There is a purpose for every web visitor your site will have. They're looking for something. If you don't address the reason, you lose the real potential to help them see the value in your message or the value in your organization. It's easy to forget this, but we never do.
For every web site and application we create, we project users and give them groups and tasks. Let's say that 50 percent of your users are going to your site for "X," then we'll make "X" clear and easy to find. If five percent of users are looking for a telephone number, let's put it at the top or bottom of every page. We have to think like the user so we can make a site that is fully functional for everyone. For instance, if the user is lost in the experience of signing up for an account, we will lose users. We have to find the simplest and clearest way to help users through the process.
User testing isn't rocket science, but it is painstaking and factual. When necessary, we work with usability testing firms to get even more data to solve a design problem. But most of the time the errors find themselves to be obvious. Most often, errors happen when the ease of use of the creator or owner of a site supersedes the ease of the site user. It's a lesson that most young system administrators fail to recognize, but we always heed it around here. The site is for the user first and foremost.
We learned it early, and we learned it often: people don't read. Heck, we don't even read sometimes. Having clear interface saves a lot of trouble.
Interface errors exist everywhere. Every time it happens, it stops people from pressing the "buy now" button or gives them the feeling that they're lost and the experience isn't enjoyable.
Interface errors can even be detected through goal tracking. Every part of a web site can accurately assess whether the goals are being met. User analytics can tell you whether a user is getting the point as well as tell you if you're leading them to the goals you have in mind. We set up goal tracking in every web site we can, and we revisit and update sites as the goals change over time.
All in all, we can say this: we strive to make the best experience for the user first, the owner second, and the designer and programmer last. Interface is not a place for the easy path.
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