Usability

Select a blog category

Australia’s first AAA Accessible website

Mike Hall | 13/01/2010

Wiliam have recently redeveloped and launched the new Guide Dogs NSW website, Australia’s first AAA accessible website.

tags: Information Architecture , Usability

The use of colour online

Mike Hall | 28/10/2009

The importance of the use of colour on the web is often overlooked. Colour plays a vital role in conveying both information and feeling. The colours used in a website design can either make or break a website design.

tags: Web Design , Web Marketing , User Experience , Usability

Content Translation: Human vs. Online

Emily Berry | 22/09/2009

Whether your content is being translated into Chinese, Arabic or French you need to make sure – are you sending the right message?

tags: Common Sense , Issues , Usability

Producing Effective Menus

Mike Hall | 21/09/2009

When designing a website it is important to try to provide as much visual support and context as possible to help orient users and to minimize the disruptive effects of jumping from one place to another whilst trying to find something.

tags: Web Design , SEO , Usability , Tips & Tricks

Where Does Your Website Lead Users?

Daniel Wright | 14/09/2009

It’s a little understood fact but every website leads its users somewhere. Unfortunately because of this lack of understanding, many websites accidentally lead users to search for another website.

tags: Web Design , Usability , Information Architecture

Links Scents

Mike Hall | 8/09/2009

When trying to accomplish their site goals, users tend to follow a "scent" and when they lose the scent, they fall into unpredictable behaviours, such as randomly clicking on links or hitting the back button.

tags: Web Design , Usability , User Testing

Get To Know Your Competitors, They Could Be Your Best Friends

James Hinton | 20/08/2009

When I chat to people about getting a new site built, one of the first questions I ask is: who are your competitors and what are they doing online?

tags: Business , Usability , Web Strategy , Tips & Tricks

6 Key Points For Successful User Testing

James Hinton | 18/08/2009

One of the best ways to understand how your site is being used is through user testing. There is no better way to see how your site is performing and how people are actually using it than to study real users. Below are some key points to ensuring you get the most out of testing your site.

tags: Usability , User Testing

Free Axure Design Patterns

Roslyn Zolandor | 18/08/2009

The main tool we use within our user experience (UX) team is an application called Axure. It allows us to create wireframes, prototypes and specifications for our clients before we start the design and development stages. Here are 4 great Axure design patterns for you to download for free.

tags: Web Design , Usability , Information Architecture , Tips & Tricks

Good Design & Usability Shouldn’t Stop At The Home Page

Roslyn Zolandor | 17/08/2009

Your website is on a job interview to first time visitors. Like a job interview where you will be judged firstly on your appearance than on your interaction the same goes for your website.

tags: Usability , Web Design

Identifying Your Customers and Their Needs

Emily Berry | 5/08/2009

Too often when our clients come to us we hear about disagreements between departments about who thinks what should be on your new website. While the needs of the different departments within your business should be carefully considered, don’t forget to pay attention to the most important and valuable part of your online audience - your customers.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Usability

Building & Marketing Websites to Women

Alex Wilson | 17/07/2009

Women control over 80% of the household spend - I hope you have factored this in to your web development and online marketing strategy.

tags: Online Marketing , Usability , Online Trends

Content Managed Flash

Adam Tedeschi | 13/07/2009

Flash technology has gone through many stages of popularity during its relatively short life.

tags: Usability , Web Development , Flash Animation

You Can’t Use What You Can’t Find – The Importance of Good Navigation Design

Eddie Gallagher | 3/07/2009

Well constructed, easy to use navigation is of the utmost importance when establishing integrity, authority, and trust in your website .Navigation conveys the scope and character of what your site contains and offers, it gives your site clarity and helps set user expectations early on. To my eyes (I’m a UI designer), good navigation design represents the absolute corner stone of good web design, if you don’t get it right, it doesn’t matter how pretty or how much cutting edge technology it harnesses, your site will ultimately fail.

tags: Web Design , Usability

Not Always the Homepage

Benjamin Christie | 21/05/2009

During a pitch meeting last week, the client who we were pitching for was shocked that not everyone who arrives to their websites comes via the homepage.

tags: Web Design , Search , Usability

Online Price Comparison

Emily Berry | 1/04/2009

With businesses, individuals and families beginning to feel the pinch of the economic downturn, we are finding it increasingly important to look for the best possible deals and prices. Whether it is a few dollars saving on the weekly grocery bill or a few hundred dollars on a new washing machine – every dollar counts. We also want to buy from a retailer who is reputable and who will be around long after the purchase.

tags: Usability , Online Marketing , e-commerce , Sales

Five Critical Steps to Keeping Your Business Open in a Bad Economy

Daniel Nelson | 4/02/2009

No matter which industry you’re in you are probably feeling the effects of the current economic downturn. If the experts are correct then the worse is yet to come and not all business will survive. If you want to protect your online business, here are five critical areas to address as quickly as possible.

tags: Business , Web Marketing , Usability , Online Marketing , Web Strategy

Benefits of Live Support

Gillian Lindsay | 2/02/2009

The Internet grows each day, bringing a continual stream of new competitors to the market. With so many available options, you will need to provide your potential customers with as many reasons to choose your e-commerce site as possible. The level of customer service you offer can make the difference between soaring sales or users that run to your competition.

