You´ve made it to the other side. Now the website for your brand went from just a brief of Website Design you handed to the design company, into a fully functional website with its visitors, fonts, plugins, cool features and much more. That means that at some point you were happy with the way the site was built and ready to make that big entrance into the online world. Kudos on that one, but there's still a long road ahead to stay active and to deliver an excellent experience to all your consumers.
All of this in a market that fluctuates big time and is always changing. With that in mind some key factors affect the way your website is perceived, for instance: have you checked if your customers (or potential ones) have a good/bad user experience? Customers are always searching and craving more info, so you have little time to engage them with your content, we´re talking about seconds here.
That means that user experience is vital to success, hence why your website design must be flawless in order to get that positive experience your business wants to reflect on your customers. Chances are they will not return to your website - thus not doing business with you - if something went wrong while they were visiting.
There's no way in which we can stress enough that UX is essential. It comprises the overall experience a user gets regardless if they used a mobile device or a PC. It is not measured by any individual elements, like design or fonts, in fact, it is a very dynamic compilation of all those elements as one going through the very demanding lens of user experience.
Any results, whether if they´re positive or not, will also determine - by default - the perception people have of your brand and products. Think of it as a special connection - a bond if you will - between UX and the reputation of your business.
Customers may not even realise about this, but website design has a particular effect on the whole UX process for them, they rely on website design unknowingly, to determine how safe and trustworthy your site is thus developing loyalty. However, we´ve come up with a three-folded list that can guide through that somewhat sinuous path towards outstanding UX at all levels.
1) Brand Consistency VS UX: These modern times have witnessed a great battle among brands to gain customers attention. So it means that brand consistency is a BIG deal that should send a crystal clear message that separates you from your competitors. Plus it is no secret that consistent branding comes along with revenue increase. Nothing will make new customers engage, and keep existing ones loyal, like a consistency.
Visual identity on all platforms will make your potential customers want to do business with you asap. Accomplishing this is not that difficult, take a look at the Top Website designs for 2018. As one can see there´s plenty of aspects they all share in common, for instance, they utilise a distinct colour palette and imagery that delivers a stable website environment that only translates into value and practical information for the customers thus UX is raised. Make sure that your brand logo is everywhere (can be something that resembles a watermark, try to be very subtle about it. Too much can be overwhelming for users).
The good thing is that you don't have to look too hard to find good examples of consistent branding: DropBox, Wells Fargo and Walmart are excellent examples of consistent branding and UX focused website design. That sobriety causes no detriment concerning success, on the contrary it delivers a fast, modern, clear concept of what they are. Walmart actually changed their online logo to a much shorter one, bringing the cool factor to the equation but the core of the site is the same.
On this businesses websites, users can log-in, navigate and perform transactions in a friendly and casual manner. This proves that if a website design is focused mainly on UX, customers will turn out positively to those websites. The final target is that customers know where they are with fulfilled expectations, that way they can focus mainly on whatever reason they have to be on your landing page.
2) Make them go to the place you want them to go: Most of the times customers may have arrived at your website, and they might be considering going forward in doing business with you somehow, but due to poor website design not focused on user experience, they will be frustrated. Call To Action is a term that was coined to describe that moment when your website sets the path customers are to follow when visiting your site.
Let's put it this way: users may have landed your page, but if they are not sure of where to go or how to proceed, chances are they click elsewhere UNLESS you provide them with clear and precise instructions. Such level of clarity can be easily obtained if a direct language is used. In order to preserve UX at top-notch levels, you should focus on the following aspects of your website design:
Trust the little things. In addition to the contribution of the aesthetic looks on your site, small items like envelopes, shopping cart can be added to complement and make sure everyone knows where they´re clicking.
Conversion rates can be highly maximised if, in addition to the colour palette you selected, you stick to a unique shape that converts the action into something visible, and it´ll also captivate the user.
White space will bring freshness, contributing to the notoriety of the message
While the font should always be large and easy to read, you can still play around with some edgy, cool, trendy fonts that we love so much. Keep typography in a low profile (i.e. Sans-serif)
Some of us have rather thick fingers, so you may want to make buttons larger so people can click anywhere in the button and make it work properly.
The big one: Make sure your content is easy to comprehend, so user experiences maximise even more. Remember to keep it simple and clear, so the message goes through with no problem whatsoever. In that way, CTA (calls to action) will run smoothly, and it will pay out on the conversion rates. Remember that: good things, when short, are twice as good.
3) Customers are Top-Priority: This should not be a tip, but just common sense. Everything that surrounds website design should - must - circle around user experience, not companies or those in charge of design. With that in mind, website design should be crafted as a smooth path for the customer to rejoice when visiting. Any feature or changes should be made thinking of consumers as a top priority.
Basic consumer research should be enough to figure out what matters to users and what it takes to make them feel valued and connected with your brand. You should test and retest your website like there's no tomorrow, make sure that the improvement is being made to the website is friendly, reliable and fully functional thus assuring strong conversion rates.
Summary
Remember that in the end, you´re taking care of your users but also making an excellent investment for your brand. If you take the time to help them go through the user experience smoothly and leisurely, you´ll see the payout in the long run. Everything gets a positive input for your brand when you achieve good website design focused on user experience, from SEO to revenue it is all good numbers for you.
Think mobility, intuitive navigations, content that can be read easily it will blow your users minds and your company will see the right results.