Articles

People are not always just like you. Even though this is a simple logistics, business owners don't remember this when they set out to build a website. Everyone has varying needs, their visual aptitude varies, they want a particular software preferably, they have physical handicaps to consider and other things that make us all unique. Everyone is not the same and we should be sure not to be so narrow in our options that we bypass whole groups of people who might like to use our products or services.

Consider someone who is slightly aging. An older person should be given priority from a sales perspective because older people have had more time to accumulate wealth. However, with elders, their eye sight starts to diminish. This is usually not a problem because our operating systems and web browsers can just "bump up" the text size. Or, can they? If you don't account for this functionality when you build a website, important features will not be usable for those with increased text size.

The color scheme is an important part of the process when you make a website. Color blindness, in varying degrees, is quite a common problem, despite belief to the contrary. Color blindness commonly allows people to see colors, but not be able to properly distinguish between them. Try to avoid the use of colors to delineate meaning on your website, avoiding such things as 'items marked in red out of stock', while utilizing contrast.

Now consider mobility restraints. At any time, the number of people who can't operate a mouse may actually be higher than you think. Perhaps an accident restricts their coordination or agility? For several reasons, you should always consider that your users may not be using a mouse when you make a website.

It does not take much effort to create a website that works only with a keyboard. It is a good idea to try out working on various sites using a keyboard only and see how comfortable the experience is. Then compare the experience with your own website and see how does it hold up.

Be sure to consider the type of software visitors to your website might be using. There are over a thousand combinations of operating systems/browsers/preference combinations. Are you unintentionally excluding any of them? Think about a site that uses JavaScript to create links in a fancy drop-down menu. Did you know it's common in many workplaces to disable JavaScript for security reasons? What that means is that anyone browsing the web at their workplace won't be able to follow your links to the checkout page! When you create a website, try to create one that doesn't exclude users because of their software.

To recap, the three big issues are mobility, software, and sight. Cater to them, and they will cater to you. With these best practices in mind, you can confidently create a website that will maximize its intent. You'll get more visitors, more repeat visitors, and happier visitors. This is a great way to run a successful business.