I’m sure we have all encountered extremely slow websites that make us want to pull our hair out, right? It always seems to be the websites that we need to load the fastest that take forever. This could be the problem that your potential customers are facing right now when they land on your website.
Believe it or not, potential customers will leave your website and find another one that loads faster. This means you just lost a potential lead. In a world ruled by eCommerce and online information, this is the last thing you want to happen.
Improving user experience has many benefits. Doing this will improve search engine rankings, lower bounce rates, and create a more user-friendly web design. Here are some user experience tips to keep in mind when planning your website project.
1. Leave out the fancy bells and whistles.
All UX professionals know that performance rules. Fancy bells and whistles don’t mean anything if it takes 30 seconds for your page to load. A user will ignore your fancy scripts and videos if they can’t find the information they came for.
The goal of any website is to deliver a resource to the user and make that resource easy to use. People visit your website to learn about your company and what sets you apart. They didn’t come to your website for the frills, they came for information.
You want to leave these things out and focus on delivering information that is beneficial and easy to find. Videos, scripts, and widgets often slow the loading speed of your website and this is problematic.
When designing your website, you need to keep in mind that mobile devices load websites slower. Packing your website with pretty features can hurt the mobile experience.
To check the speed of your website, you can use GTMetrix. This is a free tool that displays the page speed and gives tips to improve.
2. Create content that is easy to read and easy to find.
Your website visitors came to see how your company stacks up against competitors. Be sure to create content that is beneficial and leave out information that doesn’t benefit your customer.
Here are some content creation tips:
- Make this information easy to find by using clear headlines that guide your users in the right direction.
- Include images or videos that drive home the message. Try to avoid tacky stock photos and find photos that enrich your content.
- You can also utilize bullet points when making lists instead of making long sentences with tons of commas.
- When creating product or service descriptions, use plenty of white space. This helps highlight the product or service you are trying to sell.
- Leave out the information that can be talked about in a phone conversation or formal meeting. You want to quickly answer questions and create value.
A good user experience is one that provides the necessary information in an easy to read fashion.
3. Keep your navigation simple and your page count low.
One of the most important user experience design tips I can give you is: less is more.
During the initial design process, you and your designer should plan out your navigation. There should be a clear picture of the pages on your website and where they lead. Developing a sitemap early in the process is the best way to ensure your website is structured properly.
Try to answer important questions on your home page or one page that is easy to find. Make sure your call to action buttons and navigation are prominent to increase user interaction.
If your website is flooded with pages, it will make it difficult to find anything. Do you ever wish you could go to the library and find what you’re looking for without searching tirelessly for it? This is a problem your website visitors probably have. When a potential customer visits your website, they shouldn’t have to search for answers.
Each option should benefit the user and contribute to their user experience. Humans tend to get overwhelmed when they are presented with a lot of options. They make quicker, smarter decisions when presented with fewer options.
A great example of this is the project we completed for M&G Electrical Contracting. This is a three-page website. All of the important information is on the home page. The other two pages are about past work and career opportunities.
Small websites are beneficial because anyone interested in the company can quickly learn all the necessary information. From that point, the potential client can call, email, or send in a contact form submission to get more information. This leads to a conversation that could convert into a sale or project.
4. Make sure your designer optimizes your website for performance.
Designers often throw a ton of scripts and videos on a page because it looks pretty and wows their clients. This ends up working against the client because it hinders website performance.
When planning your website project, ask your designer about website performance. Check to make sure they follow these very basic user experience tips. The designer should take the necessary steps to speed up your website using performance best practices.
If you are concerned about performance, consider requesting performance reporting. Noctem Media offers this as part of our website management package. These performance reports are beneficial because they keep you updated on all aspects of your website.
In today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world, a high performing website is critical. Hopefully, these user experience tips will help you work more effectively with your website designer.
Noctem Media can help you create the perfect, user-friendly website. We offer free web consultations and would be happy to talk with you about your website needs.
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