For many potential customers, your website serves as the first introduction to your brand. While using attractive images and persuasive language are important for making a good initial impression, to create conversions and get a solid return on investment from your site, you must provide a quality user experience.
A user-friendly design will make it easier for customers to navigate your site and find what they want. It will cause them to spend more time on your site. In the long run, it will greatly improve brand performance. Here are just a few ways to enhance your on-site experience.
Minimalist Design
Research has found that on average, online users have an attention span shorter than a goldfish, giving you only a few seconds to get your message across to customers. A cluttered design will scatter visitors’ focus. Instead, use a minimalist design that focuses on delivering only the most important information.
White space, large, readable text (with more detailed information delivered via bullet points), bold links, and attractive images will make it easier for users to remain focused on the content that matters most.
Simplify Navigation
Just like at a restaurant, visitors can quickly get overwhelmed if you give them too many menu options. If your home page has links to every possible page, it will be all too easy for users to skip over important information.
As marketing guru Neil Patel explains, “With fewer menu items, your visitors’ eyes are less likely to scan past important items. Every time you remove a menu item, the remaining items become more prominent. Challenge yourself to limit your navigation to five items.”
Mobile-Friendly Experience
Since 2017, more than half of all website traffic worldwide has come from mobile devices. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, then, that Google has subsequently made it a priority to highlight mobile-friendly sites in its search results.
Providing a mobile-friendly user experience when creating a WordPress site is fairly simple. Many templates include this option. But don’t forget to check that your site actually looks good on smartphones and tablets. You don’t want to force users to zoom in to read site content or click a link — a sure-fire way to increase your bounce rate.
Streamlined, Secure Checkout
If you sell products from an online store, you must make the process as simple and easy as possible. Start by ensuring that this portion of your site is completely secure. Customers want to have confidence that their information won’t get stolen. If you don’t use HTTPS or other basic security strategies, they likely won’t buy from your site.
Other ways to improve checkout include not requiring a login to make a purchase, keeping all forms (such as desired shipping method) simple and straightforward, displaying a progress indicator, and regularly reminding customers of order details. Such methods will reduce cart abandonment and help you turn a profit.
Parting Thoughts
Creating a beautiful website is key to gaining consumers’ attention and convincing them to learn more about your product or service. But by taking steps to ensure a smooth flow through your content for each potential visitor, you will be far more likely to have a website that converts.
