Website Usability Checklist

Catch common usability problems before user testing

USER EXPERIENCE

Registering provides value to users. Unnecessary registration is avoided. Website is credible. Credible references, credentials, contact information, location, and images of real people are displayed on the website. Website is professionally designed and up-to-date. Sample content. For example there is a sample newsletter next to a newsletter sign up form. Personalized features. Currency, language, country specific deals, taxes, or delivery options are changed based on user's location. IP-based geolocation is not enabled without user's permission. Transparent pricing. Prices are clearly displayed. There are no hidden costs or surprises in the terms. Uncluttered product and service information. Information is scannable and images can be enlarged or zoomed in on for more detailed viewing. Onboarding experiences are avoided by making the app intuitive and easy to use. In case onboarding is used, it is easy to dismiss or skip.

HOMEPAGE

Clear call for action. Users know what to do next and why it benefits them. They understand the value proposition and purpose of the site. First impression. The homepage creates a positive first impression and supports conversion. Logged in user's name is displayed on the site. Major changes to the site are announced on the homepage. For example website downtimes. Company location and contact information is easily accessible from the homepage. There is a privacy policy, and terms & conditions especially in case the site gathers information about users. For European users, the site complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), agreed upon by the European Parliament and Council. Images and videos are relevant and meaningful. No unrelated stock photos of models. There are high-quality screenshots, videos or photos of the products and services.

ACCESSIBILITY

Alt attributes are provided for non-text elements, such as images and maps. Captions and transcriptions are used for audio and video. Color alone is not used to convey information. Content is readable without a style sheet. Accessible navigation. Site can be navigated with a keyboard, without using a mouse. Browser's keyboard shortcuts aren't overridden. Links, buttons and checkboxes are easily clickable, for example a user can select a checkbox by clicking the text, not just the checkbox.

NAVIGATION

Important links aren't placed in moving features, for example auto-rotating carousels and accordions. Alphabetical sorting is used only when there are no better alternatives, such as grouping items into descriptive, related groups. Navigation is consistent on every page. Links are descriptive. There are no "click here" links. There is a site description in the window title, which is easily understandable as a bookmark. Site's URL is memorable.

SEARCH

There is a search bar, in case of a large website. Search is available on every page, not just the homepage. Search box is wide enough, so that users can see what they've typed.

LINKS

Important commands are displayed as buttons, not links. For example "Buy" or "Pay" is a button, not a link. Links are easily recognizable. They look clickable. Items that aren't links don't look clickable, for example underlining text is avoided. Color. Visited links color is different than unvisited. There are no broken links.

LAYOUT

Important content is displayed first. Site is responsive. Works with different screen sizes. There is no horizontal scrolling. Related information is grouped together clearly. There are a minimum amount of pop-up windows Consistency. Page layouts are consistent across the whole website. Pages aren't cluttered. There is enough white space to support scanning.

ERRORS

Browser compatibility. Site works in various browsers. User testing. Testing with target users is done at different stages of the project. People who weren't involved in developing the site conduct testing. Error pages. Site has custom 404 and 500 error pages. Security. Site has an SSL certificate.

FORMS

Simplicity. Only absolutely necessary questions are asked in forms. Long dropdown menus are avoided. Instead users can input text, which is validated on the backend. Fields are labeled with common terms, e.g. Name, Address (supports autofill). Form submission is confirmed on e.g. a confirmation page. Error messages are shown next to the input field, not just on top of the page.

CONTENT

Contrast. There is adequate contrast between the text and background. Content is scannable. There are short paragraphs, descriptive headings, lists and images. Visual content is used when appropriate, instead of large amounts of text. Content is written with common language that users easily understand. Contact and company information is clearly displayed. Content is useful and up-to-date, providing answers to the most common questions asked by users. There are no long instructions. Use of uppercase letters in prose text is avoided. Uppercase is used only for formatting.

Bibliography

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. The Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines, 2006.

Nielsen Norman Group, Articles

Checklist of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0

The Joint Information Systems Committee, HCI Design Foundation Study, 2004