Design vs Usability

http://www.bennaco.com/aApr0204.htm

According to a widely quoted Arthur Andersen study*, here are the things that make users want to go back to a website:

What Makes Users Return to Websites?

Factor % of Users Who Find it Important

Ease of use/navigation 74%

Fast download time 65%

Regularly updated information 58%

Quality of content 57%

Organization of content 40%

Access to customer service 40%

Quantity of content 30%

Search tool on the site 25%

Homepage layout 20%

The Site is fun 19%

Look and feel of the site 18%

Inclusion of animated graphics 9%

*Survey conducted between March 30 and April 3, 2001. Results are based on responses from 990 online users.

Notice that the top nine items in the survey are not concerned with how a site looks. They?re concerned with how easy it is to use.

For the overwhelming majority of web users, the value they assign to a website has very little to do with whether the site is fun to visit, or has attractive pictures or animations. In deciding whether a site?s worth using, most visitors assess one thing: whether or not they can find high quality information, and find it quickly.