What does usability mean to me?
If you do a search on ‘usability’ or ‘user experience’ on the web, you will get as many different constructions and practical usages of these terms as there are search results. In other words, there is no consensus on what usability is, what stage it occupies in the web design process, or what a UX/UE (user experience) professional needs in their professional toolbox.
To me, usability encompasses three concepts:
1. Information Architecture: the science of understanding the structure and organization of information;
2. User Interface: the physical manifestation of a website and its functions (search box, menu bar, web applications, etc.);
3. Accessibility: an effort to meet accessibility standards so that a site may be utilized by everyone even without vision or hearing, with limited mobility, or with the inability to distiguish colors or read low-contrast text.
Why is usability important?
Websites are virtual, online representations of a person’s ideas, artwork, or a business. They should be aesthetically pleasing with good (and appropriate) design elements, but they also need to effectively convey information.
Imagine trying to go to a grocery store where the owners spent a great deal of time making the store warm and inviting, with wooden shelving and beautiful tiled floors, but all the food was just stacked randomly onto shelves, with canned goods and bread and produce all mixed together. It would be really hard to find what you needed or accomplish your shopping, and even if you found some items you wanted, you’d likely walk out of the store empty-handed.
Websites aren’t all that much different. You want to go to a site, get the information you’re looking for, and move on to another task. So you’re going to want not only a pleasing design but the information well-organized, with easy-to-find buttons and processes that are clearly labeled and explained. And you’d want to be able to accomplish your goals even if you’re blind or using a keyboard.
