User experience (UX) is defined as “Every aspect of the user’s interaction with a product, service, or company that makes up the user’s perceptions of the whole. User experience design as a discipline is concerned with all the elements that together make up that interface, including layout, visual design, text, brand, sound, and interaction.”
Some liken UX to customer service. Why? It involves meeting the needs of the customer without any fuss or bother. That said, creating a superb user experience goes beyond having a responsive website or a visually appealing one. In essence, it involves having a website that is a joy to use.
User Experience: Why It Matters
Below are some statistics that highlight the importance of user experience:
- If the content on your site is not optimized, 79 percent of visitors will leave your site and look for information elsewhere.
- A whopping 88 percent of online visitors won’t return to a site after a bad experience.
- A study indicated a well-designed user interface could raise a site’s conversion rate by as much as 200 percent.
- Good UX design can significantly boost conversion rates by as much as 400 percent.
- Some research also indicates that mobile users are five times more likely to leave a task unfinished if the site is not optimized for their device.
Still not convinced?
Below are some of the UX-related experiences of some of the world’s leading brands:
- com’s revenue jumped by 35 percent after they incorporated homepage redesign suggestions from their community.
- According to Adobe, 39 percent of visitors will immediately leave a site if the images won’t load or loading time takes too long.
- KoMarketing indicated that 51 percent of site visitors consider contact information an essential element missing from most websites.
You can liken your website to having a prospective customer walk into your office or store. If they have a bad experience, can’t reach someone, or can’t find what they need, they will leave and never return.
It is important to remember that the more effort, time, and money you invest in making a compelling site upfront, the less likely you will have to deal with changes and bugs after it goes live.
UX is believed to be one of the primary factors that affect search engine rankings. Understandably, Google wants to provide good results each time people use their search engine.
A mediocre site is not going to make searchers and visitors happy. For starters, your site should be visually appealing and easy to navigate, use, and understand.
Creating Great UX: Top Tips to Keep in Mind
Ideally, creating great UX should start before your site goes live. If you wait for too long, you might discover that the overall approach is not correct or there are too many problems to fix. Below are some top-notch tips to keep in mind when it comes to great UX.
- Build with the user in mind. While this can seem like a given, at times, it’s easy to lose sight of who the website or product is for. It pays to remember that even if your site is visually appealing, it still won’t do much for the visitor if it’s difficult to navigate or is not helpful. Also, don’t hesitate to let an idea go if it won’t improve your UX no matter how much you love it.
- Determine who your users are. Aside from their personas, you can also categorize them based on behavior (i.e., just curious, warm lead, etc.).
- Ask for insight from all departments. Your marketing, sales, and tech teams might have different ideas about the website. While considering so many insights can be tedious, it would be a good idea to consider inputs at specific stages.
Conclusion
The importance of UX cannot be overstated. Make sure you don’t overlook this crucial element if you want to take your business to the next level and stay competitive.
About the Author
Sarah Munn is the Outreach Manager of Phoenix Web Design, a web design company based in Phoenix, Arizona that specializes in creating bespoke and responsive websites that will surely grab people’s attention. When not writing content, she spends time with her grandparents and also giving back to the community.
The post User Experience: What It Is and Why You Should Care appeared first on Melissa Forziat Events and Marketing.