In the world of digital marketing, an unforgettable website experience can make all the difference between a one-time visitor and a lifelong customer. But actually creating an exceptional website experience is often easier said than done.
In this article, we’re going to guide you through some of the best tactics and strategies that work for creating user-friendly websites that everyone loves.
The Importance of User Experience in Website Design & Development
User experience (UX) is really just an extension of overall “customer experience.” So when we talk about enhancing the UX of a website, the overarching objective is to deliver a better experience for visitors who we, ultimately, want to become customers.
To understand the need for good customer experience, you have to acknowledge the cost of a bad experience. Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) has spent years studying customer experiences and has some valuable data to back up why this is so important.
Consider this tidbit from one of their latest reports: “In the U.S., even when people love a company or product, 59% will walk away after several bad experiences, 17% after just one bad experience. 32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience.”
Layer on top of that the fact that nearly 80 percent of American consumers believe speed, convenience, and knowledgeable help are important elements of positive customer experience and you can see what matters.
“[Customers] want the design of websites and mobile apps to be elegant and user-friendly; they want automation to ease the experience,” PwC continues. “But these advances don’t matter much if speed, convenience and the right information are lacking.”
But are you ready for the cherry on top? The data clearly shows that customers are willing to pay more for the experience qualities that they value most.
- 43 percent of consumers say they would pay more for greater convenience
- 42 percent would pay more for a friendly, welcoming experience
- 65 percent find a positive experience to be more influential than great advertising
Despite all of this, the number of companies that say “creating better customer experiences” is a digital priority for them has dropped significantly over the years. If you find that peculiar, you’re not alone. It indicates a pretty large gap between the expectations customers have around experience and the actual prioritization and delivery of that experience.
Circling back around to the topic at hand, this creates a big opportunity for businesses who are willing to buckle down and do the hard work of architecting better website experiences for their customers.
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Powerful Tips for More Exceptional Website Experiences
Every website is unique. Your website is going to have different goals and objectives than your closest competitor (and vice versa). But with that being said, there are some underlying things you can do to create more exceptional website experiences. Feel free to adapt these to any brand-specific goals or initiatives you have.
1. Use the Right CMS System
Don’t underestimate the role of a good content management system (CMS) in helping you improve the overall delivery of content on your website.
A good CMS enables the creation of responsive designs that adapt to different screen sizes and devices, which is essential for providing a seamless user experience. Additionally, many CMS platforms come with built-in SEO tools, helping your site rank better in search results and thus improving the visibility and accessibility of your content for users.
On top of the SEO benefits, a good CMS platform offers features that make it easy for you to format, edit, and manage content for a fresh (and fast) onsite experience that your customers can get excited about.
Let’s go ahead and acknowledge the fact that there are dozens of highly-rated CMS platforms on the market. However, if you’re looking for exceptional website experiences, you’ll probably want to begin your search with Umbraco. As long as you get your SEO set up correctly, Umbraco can be extremely powerful.
2. Speed Up Page Loading Times
Load time refers to how long it takes for a web page to fully display the content on a specific page. In today’s fast-paced digital world, users expect quick and seamless online experiences. A delay of even a few seconds in page load time can lead to higher bounce rates, lower user engagement, and reduced conversion rates.
According to a study by Google, as page load time goes from one to three seconds, the probability of a user bouncing increases by 32 percent. This demonstrates that fast load times aren’t just a nice-to-have—they’re a critical component of user satisfaction and overall website performance.
As you think about ways to optimize your website’s load time, you’ll need to get creative with your execution. Here are some ideas:
- Optimize images. Images can have a major impact on your website’s load time. You’ll want to use compression tools to proactively reduce file size without negatively impacting quality.
- Minify code. Did you know that you can minify your website’s JavaScript, CSS, and/or HTML? This process involves eliminating or reducing redundant data without affecting how internet browsers process your site’s content.
- Leverage browser caching. You can take another step in the right direction by leveraging browser caching. When you implement caching, you allow the browser to store certain information about your page so that when a user visits the page in the future it doesn’t have to “re-fetch” all of the same information. The result is a much faster loading experience.
- Use a CDN. Are you familiar with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)? A CDN helps share the load of delivering content by storing numerous copies of your website on different data centers and servers around the world. This reduces delays in loading web page content.
There are obviously other things you can do, but this gives you a decent start at speeding up page loading times and preventing unnecessary bounces.
3. Optimize for Mobile Devices
There was a time not so long ago when the rule of thumb was to develop content for desktop first and mobile second. Then the attention shifted to giving equal weight to both. Today, however, the emphasis is squarely on mobile devices. While responsible design will always be the best practice, err on the side of mobile-first design.
The majority of website traffic is now coming from mobile devices (and this trend will increase in the years to come). By optimizing for mobile first – which is usually less forgiving when you consider the small screen size and challenges with creating clickable buttons and readable content – you ensure you aren’t inadvertently turning a large portion of your visitors away. And, by default, a good mobile-first design will usually translate well to a desktop.
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4. Ensure Intuitive Navigation
Intuitive navigation is basically the term we give to navigation that makes sense. You want users to be able to navigate and access your website efficiently without needing any assistance. Everything should do precisely what they anticipate it to do.
Use clear, simple language for your navigation labels that your audience will understand. Avoid jargon or ambiguous terms. (Remember, the goal is to guide your users, not to confuse them.) Likewise, keep your main navigation consistent across all pages of your website. And, if possible, always use breadcrumbs to show users their current location in relation to the website’s overall hierarchy. This allows them to easily trace their path back to the home page when desired.
5. Use Feedback to Iterate
User feedback is an invaluable resource when it comes to improving your website’s user experience. It offers first-hand insights into what users like and don’t like about your website, which features they find useful, what problems they encounter, and what improvements they’d like to see. By collecting and analyzing user feedback, you can make informed decisions and create a website experience that truly meets your users’ needs and expectations.
There are plenty of ways to gather feedback, so make sure you’re casting a wide net. The most popular sources include surveys, user testing, feedback boxes on your website, analytics (such as Google Analytics), social media, and online reviews.
Once you gather feedback – which should be on an ongoing basis – it’s essential that you analyze it. Don’t pay attention to outlier feedback – good or bad. Instead, look for the common themes and issues that seem to arise over time. Then bring these to the attention of your website development and content creation team so they can apply the feedback and iterate their approach.
Adding it All Up
When it’s all said and done, the aim isn’t just to deliver an exceptional website experience. The goal is to deliver a powerful customer experience that transcends your products and architects a strong connection between customers and your brand. When you accomplish this, overall success is much easier to come by.
Hopefully, this article has provided some useful tips you can use to get started right away.
Growth Hackers is a reputable web design company helping businesses from all over the world grow. There is no fluff with Growth Hackers. We help entrepreneurs and business owners craft superior website experiences, increase their productivity, generate qualified leads, optimize their conversion rate, gather and analyze data analytics, acquire and retain users and increase sales. We go further than brand awareness and exposure. We make sure that the strategies we implement move the needle so your business grow, strive and succeed. If you too want your business to reach new heights, contact Growth Hackers today so we can discuss about your brand and create a custom growth plan for you. You’re just one click away to skyrocket your business.
1 Comment
Hello Alex,
Website page loading speed plays an important role in rankings and it also impacts the user experience. We need to focus on speeding up the website loading speed. Using a responsive website theme can resolve the responsive issues of your website. Thanks for sharing this detailed post.
Regards,
Vishwajeet Kumar