How To Improve User Experience

Improving User Experience For Everyone

It’s time for another weekly dose of website tips and tricks brought to you by none other than Digital Cobweb. So grab that steaming cup of coffee or tea and settle in as we dive into the fascinating world of improving user experience on our websites.

User Experience

This edition is all about user experience, including the importance and ways to improve the user experience.

As website owners, we all want our users to have a pleasant experience navigating our site, leading to that lucrative purchase or deal. The key to achieving this lies in understanding what makes our users happy. To do that, we need to step into their shoes and view our website from their perspective.

For instance, let’s say we want to sell them a new kitchen. What would they need from our website to make that decision? We’ve compiled a list of what we think they would require: a clear view of the kitchen and its components, a brief introduction to the company and the owners (who will be fitting the kitchen), reviews and testimonials from previous clients, and a smooth and easy checkout experience.

What a user experiences on our site is very similar to the service or product they receive, they expect the best quality from our business to ensure their wants and needs are met, which is so important in business. So, we need to ensure that we keep our users happy, which includes the user experience on our website.

By adopting this user-centric approach, we can start to think outside the box and ensure that everything on our website is user-friendly. This is an essential step in designing and building a website, as overlooking these critical elements can be detrimental. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of improving user experience on our websites.

User Experience Through Research

As we all know, user experience is all about creating a website that is tailored to our users’ needs. The best way to achieve that is by doing our homework on what works best for our users.

Now, there are many ways to conduct user research. One effective method is by viewing competitors’ websites. By doing so, we can gain an understanding of what works well, such as the way navigation is laid out or how a kitchen is displayed. After all, if a competitor’s website ranks in the top 10, they must be doing something right as users consistently visit their site.

Another method is A/B testing, which involves testing two different website designs over a six-month period. This process provides valuable insights into what works for our users, what needs improvement, and what needs to be removed altogether. By analysing the results, we can gather ideas on how to improve user experience on our website.

Of course, the most effective method is simply asking our users what they need from a website. This may take more time, but it allows us to get direct feedback from the people who will be using our website.

In conclusion, improving user experience starts with research. By analyzing competitors’ websites, conducting A/B testing, and directly engaging with our users, we can gain valuable insights on how to create a website that is both user-friendly and effective. So let’s get to work and start improving our user experience today!

CDNs are like the superheroes of website speed. They have servers located in multiple countries, which cache your website’s content and deliver it to the end user from the closest server. This means that your website’s content is delivered faster, including HTML, Javascript, and all your assets. So, when looking for a hosting provider, be sure to choose one that uses a CDN.

But external factors aren’t the only things that can slow down your website. Your website’s structure also plays a role. The way bots read your website can impact its speed, as well as the size of certain elements such as images and videos.

White Space – Simple and non-chaotic

Now that we know what our users want and what works best for them, it’s time to get to the nitty-gritty of design. White space is like the fancy bow tie of design – it pulls everything together and makes it look sharp. Simply put, white space is the blank space around content on a website. It’s the magic ingredient that helps keep a clean canvas and enables users to differentiate between important and not-so-important content.

Think of it as the breathing room that helps users take in the content without feeling like they need a microscope. We’ve got some great examples to show you just how much of a difference white space can make in improving user experience, so let’s dive right in!

Maintain Visual Hierarchy

As purveyors of digital aesthetics, we designers prioritize the maintenance of hierarchy in our web designs – from the little headings to the pictures we adorn them with. This is key in creating a website that users feel a sense of familiarity with, much like a cherished old friend.

Just like any self-respecting business with a hierarchical structure, each of our website’s elements has a designated role to play in the grand scheme of things.

In the grand scheme of things, visual hierarchy is absolutely crucial to our users, as it provides a clear path to navigate through our website. Think of it as a digital map – and we all know how lost we can get without one of those!

We use features of the website to ensure users know what content will help them. Using the above examples what stands out first – well for me its the toothbrush with the words brush better, which gives me a clear understanding of what this website is about. Followed by the button, which our brains will automatically think of next, which is clearly shown after the heading.

The smaller details are then followed, this includes the learn more button, followed by the navigation, which seems to be hidden to the last part of the website, which could lead to our users missing the content.

Make Buttons and Links More Aware

The next stage of user experience includes making sure the user finds what it needs within seconds, anything more than 10-20 seconds can lead to a user leaving your site straight away (bounce rate) which can affect our rankings, through to lower sales due to unhappiness.

So when you go on a website what do you want to see? My personal preference is a button that clearly states what I am going to do, the best example is the Apple Pay button, it states what I am doing straight away, with no room for changes Apple have ensured users know what their button looks like.

Next we have links, which are often put in paragraphs or headings, often with the worst blue ever, with an underline to show this is a link. It is important that these links stand out, make them bold, or even bright pink, users need to see these links.

Accessibility

Accessibility to our website is so important, and by this I mean catering our website for all audience, including those who require the use of screen readers, and specialist equipment to help them navigate the web.

We must cater for these needs, as they are just as important users as everyone else, this includes the use of alt text on images, ensuring that our content can be read by screen readers, and that buttons can be clicked by all.

Conclusion

In this edition of our blog we have discussed many important features of how to improve user experience within our websites. We have established the importance of accessibility within our website, along with hierarchy and making links aware. This is all to help businesses find the best methods of growing online.

I hope that we have covered everything that helps your website to improve user experience, if you have any questions regarding user experience contact us today (social links above). Please read our next edition due on: 04/05/2023 – Thursday.

We are open for website design clients today, please email: jono@digital-cobweb.co.uk or send us a DM on any of our social pages.

Design By Jono – Digital Cobweb