Matt Bailey of SiteLogic Marketing advises companies to always conduct a “Mom Test” to get a true usability answer. Have your mother test your site to see if she can navigate around it and take action. If she has problems, chances are that your users will also.

In the above video, Matt says:

“Online, people need to have a clear sense of purpose of where to go and what to do.”

Designers should build a site that looks nice, but they also need to be aware of their limitations on the Web. An online companies’ primary objective is for the user to be able to take action. They do not want the user to be distracted by an experimental design or even worse, prevented from taking action.

Another factor that could damage customer usability is when the website is designed from an organizational standpoint and not for your target market. As we all know, everyone has their own method of organization and the one you have chosen for your site might not match that of your target market.

In summary, think about your end user when you plan the design of your website. Don’t forget to conduct your “Mom Test” and make any changes necessary. Also given the current state of the economy, now is an excellent time to make your site better. It is inexpensive and the return will be substantial and fast.

Video Length: 50 sec.