Top 5 Web Design Metrics to Consider

Updated 4/16/19

In the world of web design there are a lot of trends and fads that come and go, but some aspects of web design remain relevant and critical to any project.

While staying up-to-date is important for aesthetic reasons, these metrics are the basics for user-experience (UX). 

1. Compatibility

There are a few types of compatibility to take into account when analyzing this web metric. First of all, there is the obvious lesson that Internet Explorer has taught us, not all browsers behave the same.

Ensuring your website is viewed pleasantly on all browsers is an essential first step to quality web design. However, web browsing is not the only beast these days. Now, people browse using their phones, tablets, game consoles and even watches. Rigorous testing and tweaking is critical to ensure your website is compatible with all devices.

A responsive web design is the first step to having a website prepared to handle all types of devices. 

2. Performance

The performance of your website, or how quickly your pages load and work, is an important but tricky metric. With more people browsing the web on handheld devices (often without a good WiFi connection), the need for fast and data-lean sites is apparent.

There are many ways to improve your performance; from compression and minifying; to prefetching and caching. If you’re not actively monitoring your website’s performance, it is time to start. 

3. Usability 

Understanding the needs of your website visitors has always been important when converting them to customers. While the UX field is filled with best practices and research, it can be hard to understand the subjectivity of it all.

While third party research is helpful, it is important to do your own UX design testing. This helps to iron out bugs and layout issues, while seeing what your visitors are interested in the most. 

4. Freshness

Keeping your website links up-to-date is just as important as keeping your content fresh. Spend a few hours weeding out dead links, updating redirects, and improving the quality of your website. Creating new pages and content is essential, but don’t abandon all of your old work. 

5. Accessibility

Web accessibility is a metric that is often forgotten. There are many guides and articles that talk about web accessibility, and most are based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Disability affects people from all walks of life, and we should not shy away from supporting those with unique needs. Being accessible may require extra care (due to the wide spectrum of possible variables), but it is realistic and enhances the user experience significantly.