Keeping your website simple is the most important factor for usability. Be sure to make everything about your website understandable and clear. Visitors should easily be able to access all the information that is important on your website.
Website navigation links should be clearly visible and easily understood. Your page layouts should also be simple and they must be easily scan-able. In simpler terms, your website should be organized in a logical flow. Users should be able to find all the information/answers quickly to what they are looking for.
By following these accepted website standards, your visitors can immediately find their way around your website. Website users have learned to mistrust online business. By following these conventions for your website, you are building trust, credibility and it means that you are serious about your online business.
By making your website more usable, you can increase conversion rates as you are delivering the right information at the right time. When you are selling a product on your website, give your users access to all the elements that they need to make the final decision to buy. Give your users the tools that they need to research the product without having to leave the product page. Let your visitors be in control and access the answers to the questions they may have.
What you include on your website pages will vary to what you are selling and who your visitor is.
Website usability goes beyond the visual items and site hierarchy. It is all about giving the right information at the right time. Never be afraid to tell your visitors what they should do next on the page. It should always be the main focus point. Let the visitor of your website feel in control. Give them all the information that they are interested in.
I would suggest give Clicktale a try. I’ve been using it for 2 months and it is neat to watch what your users do, I learned a lot.