How usable is your homepage?

 

Simply observing how users interact with a website is always an enlightening exercise. You’ll be surprised at how much information you can gather in a short space of time.

Is it written in plain English?

You can check how easy it is for users to understand your content by pasting it into readability-score.com.

Do you use any form of analytics?

It’s difficult to know which parts of the page are the most popular without supporting your assumptions with data.

Does it work well on mobile devices?

Google recently discovered that 38% of people in the UK prefer to use their smartphones, rather than a desktop or tablet, to find local information.

Does it make the most of larger screens?

It’s likely that at least a third of all visitors will be using wide screens displays. It’s important to make sure that your website adapts properly to screens of all widths.

Is it accessible?

Your homepage should be designed in a way that makes it simple for people with disabilities to access content and complete tasks.

Are there clear calls to action?

It’s important to keep these consistent in style, to allow users to quickly scan the page and find their way through to each next step.

Is the navigation easy to use on desktop and mobile?

The navigation should contain items, labelled in an obvious way, that represent the most important areas of the website.

Are there relevant images which improve the overall look and feel?

Using appropriate imagery can help to draw attention to the most important parts of the page. It also creates a better overall feel in general.

Is the most important content near the top?

Users will scroll down the page, but they do expect the most important aspects to be the first thing they see.

Are there clear categories on the page itself?

Users tend to initially scan a page and look for certain keywords which relate to the task at hand.

Are all links obvious?

It helps to reserve a colour (usually blue) for all links across the whole website.

Is there a clear search box?

Up to two-thirds of your visitors will try and find what they’re looking for by using a search box.

Is all text easily readable?

Fonts should be clear and legible on desktop and mobile devices.