iPhone lessons for web design – be like Steve Jobs

Why is the iPhone so great while all others lag behind?

Is that a controversial question? Yes, probably, but you see I’ve used a lot of smart phones. I’ve also worked in the digital media business for a long time. You could say that I’ve been around the block. You can take it from me (and the million or so other users in the UK), that the iPhone is great.

This is not about the device itself though. What’s great about the iPhone is that it just works. It’s intuitive and slick to use. It allows you to do some massively complex things and yet it’s easier to use than any other mobile phone there is. To give you an idea; I’m writing this blog post with my iPhone. Today I’ve also tweeted with it, done my online banking, used it as a satnav device, read both the Guardian and the Telegraph and I’ve watched the BBC Breakfast News. Oh, I’ve made some phone calls on it too. All of these tasks are possible because the iPhone makes them easy.

This is called usability. This simple word means that if you design with the user in mind, remove all possible technical barriers from their experience and create something that works effortlessly it will succeed.  The iPhone’s user interface – the way that you interact with the device (through screens or buttons), has been built strictly with the user in mind. The aesthetic design is secondary.

Usability is a core principal in web design and yet it so often gets forgotten as designers (and their clients), get hung up on what the site looks like. Don’t get me wrong – everyone wants a beautiful and elegant site for their business and rightly so but it comes last in the process. The key here is to think about what you want people to do when they arrive at your website. Do you want them to watch a video? Great put the video on the home page; up front, central, easy to see and use. Do you want them to call you? Give them your phone number; don’t make them dig for it. Do you want them to register for your newsletter? Marvelous. Give them a free newsletter without registration and in the same place let them register with a really simply form. Want them to buy something from you? …can you see where I’m going with this?

If your website isn’t really easy to use people won’t keep trying they’ll just go elsewhere. You lose.

If an action on your website requires thought, effort or imagination; throw it away and start again. Be like Steve Jobs; I’m sure the Apple engineers got sick of hearing ‘throw it away and start again’, but that’s what Mr Jobs kept saying and with this approach they got the iPhone. Out of the iPhone has come the iPad and Apple sold 300,000 of those on day one.

Ursus Media produce usable, accessible and beautiful websites and they’re all handcrafted here in sunny Swindon. Feel free to get in touch and if you’re in need of a new website take a look at our latest offer.