Usability and Accessibility
Usability
Usability is simple to master: make sure that your site is easy to navigate and understand. It doesn't matter what a site looks like so long as your average user can still navigate it and understand what's going on. Text needs to be clear and legible, content should be organized and relevant, and the site's purpose should be clear to the user. Something to keep in mind is the concept of informativeness, or “the extent to which a website provides consumers with resourceful and helpful information” (Lim and Ting 51). Don't bombard your user with useless effects or information, and don't make your site difficult to navigate, because the moment users start getting frustrated, they're going to leave.Accessibility
Accessibility is often forgotten by content creators, but it simply means making sure that your site's usability extends to everyone, including those who have disabilities. For example, there are a lot of text effects that can mess up screen readers, and if you put them in your site that will make them inaccessible to anyone who needs to use a screen reader.Another thing to remember is that in this day and age, websites aren't just for computers, and all devices are different. A good rule of thumb is to use responsive web design, which allows your site to fit whatever screen it's being looked at with. The three basic components of responsive web design are "flexible layouts, flexible assets and media queries [SIC]" (Hagen 237). By making your site responsive to the device, you ensure that everyone, on any device, can use it; be it your mother on her laptop or your cousin on his 3DS.