Take a moment to think about your favorite mobile app. Why do you enjoy using it? It’s probably simple, speedy, easy on the eyes and an overall pleasure to use. You may not know it, but that favorite mobile app of yours was designed with you in mind. The designers anticipated your interaction with the mobile app, then added complementary design touches to enhance the app’s overall layout. This user–product interaction that designers anticipate is called ‘user experience,’ or UX for short.
Incorporating UX design into your website is essential if you want your business to thrive and compete in this digital era. It’s critical to learn all you can about your users, anticipate their needs and then design your website around these needs. But before jumping in, it’s important to understand what user experience design can do for your business’s website.
Increase Customer Satisfaction
If you were a server at a restaurant and a customer ordered a steak medium rare, but you delivered a steak that was well done, you could expect some repercussions. The diner might complain, leave in a huff and post a negative review online. Your web design strategy works the same way. When your website isn’t tailored to your specific audience, site visitors might walk away with a negative user experience and feel dissatisfied with your services. It might seem obvious, but your goal is to increase customer satisfaction. Studies show that 20% of happy customers will tell 10 or more people about your brand. So, by giving visitors a positive user experience on your website and increasing customer satisfaction, you’re turning happy customers into advocates for your business.
Decreases Bounce Rates
You can’t create a positive user experience if there aren’t any users to begin with. Studies indicate that users will spend 8 seconds on a website’s homepage before deciding whether to stay or go. To encourage visitors to stick around and to decrease your site’s bounce rate, you must measure your users’ preferences and shape your website accordingly. This could include editing your copy, simplifying your shopping process or cleaning up your navigation menu.
Clear call-to-action links can also improve user experience by leading customers from one landing page to the next. When these links are visually striking, brief and understandable, users will feel confident using your website and are more likely to explore further. Making your website navigable and clean will allow you to make a solid first impression. If visitors like what they see when they land on your website, chances are they’ll stick around for the main event.
Consider our website. The homepage is visually pleasing and contains distinct call-to-action links throughout: ‘View Portfolio’ in the center of the screen; ‘Get Started’ in the upper right hand corner; a clear navigation menu with relevant company information.
Develop Brand Consistency
UX design can give you the outside perspective on your brand you’ve been missing. User research can show you why visitors come to your website, what might be off putting about your layout, or which site pages are the most/least interactive. Knowing the draws and drawbacks of your products will refamiliarize you with your brand’s mission and target audience.You’ll be able to realign your product teams with a clear brand vision before you begin making changes to your digital presence. This will ensure uniformity across your website and other digital platforms, so that customers have consistent user experiences.
Raise Sales and Revenues
How does your business make sales? Over the phone? Online? In-person at your office? In one way or another, your website plays a role in making these sales. It might provide contact information, convenient subscription forms or shopping carts for customers to load up. Your duty is to make sure that these online sales features are optimized for visitors. After all, customers won’t buy your goods if your website is a dense, winding maze of words and products. Maybe you need to add a ‘click to call’ button for mobile users, or get creative with animation for your product displays. Creating a positive user experience can simplify the purchasing process and increase revenues.
Take a look at BODYROC Fit Lab’s homepage. A video montage of enthusiastic gym-goers plays on a loop for site visitors perusing the homepage. In the foreground of the video are call-to-action links: ‘Learn More’ and ‘Buy Sessions.’ We added a phone number in bold across the top of the site along with social media links and a distinct navigation menu. These elements work together to point users towards BODYROC’s training packages and memberships.
Save Money
Invest now, save later. Solving design problems early in the design process is more cost-effective than solving design problems after it’s all said and done. According to Forbes, for organizations that focus on user experience design improvements, every dollar returns $100. By making some room in your budget for UX design implementation, you can attack the problem in the early stages and eliminate future costly issues.
Ready to Update Your User Experience Design?
Whether you’re in the developing stages of your website or looking to make improvements to your existing site, Creative Click Media can fulfill your user experience design needs. Our experts will work with you to make your website more usable, accessible and pleasant for users. If you have questions or would like to learn more about our web design services, contact us today!
