Usability
Conversion and UX
Conversion and UX
Usability is how easily someone achieves what they came for on your site or app: quickly, without errors and without having to think about it.
It is judged on five established points: can someone do it straight away (learnability), does it go smoothly (efficiency), do they remember it later (memorability), do few things go wrong and is recovery easy (errors), and is it pleasant (satisfaction).
Testing can be small and still sharp. Five people talking through a task — 'find the price and request a call' — usually surface most of the friction. Watch where they hesitate, go back or expect something else.
Usability and accessibility overlap: sufficient contrast, keyboard operation, clear labels and error messages help everyone, not only people with an impairment.
Tip
Have people who don't already know the site try a task, and base your conclusions on that. They will run into exactly the things you, knowing everything already, would miss.
Related terms
- UXUX is the experience of using your site or app: how quickly someone finds what they need and how much effort it takes to finish something.
- UIThe UI (user interface) is the visible, touchable layer of a site or app: buttons, fields, menus, colours, type and icons someone acts through.
- WCAGWCAG are the international guidelines for digital accessibility. Level AA is the standard most legislation refers to.
- CROCRO is conversion rate optimisation: getting more out of the traffic you already have through research and experiments.