5 Most Important Steps to Improve Your Website's User Experience

A functional and modern website is one of the easiest ways to attract customers. In order to achieve this, entrepreneurs will have to keep UX (User Experience) top of mind; after all, “functional” and “modern” suggest that your website is accessible to users, with elements that make navigating your website seamless and intuitive.

A good place to start would be understanding UX design and what that can mean for you, your website and ultimately your business.

First, let’s break down what UX design is and then discuss some ways in which you can bolster UX to reap the best results for your business.

1# UX Design, What Is it?

UX design refers to the experience prospective clients have when interacting with your “product”. Keep in mind, “product” in this context doesn’t mean merchandise or anything tangible, but rather the experience users have before making a decision – your content, for instance.

It is important to make these things a priority when creating a website. Your job here is to steer customers through the buying process and to make it as smooth a journey as possible. You want users to see specific things at specific points in the buying process in order to turn prospects into paying customers.

As we mentioned above, content is a major key in achieving this. It is an integral part of UX design, and can often make all the difference. But content is only one piece of the puzzle.

Navigation Counts

Navigation, among other elements, plays a huge role as well. Think about it, if I can’t understand how to get from one end of your website to the next, why would I stick around when a better website is a click away?

Another point to make is that a website with better UX design doesn’t always have the better product. But you may still lose customers to competition based on the fact that your UX design simply didn’t make the process straightforward enough.

2# User Experience, the Consultative Approach

A useful approach when dealing with customers is to understand that not all users will be as informed as others. Your product may have technical information not all customers may be privy to. In this case, you can make it so that the buying process caters to both types of customers, meaning that those who are informed have the option of diving in and making purchases, while other customers have the option of asking questions and so on before moving forward.

Putting things in place so less skilled prospects do not feel intimidated or alienated can work wonders for your website’s user experience.

3# Be Deliberate with Your Calls to Action

It’s great to experiment with your calls to action, but unless you have a plan in mind, it’s likely you’ll be missing the mark one way or another.

But what does it mean to be ‘deliberate with your calls to action’?

First, figure out what it is you are optimising for. Let’s say the aim is to get users to sign up for blue socks. Then it only makes sense that you tailor your calls to action throughout your UX design to speak to that.

Providing the content is right, and the navigation and other elements are all up to par, the results should be aligned with your vision.

By the way, once you decide on the actions you want users to take, a little A/B testing goes a long way!

4# Improve customer onboarding with Chatbots

If a user has an issue understanding your service, a chatbot can cater to this user to quickly solve the problem. Also, if it’s a case where your website offers a plethora of services, customers can sometimes be overwhelmed, which can lead to them using only a fraction of the services available to them. Chatbots help by making customers aware of all their options, and how to use them effectively.

5# Avoid Data Entry Overwhelm

When was the last time you looked forward to inputting 20 bits of data over 20 minutes so you can try out a new app? Never? I’d say that’s shocking, but who am I kidding. No one gets excited about sitting, eyes glued to a screen, and filling out form field after form field.

Why not try this instead: have users input 20 bits of data over 20 days. This way users won’t be overwhelmed with giving up so much information on the spot when all they want to do is try out your product.

Conclusion

There are a number of things you should consider when augmenting your website’s UX. Always prioritise what users are seeing, and how you want these elements to guide them throughout the buying process. Keep in mind things such as UX design and how this affects that process and the behaviour of potential customers.

Any information collected as you try and improve your website’s UX, should be implemented in A/B testing for optimum results.