CoachStrategies

The Cost of Confusion: Website Usability is Important

Imagine you are on a road trip. You pull off the highway into a small town and decide to stop at the local grocery store to get a quick bite to eat. But this is no ordinary grocery store.

Once inside the store you are perplexed and disoriented. First off, there are no shopping cars or baskets: you must put everything in a wheelbarrow.

Also, nothing is in isles, just piles.

You inspect a few of the piles:

• One pile has beans, butter, beer, bacon, batteries.
• Another: more beer, eggs, hot dogs, soda, pita pockets.
• On to another: eggs, cheese, soy, tuna fish, beef, chicken, nuts.

These piles are labeled with obtuse descriptions that read like a Jeopardy board:

• Things that start with the letter ‘B’.
• Comes in packages of 6, 8, 12, 18 and 24.
• Protein.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there is a separate checkout for each pile. If you want something out of a pile, you buy it at that pile and put it in your wheelbarrow before moving to the next pile. You decide you are wasting your time here. So you leave.

What is going on here?

• Nothing is following established conventions.
• Things are not labeled in a way that makes sense to you.
• It is difficult for you to do what you need or want to do.

Why did I make up this dumb little story?

To illustrate the fact that without things like conventions, clear labels and descriptions or attention paid to ease of use, life becomes difficult—quickly.

If you encountered such a store, would you shop there? Probably not. Especially not if there was another store that was less of a hassle just a moment away.

If your website doesn’t make use of existing conventions, doesn’t label things clearly or makes it difficult for visitors to take action, they aren’t going to stick around. They’ll click away to your competitor.

So how do you make sure your site is easy to use? I’ll tell you soon. In the meantime, start thinking of possible ways in which your site may be driving visitors to your competitors.