Importance of Usability

Importance of Usability
I. Introduction                                     
Usability is influential in website success because it influences user-friendliness, competitiveness, and survival. According to Weichbroth (2020), the usability of a website or a web application determines its success or failure because users judge a website based on its ease of use and establish whether it is a good website. Based on their findings, they decide whether they would frequently visit it or not. The aim of this paper is to explore the literature on website usability. The focus will be mainly on three key areas: Web usability and customers' (users') trust and credibility, web usability and user satisfaction, and web usability and purchase and repurchase intentions. The paper will also provide analysis, recommendation, and conclusion for practitioners based on the findings from the literature review.
II. Body
Website usability is essential not only to users but also to businesses that run/own websites. Literature reveals that website usability allows users to efficiently and effectively achieve their goals with ease (Weichbroth, 2020). It also promotes the website's success from a developer/ business perspective because the information on the website can be accessed easily by users (Sparks, 2019), who are the target of any website.
A. Usability Enhances Trust and Credibility
Websites are paramount in connecting customers and businesses. However, websites must be trustworthy and credible to ensure that visitors become customers. Users need to know that the information shared on the website is credible and trustworthy, and businesses must enhance this trust and credibility. One way of developing trust and credibility among website visitors is through usability. Existing literature reveals that website usability improves users' trust in a website and its perceived credibility.
Akhmedova et al. (2021) conducted a study investigating the factors that promote trust and credibility in the sharing economy and how these factors combine to ensure website visitors become loyal customers. The sharing economy relies heavily on trust because the service providers and customers usually do not know each other prior to the transaction. Akhmedova et al. (2021) used a qualitative comparative analysis methodology to conduct the study. The authors collected data through an online platform from participants from the United Kingdom, Australia, United States, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands. Their study revealed some of the antecedents of website trust and credibility among the sharing economy users. They include perceived website usability and website quality. Specifically, the authors found that the website facilitates both interpersonal and platform trust antecedents in the sharing economy. The success of the sharing economy is influenced by users' ability to trust both the platform and the peer service providers. The results indicate that web usability is a determinant of trust in both the platform and the service providers. They suggest that website usability plays an instrumental role in building and enhancing trust among users in the sharing economy platforms.
Also, Akhmedova et al. (2021) found that platforms can enhance the credibility of the sharing economy through web usability. Web usability allows platforms to verify the key information of users and smoothen the process through which users select peer service providers. Further, the authors found that when website usability is high, it becomes possible to enhance trust and credibility because usability facilitates self-presentation and the use of personal photos for identification and verification on the website. This credibility is crucial in the survival of the sharing economy platforms because they rely on interpersonal trust between users and service providers. Such platforms need to capitalize on developing website usability to promote trust and credibility among users and service providers.
Further, Shehzad et al. (2017) investigated the connection between website usability on e-commerce platforms and trust levels among potential customers. However, unlike the study by Akhmedova et al. (2021), which was conducted in six different countries, the study by Shehzad et al. (2017) was conducted in Pakistan. Just like Akhmedova et al. (2021), Shehzad et al. (2017) acknowledged that trust is very instrumental in e-commerce platforms because the buyers and sellers are strangers, and most times, there are no physical locations to track the participants if something goes wrong. Thus, the websites need to be trustworthy and credible to facilitate transactions and repeat purchases. Shehzad et al. (2017) conducted an experiment involving two groups to establish the level of trust and usability of e-commerce websites among end-users.
The key findings by Shehzad et al. (2017) are as follows:
* There are major web usability issues that influence the level of trust among end-users. These include the level of comfort while using the websites, the ability to find products on the websites, the ease of use of the websites, the availability of help in case the user needs assistance navigating the website, and the ability to compare products on the website. Other website features such as font and color also influence the usability of e-commerce websites and, ultimately, the trust levels of users visiting the websites. In addition, the lack of user reviews, product ratings, and consumer feedback options on the website influence usability and, consequently, users' trust levels.
* Shoppers in Pakistan hardly use e-commerce websites to purchase items. They only visit the websites to browse and establish the prices of products and the latest trends. The authors attributed this to low trust levels due to poor web usability on e-commerce platforms. These low trust levels explain why users, not just in Pakistan but in other countries, often visit e-commerce platforms, place some items in their shopping carts, and exit the website without purchasing the items.
* Web usability directly influences users' trust, such that the higher the usability, the higher the trust among users regarding a specific website. This is especially true in e-commerce, where physical interaction is absent, and buyers and sellers depend on their trust in the platform they use for commerce.
Similarly, Oyibo and Vassileva (2017) investigated the interconnectedness between aesthetics, usability, and credibility in website designs. They also explored how gender moderates this interconnectedness. Unlike the study by Akhmedova et al. (2021) and Shehzad et al. (2017), which focused on web usability in the sharing economy, this study focused on web usability in mobile web designs. It also incorporated the aspect of gender to examine the effect of web usability on credibility between men and women. Oyibo and Vassileva (2017) conducted a multicultural study among participants from North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. The authors found that perceived website usability plays a significant role in predicting the perceived credibility of a website among users. Specifically, the findings from the study were as follows:
* Website aesthetics influenc...