6 Tips to Help You Improve the Usability of Your WordPress Website

Simply launching a WordPress site online isn’t enough. Today’s web audience is quite demanding and somewhat spoiled. They’re looking for usable and visually- attractive sites that provide valuable information. Learn the top 6 tips to help you improve the usability of your WordPress website.

Luckily, WordPress is a powerful CMS used by more than 30% of the sites available on the Internet. And considering the fact there are over 1.3 billion active websites, this means that about 835 million of them are using WP right now! Among these websites are top companies like TechCrunch, Sony Music, and BBC America.

So, if you’re looking to make your WordPress website more functional and usable, check out these 6 tips.

1 Pick a Great Host

Every website story begins with a good host. Reliable web hosting is a precondition for better functionality of your site. There are many options to choose from, offering different features in different pricing plans.

When choosing a hosting provider for your website, you need to consider two things. The first is your budget, and the second is the amount of data you need to share on your website. Shared hosting means that you’ll need to share space with other websites, but it might be a perfect solution if your budget is modest. It’s also a good choice for websites that are just starting out and haven’t reached broader audiences yet.

It is also important to pick a host that guarantees safe, regular backups. Having a hosting plan that includes regular backups will ensure that all the data from your website is protected.

Finally, choose a hosting plan that includes fast page loading speed. Nearly 85% of people expect a website to load in 3 seconds or less. So, to prevent your customers from leaving, you mustn’t let them wait for too long for your site to load. As a result, a good thing to improve the usability of your WordPress website.

2 Pay Attention to the Design and Navigation

Always keep in mind that, when it comes to websites, usability is more important than looks.

When designing your site, be sure to remove any elements that could confuse your visitors. In general, people like predictable web designs, so you won’t have to reinvent the wheel here.

You also need to ensure that visitors have no problem finding what they’re looking for on your site. Here’s how you can do it:

• Place the navigation panel at the top of the page because that’s where users expect it to be.
• Add an Ajax-based search box next to the site’s main navigation panel.
• Have categories list in the archives, breadcrumbs, and sidebar.

Using intuitive navigation will improve the browsing experience and make your WP site more functional.

3 Be Selective When Installing WP Plugins To Improve Usability Of WordPress Website

There are hundreds of plugins you can use to improve your WP website functionality. On top of that, many premium WP templates include extensions that are fit for specific purposes. For instance, this might be a WordPress search plugin, slider, online booking form, WP contact form, etc.

Although you can choose from a sea of great plugins, you need to be selective when installing them. Only install those you need and, if possible, try to condense several features into a single plugin. Having lots of plugins is not necessarily bad, but it will require more effort when testing for updates.

4 Integrate Your Site with Social Media

By integrating your WP website with social media, you’ll make it appear more user-friendly. In addition, you’ll increase the chances of more people engaging with your business. Here are a few ideas on how you can pull it off:

• Use the social login feature instead of asking visitors to fill in registration forms.
• Add social media widgets to display the latest publications on your site pages.
• Add social sharing options to allow visitors to spread the word about your website.

Many WP themes have basic social media integration, but you can also add it yourself with a social media WP plugin.

5 Use Responsive Design To Improve Usability Of WordPress Website

As the web community shifts to mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly site is a must. But, being a content management system, WP is not a mobile-friendly solution. So, if you want it to look and work great on all devices, you’ll need to install some plugins.

There are many responsive WP themes you can choose from to make sure that all of the information on your site is properly displayed on all screen sizes.

6 Don’t Forget About SEO

When SEO is disregarded, websites usually fall short of customer expectations. Because, at the end of the day, every website is in pursuit of more search traffic and better conversions.

Many web designers view SEO as a necessary evil. This is due to the misperception that SEO is all about keyword stuffing and forced wording. The truth is, these are no longer considered valid SEO tactics. If done right, SEO can significantly enhance the visitors’ experience.

Good SEO and good design work together to create a great final product and a solid foundation.

Improve Usability Of WordPress Website Conclusion

The growing WP community provides many tools to help you make your website more usable and improve its function. Hopefully, these 6 tips will help you to optimize your WP website properly and improve user engagement.

Don’t forget to update your WP theme, plugins, and installation regularly. Upgrading WP is important for security. In addition, it makes sure that you have all the new features and bug fixes, thus contributing to your website functionality.