Website usability is critical
Too often I come across websites that have what appears to the designer/owner to be a slick, beautiful, or otherwise superior design that presents challenges to users. All too often usability comes a distant 2nd or 3rd to other design considerations.
Website usability is a critical determinant of how effectively you convert visitors in customers.
Put another — perhaps even more blunt — way:
Don’t scare off your visitors with designs that are difficult to use.
The web is the ficklest of consumer media in that an even slightly unhappy person can “change the channel” and go to your competition. Great/beautiful design can sometimes lure in people initially, but painful/slow/ambiguous/confusing/non-standard interactivity will quickly overtake curiosity and cause people to leave.
Off my soapbox now.
Pick a feed
