The discussion on web design for older site visitors often drifts towards accessibility and gets mixed up with looking at disabilities rather abilities, but this should not always be a given.

Not every person over 65 years has eyesight so poor that they have to increase text size or change the contrast of text colours. Not every person over the retirement age has problems with motor control or significant short term memory loss. The diversity of the 65+ user group is enormous. A website might be easy to use for someone over 75 years old; simply because they're experienced web surfers or familiar with the site. In contrast you might find someone younger, but with less Internet experience, struggling to use the same site.

6. Keep your language simple

Avoid technical jargon at all cost. However, if you employ newer functionality such as "tagging" for example, don't try to rename it, but provide an easy to understand explanation for it. Include instructions in plain English where necessary, but always try to reduce the number of words displayed on the page.

Use simple and short sentences and include bullet points where possible. For links on the homepage or landing pages include a short description to tell site visitors what to expect when following the link.

7. Appear trustworthy

Senior surfers tend to be more cautious when browsing and can get confused when something unexpected happens such as a new window opening or an application installing.

Firstly, clearly state the purpose of your site on the homepage. Also, offer a brief description with content links, so users know what to expect when following them. Explain in 'large print' how personal information will be handled before asking users to enter it.

Make use of the well-known 'padlock' icon to indicate a secure part of the site. Show words such as 'secure', 'safe' and 'confidential' in bold. Offer a content section on 'security' when your site offers financial services.

Conclusion

Follow these 7 simple design tips and it will help the majority of site visitors over 65 years use your site more easily and of course it will help all other users too. It will be an enjoyable experience for novice Internet users as well as those who are experienced surfers but new to your site. In addition, any user who might require assistive software will not be compromised by any of these design tips.

This article was written by Marianne Markowski an account manager at the user experience consultancy, Webcredible. Marianne's passionate about improving the user experience of websites and is responsible for managing clients involved in a variety of user experience projects including eye tracking and information architecture.