Ever wonder what user experience is and why it’s important? Also known as UX, user experience refers to every aspect of your interaction with a product, service, or company. At times, user experience is likened to customer service because it requires meeting customers’ needs as seamlessly as possible.
Just how important is user experience? Nowadays, a whopping 88% of online consumers won’t revisit a site after a bad experience. Web development experts know several elements contribute to the creation of a superb user experience. There’s user interface, responsive web design, and usability, for starters.
In essence, an exceptional user experience is all about making the end-user happy. To achieve this objective, a brand needs to have a clear and thorough understanding of the needs and priorities of consumers.
Why User Experience Matters
To fully appreciate the significance of user experience, let us examine some interesting statistics:
- If site content is not optimized, a staggering 79% of visitors will leave the site and look for information elsewhere.
- At least 88% of online visitors won’t revisit a site after a bad experience.
- Superb UX design has been known to boost conversion by as much as 400%.
- A well-designed user interface can increase the conversion rate of a site by as much as 200%.
- Some studies also indicate that mobile users are five times more likely to leave a task unfinished if the website is not optimized.
Still not convinced? The experience of some of the world’s leading brands highlight the significant role user experience plays:
- According to Adobe, at least 39% of visitors will leave a site right away if the loading time is slow or the images won’t load.
- KoMarketing revealed that 51% of site visitors consider contact information as essential elements missing from most websites.
- The revenue of ESPN jumped by 35% after they implemented some of the homepage redesign suggestions provided by their community.
Also, since Google wants to provide a great experience each time people use their search engine, it is believed that UX is considered one of the main factors that affect search engine rankings.
Why You Should Care
If you don’t make user experience a priority, you put critical aspects of your business on the line, including sales, brand reputation, and customer loyalty.
Sales
If the primary purpose of your website is to drive online sales, user experience should rank high in your list of priorities. It is important to remember that websites that load slowly have cost retailers $2.6 billion in lost sales yearly.
At least 60 percent of consumers cite lack of information, a small screen, and slow connection as some reasons for not buying. Next, check the conversion rate of your site. Is it good enough for you? If not, poor user experience can be the likely culprit.
Brand Reputation
When a website is not visually pleasing, visitors and consumers might take it against your brand. Here’s something not many people know about: some studies pointed out that 94 percent of first impressions are related to design.
At least 60% of site visitors also stated they wouldn’t recommend a brand that has a poorly designed website. Undoubtedly, user experience has a massive impact on the overall experience.
Customer Loyalty
At least 52% of site visitors revealed that they no longer want to engage with a brand after a bad mobile experience. What is even more alarming is 79% of visitors who don’t like what they find on a specific site will search for information on other sites.
Understandably, no visitor would stay long on a site that does not contain the information they want. For those struggling to retain and entice new customers, improving the user experience should be one of your top priorities.
Effective Ways to Improve User Experience
There is no shortage of powerful ways you can improve user experience. Some of the most effective include:
Auditing your site’s flow
Examine the structure of your site. Also known as sitemap, check if the structure of your site can help visitors find what they are looking for quickly and effortlessly. If multiple steps are required, consider redesigning your site’s structure and flow.
You can use a user testing tool to understand the site paths that are considered straightforward and complex by your visitors. Aside from a good site structure, ensuring that headings are used properly can make a world of difference.
Asking your visitors how you can improve
Each time a visitor purchases from your site, send a follow-up email and ask them about their experience navigating and interacting with your site. Ensure you also ask straightforward questions and not vague ones.
Although pop-ups are vastly used for surveys of this type, chat boxes are considered ideal as they won’t intrude with any activities visitors do on the site.
Testing your site
User testing is one of the most effective ways to assess if your site provides an exceptional user experience. Nowadays, there are countless tools online that you can use. Some tools are designed to ask visitors questions about design, functionality, and web content.
Final Thoughts
The importance of user experience cannot be overemphasized. Without it, websites will be impossible to navigate and a pain to use. It is crucial to keep in mind that user experience can significantly contribute to the success of your brand. That said, make sure you provide nothing but the best experience on every visit.
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 giving back to the community.
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