How to create a user-friendly page?

What makes a user-friendly website?

As we mentioned earlier, a user-friendly page leaves a positive impression on its visitors. But what exactly does this mean? In short, user-friendly website is above all:

easy to use, simple to navigate,

intuitive in its design, easy to understand,

fast-loading,

aesthetically pleasing, well-designed,

containing valuable, useful content,

illustrated with graphics, visually engaging,

standing out from the competition and encouraging repeat visits.

Let’s now discuss the key elements that would make our website “user-friendly”.

Clarity and simplicity

The website makes it easy to find the information users are looking for, with simple navigation and no unnecessary elements that could clutter the page. We need to make it easy for users to find what they're looking for without having to click through multiple pages.

Responsive design (cross-device compatibility)

Our website must adapt to different devices, whether it's a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Page loading speed

The page should load as quickly as possible. Images should be optimized to avoid slowing down the loading time. Users are impatient and will quickly leave a page that takes too long to load. More than half of internet users return to search results after just 3 seconds if a page takes too long to load.

➡️ Read more: Page loading speed - how to improve it?

User Experience

User experience when using the website. It should be as good as possible, as it's for the users that we create content and design websites. This experience is also evaluated by the Google Page Experience algorithm.

Headings, metadata, and content

Our headings must be eye-catching and stand out, while also accurately reflecting the content. Metadata - meta titles and meta descriptions - as well as headings should include keywords that we are targeting. Metadata should also concisely describe the page content and encourage clicks. The content itself should be valuable, on-topic, unique, and supported by the keywords that users search for.

Call to Action

We should incorporate a few well-placed Call to Action elements to guide users towards desired actions. It's essential to avoid overwhelming users with too many CTAs. Effective CTAs can significantly boost conversions and overall user engagement.

Website’s colours

Let's face it - most people are visual learners. They remember content and impressions through sight, and the visual aspect plays a huge role in their perception. We can create great content, high-quality links, and amazing headlines, but what good is it if the website looks unattractive? It's important to design the site properly, considering the impact of colors on user emotions and their suitability for the industry we operate in.

Forms and interactive elements

If our website contains forms, documents, and other elements that users need to fill out, they should be designed to be user-friendly. Additionally, if they involve complex issues and require assistance, we should provide step-by-step instructions. Furthermore, we must ensure the security of users' data.

Friendly-looking URLs

User-friendly URLs are also a component of a user-friendly page. They should have a clean appearance, avoid special characters, and have a hierarchical structure. This is important for both users and search engines.

Website accessibility

Our website should be easily accessible to all internet users, regardless of the tools they use or their level of computer skills.

Helpful metrics and algorithms for creating user-friendly pages

Bounce rate. This metric measures the percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate suggests that visitors are not finding what they are looking for or that the website is not engaging enough. Search engines use bounce rate as a ranking factor.

Dwell time. This is the amount of time a user spends on a page after clicking on a search result. A longer dwell time generally indicates that the content is valuable and relevant to the user's search query. It's another ranking factor for search engines.

Google Mobile-First Index. This is a Google algorithm update that prioritizes the mobile-friendly version of a website when ranking search results.

E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and YMYL (Your Money Your Life). These are Google guidelines that evaluate the quality and reliability of content, especially for topics that could significantly impact a user's life, such as health, finances, or safety.

Core Web Vitals. These are a set of metrics that quantify aspects of the user experience on the web. They measure page load speed, interactivity, and visual stability.

Panda and Penguin. These are former Google algorithm updates that focused on penalizing low-quality content and spammy backlinks, respectively. While these updates are no longer active in their original form, their underlying principles are still relevant.

In summary: a user-friendly page is a great website that users will want to return to in the future. It's friendly, high-quality, and inviting. It's worth looking into the guidelines for building such pages and providing users with the best possible experience.

➡️ Read also: Above the fold, Below the fold & their meaning to a website