Digital Media Stream is a digital growth and design agency. That’s why, in our opinion, you should consider your website to be your number one sales asset.
It should see more ‘footfall’ than any of your stores - and it should demand more of your focus than any outlet your business operates in.
With this in mind, one of the main priorities and elements of your website should be UX that focuses on driving growth.
Before we get started, let’s first define what UX is. In terms of your website, UX stands for ‘user experience’ and is, quite simply, how a user interacts with your website - and how easy or pleasing your site is to use.
This is not to be confused with UI or ‘user interface’ - which focuses more on the system and how your site works.
Having an aesthetically pleasing, easy-to-use website will make your company stand out from your competitors and help to generate leads into your business.
In this article, we will not only show you how you can make an attractive website that is helpful, interesting and engaging, but we will also go into detail on the best ways to create a truly effective website that puts your users first and subsequently boosts your revenue-generating stream.
Without further ado:
UX Best Practices Meets Growth-Driven Design
1. Focus On the User
We’ve already explained that UX stands for user experience. So, it’s no surprise that our first point here hammers that point home.
Why would you design your website around anyone other than the people who will be using it? It makes perfect sense to make it as easy as possible for new website users to be able to navigate easily and identify the key areas of your site through a simple, helpful design.
The first thing to think about when considering what makes a great website is thinking about what you look for when visiting a website for the first time.
What is it that catches your eye on a website that makes you want to read on, purchase, and tell people about that business? It is all down to how the website design stands out and how it draws your attention.
There is no question that great website design makes customers engage with your business. So, you need to ask yourself what your visitors think about your website when they initially land on yours? Is it clean, simple to use, does it contain relevant and up to date information?
The takeaway here is to keep users in mind when thinking about website design.
2. Include Compelling Content
Consider more visual content than text and think about animation and illustration rather than basic images. Animated content grabs people’s attention more than static imagery ever could.
Inversely, be cautious with over-complicating the graphics on your site - specifically if the majority of your users are browsing using their mobiles or tablets.
You can convey complex information in a shorter space of time with animations - which means your users don’t have to do as much heavy reading on your website to understand your message.
A popular middle-ground is the incorporation of video content on your site; perhaps one of the easiest ways to convert complex messages without mountains of text-heavy content, video is well worth keeping in mind.
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3. Layout Matters
When we are web-searching, our eyes will automatically go from top to bottom and left to right. When you want your important content to be seen, the best place for this would be the top left corner, so you are sure this will be the very first thing your visitors see.
This will entice them to continue reading your website. Don’t clutter this space though, as you don’t want to baffle your visitors with too much all in one go, you need to ease them in. Your image would look great near the top middle, use your brand logo or if you don’t have one you should create one.
Users don’t read your site, they scan it, so make sure it’s easily scannable through the use of headings and subheadings. This means they can find the section they’re looking for quickly and easily which is what UX is all about.
4. Winning Fonts and Colours
You want to keep fonts and colours simple. Using two or three fonts throughout your page is sufficient enough. It will keep your page clear and clutter-free whilst still offering variety and interest.
Another thing to think about is the size of your font, you want your visitors to be able to read your content easily on a number of devices. So, keep it at a comfortable size; 12pt is a good rule of thumb to consider.
When choosing your colours, don’t go overboard. Choose colours that match your brand palette, for example, the colours in your logo. Always use a white background, as this will allow your content and images to stand out much better than if you were to use a colourful background.
Pick colours that are attractive and will make your website design desirable to customers; you want it to look perfect so try a couple of tests with colours and fonts until you are happy with the outcome. Make sure they complement each other and reflect the image of your business.
5. Tell a Story
Storytelling, as a UX designer, is one of your most valuable assets. Users follow content better when it conveys a story, so make sure your website flows like one. Let people know who your business is and where you’ve come from - and importantly - how you can add value to their lives.
The contact page is one of the most essential pages to have on your website.
It plays an integral part in allowing visitors, customers, investors to get in contact. Always have up-to-date and error-free information regarding your contacts on your website.
Make it easy for your customers to get in touch with you, provide a mobile number, landline number, email address, and a contact form at the very least. Extra points for interactive chat functionality!
To continue the story of your business, give your page a personal feel by adding your team. People like to see a friendly face. Their name, role, and a snippet of info accompanying a headshot will more than suffice.
6. Optimise for Mobile
We live in a mobile-first world. In fact, the percentage of visits from mobile devices grew from 57% to 63% in 2018, and it's no shock when we're met with a dazzling "screen time" reminder each day. It's also no surprise that Google pre-empted this trend and implemented mobile-first indexing back in 2019.
A huge part of UX comes down to how your site works on mobile. If your website isn’t optimised for mobile use, you're losing potential customers; it's as simple as that.
When designing your website, you need to check that the elements that make up your site are scalable and adaptable to a mobile layout. It’s a good idea, before you decide on a layout for your site, to design it around mobile use as the majority of your users will come through this type of device.
7. Exceptional User Experience Leads To Exceptional Growth
So, now you have our website UX best practices, you have every chance to have your site looking tip-top and performing at its best.
UX is a vital part of your website’s design and, if you neglect it, your business performance will suffer.