tags: e-commerce , Usability , Web Strategy , Business

How Should Outbound Links Function

Gillian Lindsay | 20/01/2009

There’s a good chance your website contains at least one outbound link. If so, you have probably debated whether or not this link should open in a new browser window. There are several logical reasons why this may seem like a good option

tags: Usability , Website Accessibility , Web Design , Web Development

Five Tips for Usability in Your Checkout Process

Roslyn Zolandor | 24/12/2008

You may think you’re home free once a user clicks on the button to begin the checkout process. Too often, usability issues in your final process may cause potential buyers to back out of the deal. Here are five tips to help ensure your users will complete the sale successfully...

tags: e-commerce , Usability , Web Design , Business

Ten Things Every E-commerce Site Needs

Benjamin Christie | 24/12/2008

Ten things that all e-commerce sites need to look for to make selling the goods on offered as easy as possible.

tags: e-commerce , Business , Web Design , Usability

Planning Your Website’s Display Resolution

Hamish Stead | 22/12/2008

800X600 has been the safe standard for many years. Statistics now show almost all users with resolutions of 1024X768 or higher. Some statistics even show a majority of users at this resolution as early as January, 2004. But does this trend automatically mean you should develop your site in 1024X768?

tags: Web Design , Usability , Online Trends , Technology

Confirm Your Site’s Availability with a Site Monitoring Service

Gillian Lindsay | 17/12/2008

You’ve invested time, money and numerous other resources to ensure your website is profitable. Have you taken all the necessary steps to protect your investment?

tags: Technology , Web Strategy , Usability

The Importance of User Testing

Patrick Wong | 30/10/2008

In most cases you will spend a great deal of time testing various technical aspects of your site before it is available to the public. You will ensure the navigation functions, forms submit correctly, and the site behaves correctly on all browsers. While this is an excellent start, this approach neglects a critical variable: your users. Do you know the types of users your site attracts? If so, do you understand how these users expect to interact with your site?

tags: Web Development , Web Design , Usability

Accessibility and Your Website

Mike Hall | 8/10/2008

Accessibility addresses the ways people with disabilities interact with your website, whether visually, physically, or mentally impaired, all users should be able to navigate, understand and interact with your site. Here are some compelling reasons why your website should be meet accessibility standards.

tags: Website Accessibility , Usability , Web Design , Web Strategy

User Centered Design and Your Website

Mike Hall | 7/10/2008

Are you familiar with User Centered Design? If not, the concept is nearly as straight forward as it sounds. A User Centered Design method strives to involve the users in the development of a product as early and as often as possible. The goal is to produce something highly usable, ensuring a good user experience.

tags: Online Trends , Web Design , Usability

Empowering Visually Impaired Users Online

Mike Hall | 1/10/2008

Many of us take for granted the ability to navigate websites online, but have you ever wondered how a vision impaired person experiences the internet?

tags: Web Design , Usability , Website Accessibility

Refreshing Your Website Design

| 17/09/2008

Have you reviewed your web site lately? If your site is at least a year old you may want to consider updating the design of your site. There are several reasons to consider an update:

tags: Business , Web Design , Web Development , CSS , Usability

Online Marketing for Christmas

| 16/09/2008

Online sales during the Christmas season have increased significantly from year to year. Unfortunately, so have the number of competitors. Have you developed a plan to stand out from the crowd? If not, now is the perfect time to design and implement your online strategy.

tags: SEO , Usability , Online Marketing , CRM , Business

Decluttering Your Website – When Having it All is Too Much.

| 2/07/2008

One of the biggest problems customers can face with designing their website is the desire to have it all. From LinkedIn and Facebook profiles to Twitter updates and photo streams, employee blogs and charity microsites. The result is sometimes a cluttered jumble that doesn’t resonate with the online audience – in fact, it can drive them – and their business - away.

tags: Web 2.0 , Web Design , Technology , Usability

Conversion Rate Optimization – How to increase Conversion Rate, Sales & Leads

David Cheng | 20/06/2008

A recent meeting with Google Australia has revealed vital insights into the capabilities of Google Adwords in analysis and optimization. Websites for all businesses should be treated as an investment. Like any investment, its continuous maintenance & evaluation can help it grow and mature; with the ultimate aim to achieve 100% conversion rate.

tags: SEO , Web Development , Web Development , Web Design , Usability , Business

Google AdWords: Quality vs Big Wallet

Patrick Wong | 19/06/2008

Ever wondered how Google AdWords works out which position your ads will get and how much CPC you pay for that position? Is it the one with the biggest wallet that comes first? In some circumstances you can pay less than the competitors for a keyword and still have your ad rank higher in paid search. See this happens below.

tags: SEO , SEM , Usability , Search , Search

Increasing pages per visit

| 3/06/2008

What is the current goal of your website? For some, it is to increase the conversion rate. For websites that sell advertising on a CPM (Click Per Thousand) basis, the goal is to increase the number of impressions per user.

tags: Search Engine Optimisation Sydney , Usability , Issues

Getting the word out; SEO for PDF Files

| 16/05/2008

A great way to add value to your customer’s visits to your website is to offer content in the form of .PDF files. The acronym stands for “Portable Document Format” and represents an Adobe PostScript file.

tags: SEO , Usability

Google Mini Search

| 23/04/2008

Search is important on the Internet, shouldn’t it be important on your website or intranet? The Google Mini has been deployed on a wide range of websites built by Wiliam providing the best search in the world.

tags: Search , Usability , Technology