Part 1: Ego and the bottom line on usability

Why do web designers and companies seem so reluctant to implement simple usability concepts? Do you think they're unaware of the work you're doing or are they just reluctant to implement usability?
I think it's both. My book on web usability has sold a quarter million copies worldwide so far, but if you compare that to twenty million websites in the world you could say that's certainly a small percentage of them who know about the book or have the book. The vast majority of websites don't have the advantage of the information. But I would say that all of them who think it's important to their website do know the information.

The other thing is that there is a reluctance to embrace usability and make it the driving factor, the thing that actually runs or determines the direction of a project. There's still too much thinking that usability is just a matter of quality assurance, in other words, "We will drive the product out of our ideas, and what we think is good."

Is that ego-driven instead of usability driven?
Exactly. The people in charge of the product have their ideas of what they want to do, and then if they're good, they will say we just want it rubber-stamped by users. That's not how most projects are run by the way. Most projects are run in that they have no usability at all, but the problem is that a lot of the ones that do use it, use it too late. They will go and make the design and then they will say, "Let's check it with the users", and what happens is that we can "tweak" the design, the bad wording etc. but we can't really change the basic features, structure or ideal of the website.

So that really leaves us with only 20-30 percent of improvements in usability of website and that's even if they follow the recommendations. Now if they have usability as the driver of the project and they follow the complete usability cycle that would lead to 100% usability and a very dramatically better website. But the truth is, it's still very rare for companies to do that.

And is that going to change in the next five years?
Yes, definitely. The reason it will change is because it is so superior. We're not just talking about a small difference. If you spend 10% of your budget on usability you will get four times more in outcome of the project. If it is done as the core driving force in the project then the outcome is so much better.

Is it going to come down to the "bottom line" where people come around because they understand if their website is hitting 100% usability they are going to have more income from it?
Completely and that's particularly true of e-commerce websites right now, because some of them are in trouble. Of course some of the trouble is due to other things that are not "usability" issues, like if their costs are too high, there's not much we can do about that. What we can do is increase the sales, but if they lose money every sale there's not a lot we can help them with. But if they make money on their sales, then we can help them increase that sale by helping them make their site more "user friendly".

And what about those who believe usability means their sites have to be boring and they won't have an "identity" or strong voice to their site if they incorporate your principles?
I think that's a common misconception, but it is not true at all. Because the question is, "What makes the website exciting for the users?" It's exciting for them when they can do things, when it's responsive, when they feel empowered, when they feel it works, and they feel happy and pleasant. When every time they click something they get what they want. The website can still have a strong voice but it should just be usable.

What's the key to that?
If you have a very simple design that just works people will say, "You are treating me like a human being." The attention is focused on the concept not on the interaction of the website. That goes back to your question about strong voice or identity on the Web, the content can be interesting and that is definitely possible. Some people think content has to be obscure or impenetrable but that's the one thing that it should not be. You have to ask, "What is the appropriate voice?"

Continued...