15 minutes.”
Check each field for its necessity. For example, there is no need to ask the user to specify their full name if you will be calling them back. It is sufficient to leave a “Name” field where one can indicate a first name or first name and patronymic.
Check if you have a “breadcrumbs” menu at the top of the page, as well as a site search option and a “Back to Top” button on long pages. A clickable logo in the header leading to the homepage and a link to the site map in the footer would be useful. Work on the 404 error pages — add the possibility to return to the homepage and/or use the site search. Place icons with links to the company’s social networks in the footer or header.
Add one-click registration, for example, through social networks. Work on the logical placement of elements in accordance with perception patterns — from left to right/top to bottom. Add highlighting of clickable elements and links, as well as changing the cursor appearance when hovering over them. If you have a map of branches, add a button to select a point on the map from a list or by clicking.
A standard combination of Google Analytics can help conduct an audit.
Reports on visits from different devices will help you understand which gadgets, browsers, and screens the site is least optimized for. These same reports will help you understand the total traffic from such devices and choose priorities accordingly. For instance, if Safari browser users on iPhones leave the site more often than others, it is possible that the site is not displaying correctly in this browser. This should be checked and the error corrected if found.
Heatmaps show how users interact with content: how they fill out forms, where they click, and how far they scroll down the pages. For example, you might see that many users perceive an underlined text header as a link and try to click on it to go to a detailed section. It is quite possible that this can be used – indeed, create such a page with an easy way to reach form filling or another target action.
Audience composition reports will tell you which users you should mainly focus on. For example, if the site has many visitors aged 45 and older, it might be wise to ensure a well-readable and sufficiently large font.
There are also many paid services that provide not only data for analysis but also partially ready-made conclusions – made by machines, other users, or experts. In addition, the digital market offers a separate usability analysis service where a hired expert analyst goes through the entire checklist, provides conclusions and recommendations.
An audit itself is nothing more than gathering information. To benefit from it, you need to go through a fairly long cycle:
The audit itself is merely a collection of information. To benefit from it, you need to go through a fairly lengthy cycle:
Addressing usability issues is a lengthy process. That’s why experienced SEO specialists analyze their sites regularly, not just when “red flags” appear. Typically, this is done once a quarter or semi-annually. Such an approach helps to regularly identify errors and correct them before they accumulate into a critical mass that could significantly impact the site’s performance.