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Design Own Web Page Article
What you can't avoid in any web design is testing.
Testing allows you to identify and fix problems in your web design. This
obviously imparts a greater web experience for your visitors which in-turn
results in repeat traffic.
There are many things that can go wrong with your web design. It could be
scripts not working, broken links, graphics not loading, forms not working and a
number of such problems.
So for your web page to be displayed flawlessly on any browser, you need to test
your web design until you are fully satisfied with the out come. You also need
to test it on different computers to be doubly sure.
Time for User Testing with your web design.
Computers and the programs it contains functions on delicate codes. And your web
design must be geared towards ensuring that everything is in order and
functional. Here comes the relevance of testing.
In software development, testing is a key word. Everything that gets developed
gets put in front of the testers and used in every possible way. They send back
bugs to the developers, who start fixing them, and on it goes until the deadline
hits and the product has to ship.
For websites, though, things just aren't done this way. Many websites are always
under development, and have typically only been tested by the person who
designed them, and perhaps a random friend or two. Not only are bugs and
problems not fixed, but most of them are never even found. What I'm telling you,
though, is that websites aren't immune from user testing: in fact, they can give
you the advantage you need out there.
Finding Problems with your web design.
What happens if a page displays in an ugly manner on your visitors browser? He
will simply brand your website as unprofessional and moves away to other
interesting sites. So make sure that you also equips your web design toolbox
with all the testing tools.!
It's not always easy to pin-point the problems with your web design. The only
way to know is to put your web design through repeated testing on various ways.
Let's say there was a problem with your site that was stopping many people from
looking at one section of it. You get by fine, because you designed it, but to
everyone else it's just not obvious at all. How would you know about this
problem? You might just assume that the section is less popular than the rest –
maybe you'd even remove it or rework it, not realizing that the problem lay in a
simple layout mistake you'd made.
When you test, you're testing for two things: firstly, outright bugs (things
that are broken), and secondly, usability issues. The first are easy to catch on
your own, but the second are considerably more difficult. Having designed your
website, you're unlikely to be able to see it the way a first-time visitor
would: just because you know that clicking an article author's name sends them
an email doesn't mean that anyone else is expecting it.
User Testing on a Budget.
The chances are that you're not a big company that can afford to pay lots of
people to test your site for hours on end. What you have to rely on, then, is
pretty much your family and friends. If you do it right, though, they can be the
best testers of all.
First of all, you have to sit with them while they use the site, but make it
clear that you can't say anything at all – sitting next to them explaining how
things work obviously defeats the point, as your other visitors won't have you
there, will they? You've got to make sure that their interaction is entirely
limited to using the site as a normal visitor would.
The best thing to do is write them a list of common tasks that you'd expect
users of your site to want to do – for example, if you're running a webmail
site, you could ask people to log in, send an email and copy it to your address.
You should observe how they interact with the site, and especially note anything
they have trouble with or do wrongly.
Reacting to User Tests.
Once you've watched someone try to accomplish things on your site, there's one
key question you should ask them: "how would you expect to have done that
thing?" Make a note of people's responses – if even two or three people say the
same thing, you really ought to do it that way. Consistency is one of the most
important aspects of web design: if you want your site to be easy to use, then
you have to stick to what visitors expect, not try to show them how it can be
done better.
So take other people into confidence when carrying out your web design tests.
It's always the ordinary Joes who are going to use your website more often and
how they perceive and experience your website must be given paramount importance
in your web design.
In fact, once the technical glitches are fixed you must look forward to user
feed backs for further testing of your web design. The inputs they give you can
sometimes surprise you!
Split Testing.
A powerful way of testing whether changes to your site improve it or make it
worse is to do split testing. Split testing is when you create two subtly
different versions of your site and test each one with an equal number of
people. You then gauge their reactions to see which design worked better. It can
be surprising just how effective this technique is: the most subtle of changes
can make a big difference.
Feedback Forms.
Finally, you have to remember that your site's testing doesn't end when it goes
live. Every visitor to your site is, effectively, testing it for you. Make sure
you offer them every opportunity to leave feedback, letting you know if they ran
into any issues or found anything hard to find or use.
Testing is one of the most important aspects of any web design process. Do not
ignore it. There are more fine articles on web design in this site. Browse them
and learn from them.
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