The 10 Principles of Web Usability (with examples)
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 10:14 am
From education to medicine, more and more services are becoming digital every day . Demand and supply are growing, and competition between different platforms is also increasing.
For this reason, it is necessary for digital systems and platforms to have a competent and “convenient” design, both to attract the attention of users and to maintain and build loyalty. In addition, Google is beginning to highlight the usability of sites as one of the differentiating factors for defining positioning.
But… what is usability and what are the principles on which it is based?
Usability is based on UX design or User Experience, which is any thailand telegram experience that a user gets when interacting with “something”, whether it is physical or digital. Thus, this experience can be using an application, purchasing a product through a website or by phone, or accessing the bathrooms in a large shopping centre.
The study of these interactions in the digital field is not something new, since it was back in the 90s. Then, developers and designers of digital products began to realize that they had to create developments that were not only functional or pretty , but that, in order to reach the general public, the interfaces of these developments also had to be clear, intuitive and easy ; in addition to being focused on the interests, needs and skills of their users.
The most prominent of the developers who began to work under these premises was Jacob Nielsen , an interface engineer who formulated more than 30 years ago what we know as the 10 heuristic rules and which are still very much in force today. These rules are the pillars on which a good user experience is based and constitute what we know as the principles of usability.
In the following lines we will analyze each of these rules with real examples and see how they work. You can also use this summary as a checklist to verify and correct your own website. Let's get started!
Nilsen's 10 heuristic rules
Rule 1 – Visibility of system status
This is one of the most basic, and perhaps the most forgotten, rules when designing a digital product . This rule tells us that the user must always know and understand what is happening in the system (on the web, in the application, etc.).
That is, when performing some actions that require interaction, the user must obtain visual information that allows him to reduce his uncertainty and understand whether the system has an answer or not.
The interface can respond through preloaders, messages, progress bars, etc. For example, by displaying a loading bar indicating the progress status of a download…
For this reason, it is necessary for digital systems and platforms to have a competent and “convenient” design, both to attract the attention of users and to maintain and build loyalty. In addition, Google is beginning to highlight the usability of sites as one of the differentiating factors for defining positioning.
But… what is usability and what are the principles on which it is based?
Usability is based on UX design or User Experience, which is any thailand telegram experience that a user gets when interacting with “something”, whether it is physical or digital. Thus, this experience can be using an application, purchasing a product through a website or by phone, or accessing the bathrooms in a large shopping centre.
The study of these interactions in the digital field is not something new, since it was back in the 90s. Then, developers and designers of digital products began to realize that they had to create developments that were not only functional or pretty , but that, in order to reach the general public, the interfaces of these developments also had to be clear, intuitive and easy ; in addition to being focused on the interests, needs and skills of their users.
The most prominent of the developers who began to work under these premises was Jacob Nielsen , an interface engineer who formulated more than 30 years ago what we know as the 10 heuristic rules and which are still very much in force today. These rules are the pillars on which a good user experience is based and constitute what we know as the principles of usability.
In the following lines we will analyze each of these rules with real examples and see how they work. You can also use this summary as a checklist to verify and correct your own website. Let's get started!
Nilsen's 10 heuristic rules
Rule 1 – Visibility of system status
This is one of the most basic, and perhaps the most forgotten, rules when designing a digital product . This rule tells us that the user must always know and understand what is happening in the system (on the web, in the application, etc.).
That is, when performing some actions that require interaction, the user must obtain visual information that allows him to reduce his uncertainty and understand whether the system has an answer or not.
The interface can respond through preloaders, messages, progress bars, etc. For example, by displaying a loading bar indicating the progress status of a download…