Web Usability Report

Layout and copywriting

is every effort made to ensure that important information is on the home page and internal linking and copy writing complement each other. Can users find the information they are looking for quickly and is the copy writing informative and concise? The number of websites that have web pages that end in a dead end with no linking or navigation back. This is very poor web design.

Testing the functionality of the website

do forms work, do fields return proper error messages when wrong entries are made, is every effort made to ensure database integrity. Quite amazingly, many websites have errors in functionality and this is a result of poor testing and code that has not been debugged. The internet user should not be the one debugging your website and even on government, gateway banking and local library sites there are errors because of a failure to conduct usability testing.

Testing website code

How good is the website code and what happens to the speed of page loading when multiple users access the website. Does your web design code meet the w3 standards for web design?

Search engines

can your website be found on search engines and is the website properly coded with the appropriate metatags, title tags, keywords and programmed to be search engine friendly. Most websites fail to be indexed properly by google and that is a loss of potential business and internet exposure.

Look

does your website compliment the image of your business. Are web friendly colours used? What does your website look like in different browsers, other than internet explorer and is it still functional in different browsers?

Copy writing

is the website style consistent with the target audience and written for the internet and are words chosen that users would use to find your product or service. Does your website bore potential visitors? Is your website simply a reproduced brochure?

Usability

how long does it take for your webpages to load on slow internet connections? Is this time reasonable? How long do forms take to complete and is all information necessary? Are instructions clear and important information like contact details, delivery costs, terms and conditions, etc easily accessible and is copy writing effective in leading users to the right information or do users struggle to find important information on your website? Do all pdf files have a size and estimated download time? Are links to pdf reader, and other plug ins put in the appropriate areas and are instructions for downloading and using these applications clear.

Cost

how much is website hosting costing your business and is it reliable. What is the uptime on the servers that run your website and what is the server hardware specifications. Is there a cheaper and better alternative? Can graphics be modified and set to a lower resolution to reduce the costs of bandwidth? Are all images in website appropriate and which images can be reduced or removed to minimize costs of data traffic?

Integration with business functions

do you keep your website up to date and is the website part of your business strategy. How long does it take for staff to respond to an email enquiry? How long does it take to process delivery of sold items and is the website adding value to your business or has it become a chore to maintain and manage.

Security

who has access to email from the website and are they properly trained to minimize the risk of computer virus infection and to answer website enquiries appropriately. If you have a website with a content management system, are users logged and are changes logged. Who has authority to make changes to the website and what is the approval process to ensure that changes are in line with company policy, vision and strategic goals? Are website changes reviewed for accuracy and overall impact on the rest of the website?