One crucial thing to consider when you talk about web design is learnability. There is a misconception that designing a website that enables users to navigate can be tricky as it limits the designs you can do.

However, it is the total opposite. Web design learnability opens many opportunities to express your creativity and versatility. You only have to have a deeper understanding of web design learnability.

What is web design learnability?

Learnability means how easy a person can use or learn to use a specific product, in this case, a website. It is a key feature in web design because it determines how website visitors can easily navigate through a particular website.

Why is learnability important in web design?

A website with a user-friendly interface will encourage more people to visit it. Whether the objective of your website is for SEO, commercial, or informational purpose, a learnable web design can help you accomplish your goal much faster.

Another reason why learnability is essential is it reduces the need for customers or users to contact you for support whenever they access your website. Think of all the inconvenience that you and your clients would have to go through simply because they can’t navigate your website.

Learnability is also essential for retention. Many people have used websites, whether they are tech-savvy or not. An interface that is difficult to use will drive away potential clients who are not patient enough to take more time to understand the design on your website.

Tips on how to create learnable web design

Determining the web design’s learnability can be difficult because it is not easily quantifiable. In addition, different people with different levels of tech skills have varying opinions on whether a website is easily learnable.

Here are some tips and techniques for creating a learnable web design.

1Be consistent.

When you begin planning your web design, it is essential to consider how your website looks as a whole. Not only are inconsistencies an eyesore, but they also make it hard for users to navigate through your website due to inconsistent buttons, pop-up buttons, etc.

Take Google, for example. Google has used its platform to create various services that cater to online needs such as storage space, office communication platforms, business platforms, and of course, search engine purposes.

When you compare these services, you will notice how similar each platform looks. This is because consistency helps with predictability. When users have been using one of the platforms and would like to use another, it would be easier for them to learn the workings of the other platform simply because it looks similar to the one they have been using before.

2Keep it simple.

Simplicity is essential in web design because you need to help your users navigate your website without requiring any help. On the other hand, when your page contains too many elements, you might overwhelm your clients, and they might get scared of using your website.

When you think of web design, the primary actions in your website should be visible. Website visitors should be able to discern the primary goal of your website, while the secondary options should be easily seen and understood.

One good example is Gmail. Your primary inbox will open when you open your Gmail account, wherein promotional emails and social media notifications are hidden in tabs. You can easily see your important emails just by opening the website.

Meanwhile, although social media notifications and promotions are tabbed separately, they can easily be seen and clicked even while navigating your primary inbox tab.

3Make it familiar.

When you open many different websites, you will notice some similar features. These similarities may be icons, the layout, or actions used for the website’s essential functions.

It is important to remember that to make your website more navigable, and you would need to adopt some key designs from other websites. This makes it easier for your website visitors to use your website quickly because they already know some of its essential functions.

Even though different websites have entirely different functions, their core functions are the same. You would notice similarities like a home button, a drop-down menu for secondary options, social media handles at the bottom, and customer support information.

Familiarity helps make your website more reliable. It also instills confidence in users when they begin to explore a new website like yours. They will not be intimidated to click through your website as they have already become familiar with your created environment.

4It should be easy to comprehend.

The contents of your site should be easy enough to understand by any user. If the design of your website cannot be easily comprehended, then it cannot be learnable.

Make sure that the user quickly understands every action on your website. It would be best if you used plain language and less technical terms. For example, it would be easier to use discernable colors to help with highlighted parts or links. The buttons should not be too small and are easily understood to do a particular function.

5Evidence actions are essential.

One useful function your website can have is providing the user with evidence of their activities. This is because when the client makes a particular action on your website, they are more likely to remember how your site functions.

An excellent example of this is form submission. After a user has finished a form, it leads them to a thank you page, which indicates that they have accomplished a specific document on your website. This feedback is vital in informing the user that they have completed a particular action on your website and that their purpose of visiting the site, which was to accomplish the form, is complete.

Another example is when the site where you fill the form gives a warning message that you failed to accomplish to fill in the mandatory windows that need information. Without the warning message, you might not know what type of mistake you committed that caused your form to fail.

6Put the product in a story.

There may be times that you might design an entirely new product that requires a more complex user interface. This could potentially be difficult for the user to navigate your website.

To create a more user-friendly environment for the users, you can assist them in learning the navigation process through storytelling. This would enable you to present an understandable design to help the user understand and remember.

Use pictures as much as possible because users prefer visual storytelling over text-based ones. In addition, you don’t want your site visitors to read a manual on navigating your website.

Be creative in building an interactive experience that can help guide the user through your interface’s vital elements. Keep the text to a minimum and keep their attention by combining eye-catching features that are helpful for retention.

How to determine your website’s learnability

Web design can be tricky because it is difficult to determine whether users find your website easily learnable or not. However, an overall website checkup can help you with web design learnability.

You can use different tools to check your website’s health. For example, page speed test tools and mobile-friendly test tools prevent clients from having an easy or difficult time using your website.

You can also check your website score for security and SEO. This is essential because when people find your website difficult to use, they won’t last long on your site. In addition, there are tools that you can use to track your website’s traffic. It will help you find out if your website is learnable or not.

On the other hand, Google uses analytics that can provide you with data about your site. For example, it can show both numbers and graphs that indicate how many views and clicks your website is getting, as well as the average time users last on your website.

Optimization to connect to web design is another way of determining learnability. By using a controlled experiment, you will be able to gain feedback from actual users of your website and learn an outside perspective regarding your website’s user interface.

When you use web design optimization, you will know an in-depth perspective of how a user navigates your website. Because of this, you can easily make the necessary adjustments needed to improve your website’s learnability.

Web design learnability can be a complex process when you have no idea what factors to consider. In addition, creating a user-friendly interface for your website may be difficult, but use these tips to be guided on how your web design look like.

An important thing to consider in web design learnability is user feedback. It will be challenging to determine if you are the only one who will test your design. However, you can adjust according to how your users will respond by having some outside perspective under controlled conditions.

Meet The Author

Sherilyn Lauren

Sherilyn Lauren is a content contributor for MAXBURST and drives go-to-market strategies for content and social media. Sherilyn is passionate about education and inspiring audiences with interactive and multimedia projects.