Understanding the Importance of Usability and UX

Over the course of the last month, the amount of knowledge and understanding I have about findability, usability, and user testing has grown dramatically. There were times when it flourished, and times when it felt like I was taking a sip from a water hydrant. The amount of information out there is so limitless, where do you even start?

One of the concepts that I grew to understand was how interwoven findability is in every aspect of a website. From navigation to information scent, from verbiage to imagery, and even down to what specific tasks the user is looking for... All can be enveloped within the realm of findability. Keywords and content also bear a large priority in Search Engine Optimization, so findability can encompass both human and SEO concepts. Findability, above all else, is self explanatory. How easy are things to find?

In learning more about how findability truly works, it led into a journey of understanding usability and its importance. Let's say, for instance, someone has located your site, and even eventually found the product they were looking for... but had an awful time with the interface, you're probably not getting that user back. Because of that, there needs to be a focus on both 'in front of the camera' and 'behind the scenes' work in order to maximize the potential of each. It doesn't matter if your site looks great and the user can find information, if the mechanicsbehind the scenes are lacking and usability suffers. What experience is the user having?

In order to find that out, the most direct way is simply by asking the user. By utilizing user testing, you get the data directly from the source - people using your website in real time. What better way to get someone's opinion, than by asking questions while the user is actually on the site? Though it can be a complicated process, there's no replacement for the human mind. An AI system can exrtrapolate from any seemingly limitless amount of data points, but ultimately, the system would only be able to present approximations and assumptions based on how it thinks the user would react. It doesn't replace the lived human experience that you would benefit from with user testing. Individuals bring their own biases, opinions, and levels of knowledge, and can present information that simple data testing wouldn't allow. What questions could you have answered if you asked them in real time?

As I'm sure its obvious, this is a process that never ends. When a website is updated, it takes all three of these areas into account. The information still needs to be findable, the site needs to be usable, and the user still needs to be considered. By keeping a constant watch over all three of these, it promotes knowledge, experience, conceptual understanding and the human spirit. This past month has taught me above all else that I still have a lot to learn. This process never ends, and as such, I ask my final question of this piece: How much success could you have yourself if you utilized these concepts yourself?

No part of this writing was completed with AI