Your website is often a customer’s first introduction to your company, even if you operate a brick-and-mortar business. Like with all first introductions, you need it to be positive. The importance of having a user-friendly website does not stop there as it also may be where returning customers come to find out if you carry a product that solves their current issue.
Google judges how well they feel your website provides what your target audience is looking for when they create their search engine result pages.
Consider these five tips for improving the user experience on your website.
Create Engaging Content
Customers may have the option of getting the products that your company sells or very similar ones at numerous locations. Therefore, you need to use your website to create a user experience that is engaging and unique.
Images make a massive impact in telling your brand story. Choose options that leave an emotional impact on your potential customers viewing them. Usually, using photos with people who could be in your target audience is the best solution.
Each piece of content on your site should serve a purpose that is useful to your customers. A great way to discover content that is not fulfilling its role is to look at your analytics. Note any pages with high bounce rates and see what you need to do to make those pages more engaging.
Use language on your website that your target audience will understand. Imagine sitting down with a cup of coffee with one of them when you write your content. If you must use a term they are unfamiliar with, then define it in your content.
Use Your Website’s Layout Strategically
You are good at what you do because you are very passionate about your company and niche market, but pull back that enthusiasm a little when you design your website. Make sure that every word and image on your website is there for a purpose. Many companies have found that repurposing about half their content for other purposes increases their conversion rate.
Remember that people viewing a webpage are skimmers. Employ captivating headlines and visuals that encourage them to stop and see what you have to say.
Create a unified appearance for your website by choosing colors consistent with your brand. Use the same color scheme on every page so that the viewer does not doubt that they are dealing with your company. Additionally, make it easy to contact you by placing your contact information in the same place on every page.
Create a Logical Flow
Use large buttons and visual effects so that your customers can get to essential pages quickly. If your company offers multiple products, group them logically so that your customer does not have to search for a long time to find the product they want. Compress your product image photos so that they will load quicker.
If you post numerous photos on the same page, let the text load first and let the product images load lazily. Statistics show that about 40% of customers will leave if they do not see some of your content in under 3 seconds.
Ask for the Order
Use calls-to-action often on your website. Think carefully about how you word your calls-to-action so that they leave no doubt in the user’s mind what action you want them to take. Do A/B testing so that you know what delivers the best results.
While you will want to use some text calls-to-actions, you should also use visuals to tell readers what you want them to do. Studies show that most viewers look at a webpage using an F pattern, so they look across the top and down the left column first. Then, return to the middle of the page. Create a website design where your visual call-to-action lies along that line.
Use colors that will stand out from the rest of your content while keeping within the same family of colors used on your website. Often using the complementary color on the color wheel can be a great choice. Keep the edges rounded as people perceive sharp edges as a sign to stay away. When completing a sale on your website, collect as little information as needed before closing the deal. Then, give customers the option of signing up for your newsletter or providing you with more information after you have completed the sale.
Additionally, make it easy to get to your store’s policies that might affect a buying decision, such as your refund and return policies. Viewers should not have to click more than twice to get to these policies that should be spelled out and as buyer-friendly as possible.
Update Your Website Constantly
Your company’s website should not be a one-and-done project. Instead, you need to constantly update it. A great way to do that is with a blog, which you can use to share many different ideas with your target audience including:
- Listicles
- How-to content
- Checklists
- Industry News
- Infographics
- Current Events and Sales
- Case Studies
- Inspirational Stories
- Behind-the-scenes
- Interviews
- Introduction to Key Employees
Make sure that you are offering content using different methods. Keep in mind that your customers learn in different ways. Chances are about 65% of your target audience are visual learners, so make sure you are using videos and images to persuade them to try your company. About 30% are auditory learners, and offering podcasts and videos can be a great way to connect to them. The remaining 5% are kinesthetic learners, and they relate very well to tutorials showing them how to do something.
Following these five ideas will improve your target audience’s user experience, and it may also convince Google to place you higher on the search engine results page. Remember that website design is an ongoing process that must continue throughout your company’s life.
We are here to assist you in implementing these ideas. That frees up your time to concentrate on the things you excel at while allowing our experts to take care of these details. Contact us today.
