by Craig Garry Waffle
User experience (UX) is one of the keys to selling your product and retaining customers. In fact, it’s so important that 88% of online shoppers say they wouldn’t revisit a website after a bad user experience.
All businesses need an online presence. And building a successful online presence means ensuring your website has a great UX. Although it can feel scary, enhancing website user experience is very achievable.
All you need is to know how to do it.
1. Take Ownership Of Any Errors
It’s safe to assume that errors on your website reflect poorly in the eyes of its users. Ideally, you’d avoid them at all costs. But some errors are unpredictable and can occur even when you’ve taken measures to prevent them.
What you can do instead is control how your website presents errors to users. Instead of being barriers, error messages should reassure users and guide them on what to do next, Boldist claimed.
Optimize your website’s error messages to properly communicate the error that occurred, offer a solution, give users the chance to learn more about the error, and provide them with the capability to send you feedback if they wish.
2. Learn From User Research And Feedback
User feedback is incredibly beneficial in UX design. The same goes for any research conducted on user activity. Without it, you’d be developing a website based on what you think is best, which doesn’t always cater to the larger audience.
Strategically placed sections that let users submit feedback can go a long way. For example, they can be placed in error messages as described in the previous point. You could also include a feedback button in the footer of your site.
If you think about it, knowing what users like—or what they don’t—allows you to tailor your UX according to what your users want. Seeing a business consider their opinions may also look good from your user’s perspective, which can further benefit your brand’s reputation.
3. Speed Up Your Site
People are accustomed to having instant access to websites on the internet without having to wait. When a website has a long load time, visitors are more likely to click away from the site before it completely loads.
Your site should load as fast as possible. Generally, you want to keep load time within three seconds. Anything more risks losing a significant chunk of your potential visitors.
You might find regularly testing your website’s UX, including its loading speed, beneficial. This will help you ensure that new features and content don’t harm loading speed and other UX features.
4. Keep Navigation Simple
No matter how tempting it is to implement the new unique website navigation you just thought up, take a moment to think about its practicality. There are no set rules about site navigation—you can design it however you want.
What’s important is that you make sure users can easily find what they’re looking for. Keep things clear and concise. Make reaching the main or most used web pages effortless.
Ensure that users can intuitively get around your site without having to pay attention to what they’re doing. You should also keep your website consistent. Make navigation the same on similar pages, and keep the design of those pages similar.
5. Use Whitespace Effectively
Trying to single out the information you’re looking for on a cluttered web page can be frustrating. When it comes to UX, strategically used whitespace helps reduce the clutter and makes it easier to focus on individual sections of the page, like the text.
Use whitespace to organize your web page. Try to maintain a logical flow, so the user doesn’t feel like they need to constantly scroll to read sections in order.
6. Optimize Your Site For Mobile
People browse the internet from all kinds of devices. Mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, are used by most online shoppers to make purchases.
Your website must be optimized for mobile devices. This includes the layout, navigation, and performance of the website. Google has begun penalizing sites not optimized for mobile, making mobile optimization a non-negotiable part of any UX.
Conclusion
A professional website UX can feel like one of those unattainable dreams. Until you try it and realize it’s not as difficult as you may have expected. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It takes lots of work, planning, and trial and error.
Implement efficient navigation, use whitespace, optimize your site for performance, and ensure it translates well to mobile. These are some of the most important elements of UX, but there are far more, not mentioned here. Fortunately, websites aren’t set in stone and can be adapted as you evaluate and respond to user feedback.
About the Author
Craig Garry Waffle is a UX designer who works with websites across various industries. In his spare time, he writes blogs and articles to help small or large businesses create engaging and effective UX designs.
