The 7 Best UX Practices All Websites Should Employ
Does your website look like something someone would find on a 2003 Internet Explorer page? Are you struggling to convert the traffic that arrives at your site into customers?
If so, you might want to consider upgrading the user experience of your site.
The best UX practices can help create an attractive site that's easy to navigate. Paired with a solid call to action, fixing UX issues helps encourage visitors to take the course of action you want them to.
If you're unsure what you can do to improve the user experience of your website, you've come to the right place. Today, we're going to look at different steps you can take to create a website that nobody wants to leave.
Read on to learn about seven things you can do to improve the user experience on your website.
1. Design and UX Go Hand in Hand
Take a moment to think about some attractive websites or advertisements you've seen lately. Do you remember what the text said? Odds are, you don't.
You remember the visual elements and the design.
Instead of relying solely on text, try to balance it with other elements, like graphics, interactive elements, and layout. You want to convey a clear message and create a site that sticks with the people who visit your site.
Remember that most people don't remember data points—they remember how something made them feel. Use that to your advantage.
2. People Don't Read, They Scan
Going off of the first point, avoid writing long paragraphs to convey important pieces of information. The modern internet user doesn't take the time to read through everything. Instead, they skim content.
Make sure to break up all of the content on your site with headers that summarize what the next sections are about. People can then search for the information they need.
Look into using visuals and infographics to convey important pieces of data. These can often attract the eye of visitors and then encourage them to read more.
3. Keep It Simple
Try your best to focus the attention of your visitors on the important parts of your website. Simplicity is everything in design.
If someone has to waste time looking around for a specific button or page, they're not going to take the time to do it. Make it as easy as possible for them to find everything they need.
Make sure that your design also stays consistent across your entire site. You don't want pages to be radically different from one another. That's an easy way to overwhelm people and make it more difficult for them to find what they're looking for.
4. Be Smart With Creativity
In the world of website design and UX, you don't want to reinvent the wheel. There's room for creativity, but modifying standardized elements will only hurt you in the long run.
For example, moving the search bar from the top right corner to the middle of the page might fit your aesthetic, but it's only going to annoy visitors when they can't find it. Keeping it in the standard location is, therefore, a smart idea.
Try to create a balance between creativity and usability. Your website needs to look good, but it also needs to be functional at the end of the day.
5. UX Best Practices
There are many great UX qualities that you should have in the back of your mind when designing your site. These keep your website from flopping and you from having to try and identify the issue later on.
Here are some of the main qualities you should have in the back of your mind:
- Useful: Your site needs to fill a need
- Desirable: Your site should leave viewers with an emotional reaction
- Credible: The people who visit your site need to believe what you say
- Accessible: Make sure your site is easy to use
- Findable: People should have no problem finding what they need
By keeping these core user experience principles in mind, your site will accomplish exactly what you want it to.
6. Know Who's Visiting Your Website
You may think that your website has the best UX in the world, but if you don't know who's visiting your site, it'll all be for nothing.
Ensure that you have a solid idea of what the people visiting your site are like. Once you do, you'll be able to target your UX towards fulfilling their specific needs and wants.
Remember to respond to the feedback that people in your target demographic give you!
7. Highlight Important Elements
As mentioned, you don't want people to have to struggle to find what they're looking for. That's where visual hierarchy comes in.
As a general rule, the bigger elements on your site should be the more important ones. This can include anything from a "Contact Us" button to a statistic that attests to the fantastic customer service that you provide.
You can also use a color scheme with an accent color. Highlighting important elements in the same color can make them easier for visitors to find.
Take Advantage of the Best UX Practices
Website design might seem like nothing more than aesthetics, but in reality, it plays an enormous role in how people perceive your business or brand.
Use this guide as a resource to help you understand the best UX practices. By employing the practices mentioned in this guide, you'll have no difficulty creating a website that resonates with visitors.
Are you looking for more ways to solve UX issues and improve your website? If you are, make sure to check out the rest of our site for more helpful guides, tips, and explanations.