When your customers land on your website’s home page, what awaits them? With any luck (and a whole bunch of research and design expertise), they will be pleasantly surprised to find something both visually pleasing and easy to navigate. User experience is everything when it comes to building a website … but many times we forget the who, what, why and how of website design.
Design your website for a supremely satisfying user experience
Not every single company who claims website design and development expertise actually understands designing something specific to your target market. It may be up to you to keep everyone moving in the same direction. Whether you use someone in-house or outsource your website building and design, there are a few things you need to keep in mind in order to offer a great user experience:
Avoid clutter
Who doesn’t love the old K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) strategy? It is good for everything from website design to vacationing with children. Clutter and complexity are not what your target market wants to stumble upon when they head to your website. Instead, make sure the visual presentation looks balanced and clear. This doesn’t mean everyone needs to adopt a minimalistic approach, but keeping things simple and straightforward will make customers more likely to peruse your site.
Design for mobile first
Some web designers get the heady idea that their beautiful site will be viewed on a large desktop screen. However, more than 50 percent of web visits occur on mobile devices, with that number steadily rising. Make sure your website is optimized for viewing (and USING) on those handy computers we carry in our pockets. Your customers are much more likely to purchase your product or service if they can do it easily from their phone instead of waiting until they reach their desktop or laptop.
Encourage scrolling
As your site becomes a reality, it is important to make sure you offer the chance for consumers to scroll. Needing to click from page to page and product to product is difficult for users and increases loading times. That doesn’t mean you should give everything up on the landing page and forget about the rest of the site, though. Just give them tidbits of information in a format that is easier to scroll through (especially on mobile) so they can spend more leisurely time exploring your brand. Check out the site we built for our client, Martin Overhead Doors, for a great example of offering enough info on the first page that consumers will only need to click through a few times before knowing what they want.
Be intentional with your visuals
As a strategic marketing firm, it is painful to see websites that do NOT align with the brand’s vision and voice. Make sure you have a solid understanding of the image you want to portray to your customers. That means being intentional about all visuals and images (even stock photos) that you stick onto your site. The more consistent everything is, the better the user experience and the more trustworthy your brand will be.
Building a website is complicated. We could write many more blogs about the trimmings and trappings of getting it up and running. If you feel overwhelmed even thinking about it, check out our Entrepreneurial Pathway Program for more information on website development options we offer. Whether you just need someone to help with finishing touches or you need it built from the ground up, we are here to ensure your customers get that great user experience that will bring them back time and time again.