Customer: Website is not user friendly? Are there common rules or standards to do this?

Question

We developed an asp.net website for one of our customer. We followed our rules and standards while building website. While showing it for customer, he said: it's not user friendly.

Are there common rules/standards for developing user friendly website?

Answer 1

Jakob Nielsen's "useit" site is a great resource for web usability.

Answer 2

The W3's Web Content Usability Guidelines make some interesting points from a technical perspective (Graceful degradation, device support, etc.) which can be useful bridge between techie and client.

Answer 3

You'll obviously need an experience designer/information architext/usability expert. But before that I would ask your customer what aspects of the web site seem problematic. It's probably not everything wrong with it. It's probably just parts.

Three great books on this topic:

• The elements of user experience by Jesse James Garrett
• Information architecture - blueprints for the web by Christina Wodtke
• Don't make me think by Steve Krug

Websites to consider:

• Boxes and arrows
• Adaptive path