In conversations with business owners and executives, we stress the importance of UX, which is short for user experience. To those who aren’t in our industry, this term can sound like a buzzword, or just another piece of technical jargon. However, when you’ve built as many websites and online marketing plans as we have, you quickly realize that UX is important for generating leads, sales, and other online conversions.
To understand why this is the case, you first must have a firm grasp on what UX actually is. Let’s dig into the details.
What is UX and Why Does it Matter?
The whole concept of user experience essentially boils down to one simple question: how easy is your website to use and interact with? Websites that are clear and intuitive offer good UX. Those that are confusing suffer from UX problems.
As to the issue of why good UX is important for generating business results, the best answer has to do with common sense. When potential customers have a good experience on your website, they are likely to hang around longer. The more time they spend on your pages, the more familiar they become with your business, your products or services, and your brand. Hence, good UX makes them more likely to buy from you – both now and in the future.
Another thing to consider is that your online competitors are just a single mouse click away. So, if visitors find your web design to be aggravating, they are likely to leave before seriously considering whether to buy from you or not. Additionally, most of what we consider to be “good UX” also benefits your search engine optimization campaigns. So, emphasizing a positive user experience can help you get more customers and convert a higher percentage of them into leads or customers.
How Do You Improve UX on a Business Website?
When it comes to improving the experience potential customers have on your webpages, our best advice can be broken down into seven simple tips…
#1 Make Your Website Faster
Visitors hate waiting around for your layout and content to load in their browser. So, anything you can do to make your website faster is going to help you hold onto their attention. The easiest ways to speed up your website are to upgrade your web hosting package, reduce the size of any images embedded in your site, and to ensure that your programming is as clean as possible. None of these requires a big change, but they can make a huge difference in the results you get from your pages.
#2 Remember the 3 Second Rule
Numerous surveys have shown that a first-time visitor to your website will give you about three seconds to impress them. That doesn’t just mean your pages need to be faster (see above), but also that a prospect has to be able to determine who you are, what you do, and whether your business is the right fit for them very quickly. That means your home page should be designed in a way that allows someone who is browsing different solutions to figure out exactly what you’re all about almost instantly.
#3 Ensure Your Website is Mobile-Friendly
You’ve probably already heard that more than half of all internet traffic originates from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. It only stands to reason, then, that having a mobile-friendly website is an integral part of maintaining good UX. If your layout or content doesn’t display well on a smaller screen you can bet a good share of your customers are going to look for other answers.
#4 Use Lots of White Space in Your Web Design
Sometimes good UX is all about what isn’t on the page. Because most of the buyers who come to your site are going to be scanning around and looking for the information they need, the last thing you want is to overwhelm them with text blocks, images, or prompts that are too close to one another. With lots of white space they can quickly move from one section to another until they find the content or resource that convinces them to hang around.
#5 Make Your Navigation Options Easy
It’s unfortunate, but the average prospect isn’t going to arrive on the part of your website they really need to see. They may be following a link or a search engine listing that takes them to one page, for example, when they really need another. In order to maximize your UX and get them to the right content as quickly as possible, you need to have clear and prominent navigation options that funnel them in the correct direction.
#6 Create Visitor-Focused Content
It’s easy to find yourself generating content that appeals to search engine spiders or carries a hard marketing edge, but if it obscures important details or makes it hard for visitors to get the answers they need, it’s going to hurt conversions. Get in the habit of creating content that is focused on your visitors wants and needs. Then, you can add the right search terms or marketing touch to boost conversions.
#7 Give Potential Customers a Simple Call to Action
Speaking of conversions, each page on your website (and ideally your website as a whole) should be geared towards a certain outcome. Invite visitors to subscribe to an email newsletter, download a free guide, or contact you for more information. Whatever action you want them to take, ask them directly and repeatedly. Then, set up your web design in a way that encourages them to take this step.
Ready to Turn Your Website into a Lead Generation Machine?
One thing you’ll notice about our seven tips for good UX is that they are all easier to implement when you have the right web design company on your side. If you’re tired of fumbling around with quick-fix online marketing solutions or want to build a website that makes your company stand out, it’s time to get some advice from a trusted and creative digital agency.
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