13 Tips to improve the user experience on your website

February 22, 2019

White Space

 
Using white space properly can add a dimension to your web page and help highlight important things. It can also make it easier for visitors to consume the content on your website if you add it between paragraphs, breaking it down into more digestible segments.  

Calls to action

 
Visitors to your website need to be led I order for them to get to the important pages, which is why calls to action are so important. And their effectiveness is dependent on how they look, the more attractive you make them look to your visitors the more likely they are to click into it. Using different colors, shapes, and designs can help make them more effective in getting visitors to go where you’re trying to lead them. 

Page speed 

Making sure your pages load efficiently is one of the best ways to keep people on your website. Having slow speeds is a killer in the web industry, if your website doesn’t load within a few seconds most people will leave. Having your website optimized makes your website a lot more pleasant to be on and encourages people to stay and browse.   

Links 

It’s generally not a good idea to have links leading away from your website on your website. Google doesn’t like it, and why are you trying to get people away from your content anyway?  But if you’re linking to something on your website or must have a link taking them somewhere make sure you’re doing it right. Make sure that the link is distinguishable from the rest of your content, you want people to know that they are supposed to click this link. It needs to be painfully obvious so that your visitor knows where you want them to go. 

Highlight key info 

There are a lot of ways to showcase your important information. If you have a web developer, you’re working with they can suggest different way’s they’d do it and you can choose what's right for you. The important part is that it works with the rest of your website while also drawing the eye so people will want to check out your key points of interest. Making sure this info pops will ensure that people are aware of this as soon as they start scrolling around your website.  

Navigation 

People visiting your website should easily be able to navigate through your website. Having trending menu bars, sliders, pop outs are fun and trendy, but they should still be easy to use. Complicated navigations can confuse and frustrate visitors enough to make them want to leave your website and find someone else to fit their needs. Make it as easy as possible for people to move around your website with confidence to get to the information they need. 

Clear headlines 

Headlines can help lead people around your website or catch their attention when they are idly scrolling by. They can determine whether someone is going to take the time to read the carefully crafted content on your website or just skim by and leave. Making sure your headlines are interesting and informative can help motivate them to take a moment to read it instead. 

Color Theory 

Using colors to your advantage is becoming increasingly popular in web design because it works. Changing the color of your check out button or add to cart button could increase your sales because people respond to color. A lot of technology businesses use a lot of orange and blue, restaurants use red to stimulate appetite. Color theory is all around you, being aware of it can help you make important decisions regarding the branding of your website and the feeling you want to get across. 

Quality images 

A lot of companies make the mistake of using too many stock images on their websites. While this seems like a good idea, it can make your website less personable. Having your own images makes the website “yours” it just feels different then a stock heavy website. By using quality images on your site, you tell a story, and you keep visitors engaged. So, if they see stock images they’ve seen before on other websites they will be less likely to sit and browse your website. 

Consistency 

Being consistent is important in a lot of the things we do; web design is no different. Having a consistent design throughout your site is your branding, you don’t want to have clashing elements on different pages because your website will look messy and thrown together. Where a more unified design will look seamlessly put together and carefully curated so that it is appealing to look at.  

Animations 

Keeping someone engaged on your website is always a priority for web designers and marketing teams. Bland websites don’t leave an impression and don’t get returning visitors, which means you’re getting less business. Now, if your website has a cohesive design and carefully placed animations intended to engage the visitor, you’ll start to see more traffic. Interesting websites will stick to your mind, and all it takes is adding a few little animations to really bring your websites design to life. 

404’s 

Staying on top of your errors is another way to optimize your website. You don’t want people ending up in limbo because they’ll leave. They are clicking a link and expecting it to work, if it doesn’t, they are going to look elsewhere. Making sure all your links are updated and routinely checking if you need to redirect them is a good way to stay on top of the situation so people don’t run into that issue and can successfully reach your website.