User experience design (UX) is a relatively new web design discipline practiced in our industry. However, it’s based on decades of practice backed up with psychology and design research.
Simply put, visitors to your website must have a good interactive experience. According to Econsultancy, 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience. Margin Media reports 48% of users who viewed a website not working well on a mobile device as a sign that the business simply doesn’t care. This brings us to the question, ‘What constitutes a bad user experience?’ The answer – Not being able to find the information you’re looking for, non-functioning mobile design and poor quality visual design.
Websites must be beautifully designed, well organized and most importantly, easy to understand. Visitors need to like what they see and understand how to navigate.
Here are some UX tips to have in mind when evaluating your site:
Search
Do you have an easily visible and accessible search bar? Most Fortune 500 companies have a search bar on their homepages. This is an important element for sites that have several product pages. Additionally, search bars also help viewers find specific information featured on a company’s blog.
Response
Your site needs to be quick! Anyone who remembers dial-up can recall how slow the World Wide Web once was. And now, with DSL 4G and faster, people want speed. According to Smashing Magazine, a one-second load time has actually been shown to increase conversions. There are several important elements to consider including image size, optimized code, and fast and secure hosting. These are all paramount in order to ensure people take action when visiting your company’s site.
Test
You really like your site, but how about everyone else? A good indicator would be to test the site with a non-technical audience in order to really see how it will perform. Testing doesn’t have to be an ordeal.
“You can discover and correct most of your problems by allowing five or more users to provide you with feedback on the user-experience,” said WRL Front End Web Developer Randal Pope II.
You put a lot of effort into marketing and advertising efforts that drive people to your site. Make sure they’re having a great user experience while they’re there.
If you’re interested in WRL’s comprehensive web programming and design services, Contact Us and let us know how we can Think. Create. Design. for you.
