We are taught “don’t judge a book by its cover” yet it is human nature to decide within moments whether we like something or not. Whether it is a person you have just met or a new restaurant – often we do judge a book by its cover.

The same goes for your representation in the online space - your website.  As soon as a new visitor lands on your website, they will decide whether they like it or not based on what they see. Perhaps they will stay on your website for a while in the hope of finding the content they are looking for, but if they don’t find it quickly, they’re bound to look elsewhere. For this reason, it is very important to think about what visitors would like to gain or take away from your website.

Nando’s website is a good example of a pretty but impractical website. Nando’s is a fast-food restaurant, so one can assume that the main reason why someone would visit the Nando’s site is to look at their online menu. Not only does Nando’s not have a menu listed on the site, but the website is built in flash and the navigation is atrocious. So really, other than being visually attractive, there is not much use for the website.

We have previously covered usability and design factors that influence user perception in “How important is your website’s target audience?” and Web development pitfalls to avoid Part One and Part Two.

For actual examples of what not to do, here is the world’s worst designed website and a list of 20 very badly designed websites.

There is a definite link between website usability and customer satisfaction, especially for e-commerce websites. When customer satisfaction converts to customer loyalty, one can assume there is going to be a long-term relationship between the business and customer, providing the level of service stays the same. So if this is true, have you ever considered to what extent usability influences customer loyalty?

Essentially satisfaction and ease-of-use will ensure repeat customers for your website and positive word-of-mouth. Usability can be explained as the quality of a user’s experience when interacting with a website. Your website’s usability score can be measured through the System Usability Scale (SUS), a questionnaire that determines how well an interface serves its users. The questionnaire comprises 10 questions and yields a score in the range of 0 – 100.   According to Wikipedia the measurement of usability focuses on:

- Effectiveness: Can users successfully achieve their objectives?
- Efficiency: How much effort is expended in achieving those objectives?
- Satisfaction: Was the experience satisfactory?

Positive word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools and it is generated based on your customer’s brand experience. The customer experience can either be in-store, face-to-face, over the telephone or on your website. Since there are so many customer-brand touch points it is important to cover all your bases.

As part of your web strategy a goal can be to increase leads and sales through your website but, that being said, it is important to not focus purely on making the sale. Repeat customers contribute to the success of many businesses therefore it is important to attract visitors to your website, provide them with what they are looking for quickly and easily and make the experience memorable so that they will come back and tell others about their experience.

Some usability factors that can influence a user’s experience include:

- Page load time
- The website’s overall look and feel
- Easy navigation
- Informative content

Read more in Why You Should Invest in Good Development.

According to eMarketer.com mobile apps are set to do better than social apps in 2010 with the iPhone being the platform of choice followed by Android. I find mobile apps especially useful when travelling and, keeping this in mind, I’ve decided to look at a few apps that might be useful to visitors to South Africa during the FIFA World Cup.

ShoZu

Share content easily with Shozu to a wide variety of social websites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Twitpic to name a few. This app is available for many different types of handsets, check here if the app is compatible with your phone.

A virtual cellar: Drync Wine

Whether you are a wine newbie or connoisseur Drync Wine for the iPhone is the perfect wine partner. Drync acts like a virtual cellar with reviews and ratings for over 800 000 wines. With integrated Twitter access, you can easily share your wines of choice with your followers. Buy Drync from iTunes for $3.99 and add all your favourite wines to your virtual cellar list. This is the perfect app for foreign visitors who want to try out the Western Cape’s famous wine routes.

Pano

This app for iPhone allows you to take “beautiful, seamless panoramic pictures” straight from your phone. Panoramic photos are created by taking multiple shots and then stitching them together in the app. No additional software is required. Pretty cool!

fring

Perfect for staying in touch with family and friends while you’re away, fring is an instant messenger mobile app. Social networks that work through fring include Skype, Google Talk, Twitter, Yahoo, AIM and MSN Messenger. You can also use fring to make affordable local and international calls via Skype.

amAze GPS

amAze GPS offer users turn-by-turn navigation and the latest, most detailed maps. Additional features include a 3D bird’s eye view over detailed satellite imagery in major cities. The app is available on a number of handsets and subscriptions are either $3.99 on a monthly basis or $33.99 per year.

Any favourite apps you would like to share?