In web site design, the first and most important thing to think about is what your visitors want. Why are they visiting the site and what do they expect to find there? The Web Style Guide puts it this way:

The fundamental organizing principle in Web site design is meeting users' needs.

The idea here is to identify exactly what your visitors are looking for, and provide a user friendly navigation system that leads them directly to the information they are seeking. The Web Style Guide goes into some detail on how to best organize and structure information to make it easier for users to locate the information of interest to them. In general, information should be presented thematically using the appropriate site elements.

On the usability.net web site, a good deal of information can be found about Usability. Of particular interest to us are the Design guidelines for the Web. In their guidelines, they point out that "web sites provide a unique opportunity for inexperienced information providers to create a new generation of difficult to use systems". Creating a site that is difficult to use is undesirable for obvious reasons, but one serious thought to consider is that "incomplete sites are seen as a sign of corporate incompetence". In other words, a bad user experience at a web site not only discourages that user from returning to the site, it also has a negative impact on the brand. You might be able to confirm this by reflecting on a past experience you've had at a poorly designed web site.

The good news is that the best practices for web site design are not that difficult to implement. It's a simple matter of putting into practice the information presentation principles outlined in the Web Style Guide and the Design guidelines for the Web.

Here are a few of the important topics covered in these guides:

• Site Structure
  
• Interface Design & Navigation
  
• Page Design
  
• Writing Style
  

A few other resources that may be of interest include this guide which outlines considerations for those who use screen readers. You might also want to read my previous post entitled A Review of Web Site Accessibility Guidelines, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Web Design and Usability Guidelines.

As an example of a site that follows these principles, take a look at the Google Help Center. Not much emphasis has been put on aesthetics in the Google Help Center, but the Usability is excellent. Notice how each major help topic is presented as headings, with bulleted subtopics presented below each one. If you drill down into a topic, more detailed subtopics are displayed in bullet points. Finally, if you drill down again to the detailed information, the language used to explain the topic is sparse and to the point. They even give you an opportunity to fill out an optional feedback form to help them improve the usability of the information. You always know precisely where you are by looking at breadcrumb navigation trail at the top of the page. In addition, the entire Help Center is searchable using a search form displayed in the same location from each and every page.

Conclusion
Usability is one of the fundamental elements of good web site design. It's important for a site's visitors to be able to find information quickly and easily, and their ability to do so will have a significant impact on their overall experience. Creating a positive user experience should be the goal of any web site designer, and it's therefore important to understand and implement the fundamental ideas behind web site usability.

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