Chapter 6. User-centric design

 

In this chapter

Throughout the first five chapters of this book, I’ve mentioned the importance of usability. Whether I’ve been discussing the pillars of web design in chapter 1 (“The secret of a successful website”) or creating site structures in chapter 5 (“Creating killer content”), the emphasis has been on supporting users through user testing.

Beyond design testing in chapter 4 (“Differences over design”), I haven’t discussed the practicalities of how to perform user testing. In this chapter, I will. I’ll present a strong business case for usability testing and dispel the myths that it’s time-consuming and expensive. I’ll also provide practical tips for running a user test session and how to interpret the results. Finally, we’ll look at common usability mistakes and how best to avoid them.

The profit and loss of usability

Bargain-basement usability

Run an effective test session

Fix the problems

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