The purpose of a website is to make your online presence known to your audience. Almost every month, design trends shift, and e-commerce websites try their best to catch up. But, even the most astounding design is obsolete when your visitors do not know how to access your features.
The design of a website is a clear eye-catcher that deserves all attention it gets. So, more often than not, website creators forget to give the same attention to UI/UX or User Interface/ User Experience as they do to the visual design. In this article, we will be going through tips on making your website more meaningful and memorable.
So, what is UI/UX?
User Interface / User Experience is an area of design wherein both are treated complementarily, not individually. User interface is what the visitors see, hear, or interact with. User experience, on the other hand, is all about the psychology behind the interaction. UI answers the question:, "Is this website easy on the eyes." At the same time, UX gives a solution to the question:, "Is this website easy to navigate?"
Let's take a website's typography for example. The UI designer has the eye for the best font; its design, brand alignment, and visual effectiveness for the website. UX designers on the other hand know the ins and outs of user behavior. They make sure that the placement of texts lead to other significant components and does not cause a shadow of doubt among users.
Sometimes, UX designers may not even need to do any visual design at all. They just expertly pave the way for users to have a smooth experience that lead to revenue generating actions. Abandoning one aspect of the design will result in a website that's either poorly designed or impossible to operate.
Know the Numbers
User experience directly affects a website or business's overall profitability. Think about it, when was the last time you exited a website because of an unpleasant experience? May it's the ads, or the loading time, or the puzzling navigation.
Huge, shiny banner ads seem to be the norm for most websites. Still, it's one of the main factors that increase a website's bounce rate (number of visitors exiting a website without exploring). Did you know that the odds of you surviving a plane crash are higher than you clicking on a banner ad? You're even more likely to win the lottery in the mega-millions than click on a banner ad.
Intrusive ads are the main reason 27% of Americans subscribe to any form of ad-blockers. That is a bit more than a quarter of possible leads gone because of bad user experience. In a study conducted by Forrester Research, it's concluded that an intentionally better-designed user interface could raise a website's conversion rate by 200%. And a well-designed user experience boosts those conversion rates to 400%.
4 Tips for a Meaningful Website
This easily proves that a meaningful visitor experience should be on top of the list when designing a website. But since trends change every now and again, how would you keep your website relevant and timeless? This article is aimed to answer that. Here are four tips to keep in mind to maintain a meaningful and memorable website.
1. Plan it out
To begin with, an easy-to-remember domain name should be used. We have compiled a few tips to help you out on this aspect too. Check it out here. For starters, at least make your domain name unique, avoid hyphens and numbers, and try to go for the .com.
The tabs and their content also necessitate proper attention. If visitors cannot find an "About Us" page or "Contact Us," they will probably head out. In fact, upon getting onto the landing page, 86% of visitors want to know more about the products and services offered. 62% would look for the contact information, and 52% are interested in the "About Us" page. Not having these pages (at least easily available) would result in higher bounce rates and lower lead conversion.
Wait, what are the actual metrics you *need* to measure? Check them here.
If you have the budget, consulting a web agency may be the best option for you. They will be in charge of all aspects of your website while keeping your brand's identity coherent and cohesive. But because of the competition in the eCommerce landscape, choosing the perfect web agency can be challenging. We have also released a guide to selecting the best web agency; check it here.
2. Aesthetics Matter
As obvious as it is, web design still dictates whether or not your website deserves a minute or two of a visitor's attention. We don't have to get into the depths of web design (because this article already does), but here's a question you may want to ponder.
"How do I want my visitors to feel?"
Branding, by definition, is the relationship between a company and its consumers. This relationship merits emotions, and great brands capitalize on these sentiments. Colors and typography can induce different reactions. Research after research such as this one cites that some colors work better than others across various industries. For example, the home design industry uses light, warm colors, especially the color yellow, to signify comfort and openness.
Different colors add different flavors to the website, and the perfect blend is guaranteed to keep visitors coming. Also, did you know that illustrations work better than stock photos?
3. Make the visit rewarding
Above all, visitors still stay for one thing, and that is value.
It's human nature for us to retain the things that impart value to our lives, whether entertainment, information, security, love, or anything else. If we are on a website that seems to be wasting our time, we immediately click out.
The key information about your company and brand must be placed on the landing page. Apart from that, blogposts that cover niche topics in depth will give satisfaction to your visitors apart from increasing your chances of ranking—SEO-wise.
The information found in the blog posts is what most people come for. This is why the most crucial (yet sometimes overlooked) vehicle of marketing is content. It provides value, and at the same time, advertises a brand.
If you observe the best eCommerce websites, they almost always have a blog section. This is to establish themselves as thought leaders in the industry. To know more about thought leadership, click here.
4. Make your website accessible.
19% of the US population has some kind of disability. Again, that is nearly 1 in 5 Americans. These may be anything from visual, auditory, cognitive, or physical disabilities. People can also be temporarily or permanently disabled.
Ecommerce merchants rarely have this faction of the population in mind.
When we are talking about a meaningful and memorable website experience, we should be inclusive of all people regardless of their challenges. This is a missed opportunity for a lot of websites to increase their reach.
We have compiled a list of great websites that we think could inspire those who want to start their own websites. You will notice that most of them have accessibility options to cater to our disabled friends. Here's the list.
10 Guide Questions
To guide you further, here are 14 questions to ask yourself when designing a website. This will ensure that you are crafting a meaningful website experience with pleasant and memorable visuals.
- Does my page load quickly enough?
- Is my ad placement intrusive and annoying?
- Does my website deliver to its meta-description?
- Is my content easy enough to skim through?
- Are there grammatical errors on my landing page?
- Is my content giving value?
- Is my landing page pleasant to the eyes?
- Do I have clear calls to action?
- Can the visitors easily find my contact information and "About Us" page?
- Is my website mobile-friendly?
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