Professional web designer thinking includes a concept called Usability. A focus on W3C compliance helps to achieve that, as compliance will assure that the code works. A broken site isn’t Usable. Careful attention and a thoughtful approach by the coder assures a good measure of Usability, just from practical considerations.

We talk about SEO a lot, which is Search Engine Optimization, and really means that people can find your website within the limits of their attention and effort budget. But after they find you, Usability takes over from Findability. Usability determines what they do on your site, how long they’ll stay, and whether or not they’ll come back.

There are many specific focuses of Usability, which a web designer should know and which we can discuss in the future. But really the questions is “does it work for them”? “Them”, of course means the target audience for your site. Tons of research goes into finding out what “They” do and what “They” want. Without going into specifics for each group at this time, everybody wants in general the same things, with some variations in focus and emphasis. We all want the site to work, which means we can find what we want to find and do what we want to do, before we wear out, lose patience, and move on. The navigation has to be reasonably intuitive. The directions need to be not only clear but concise as well. Nobody wants to spend their valuable time figuring out how to use your site.

When designing a site, or when choosing a designer to build your site, it is good to think beyond Finding and be prepared to focus on Using. Is your project a site for teens? Focused studies indicate that they want a lot going on, with not too much effort, and would like to interact and express themselves. Are you planning a site for adults seeking information, goods, or services? The studies show that these people will dig a little deeper and stick with it a little longer, if they are confident that using your site will achieve their goals. In the case of a site more focused toward an elderly or aging group, you will need to be sure to maintain Usability in respect to possible vision or other challenges.

Fortunately for web designers, the studies are available and the techniques are well documented. Fortunately for those planning to work with a custom web designer to build their projects, your designer is up on these things and well able to meet the challenges. Your designer understands W3C compliance, SEO, and Usability. Your highly skilled and dedicated designer can make your site Findable and Usable as well.