Over the last few years, technological advancement has made it easier for people to access online services. Businesses are now using websites and web applications to connect with their target audiences worldwide. It has become an effective marketing strategy that helps boost the popularity of a business and increase its customer base.
But it’s important to understand that the experience a customer will have with your site may affect the success of your brand. The concept of user experience (UX) has evolved in recent years, focusing on the customer and their needs. Businesses can now utilize various tools and tips to analyze user interactions on a website. Through this, they can develop relevant content that meets their user’s requirements, thereby improving their site UX.
The information provided below gives a more in-depth look at site UX, what it is, and the tools and tips you can use to improve it, among other things. Continue reading.
What Is Site UX?
Site UX refers to the experience a user will have with your website as they navigate web pages. Do they understand your site’s content? Is it easy to navigate the web pages? Or will they have a frustrating experience with your website? Such questions will help you in gaining insight into your site’s UX status.
Most people may confuse site UX with site usability. Although these two terms are often used interchangeably, there’s a distinct difference between the two. Site UX is about what a user thinks of your website while they were on it. It can be based on whether or not they believe you have appropriate or engaging content. Usability, on the other hand, refers to how easy it is for users to navigate your website when they’re searching for specific content. This has a lot to do with how technically effective your site’s structure is.
Optimizing your SEO will help boost your rankings in the search results page (SERP). When customers land on your page and have a positive experience, you’ll have a better chance of growing your website traffic and conversions.
In addition, a sitemap creator will also play a huge role in improving your ranking. Conduct extensive research to identify the ideal service for site mapping.
Tips and Tools To Boost Site UX
There are several ways you can use to boost the user experience, they include:
1. Optimizing Your Loading Speed
Your slow-loading site may frustrate your users, forcing them to visit your competitor’s website instead. To avoid this, upgrade your loading speed so that visitors can quickly determine whether or not they’d want to do business with you.
Slow page speed can increase bounce rates. But thanks to technological advancements, you can now easily resolve this issue. There are tools that suggest how you can optimize your loading speed. One of the ways to do this is by compressing images before uploading them on your website.
2. Following Standard Website Design Practices
Each visitor expects to see some necessary elements during their first visit to your site. There are helpful components that you should incorporate when designing your site to make it easier for visitors to navigate your web pages.
Instead of reinventing the wheel when improving your site UX, it’s advisable to use well-established practices in the design development. The following are the standard thought processes you should follow to improve user experience:
- Include a Functional Search Bar: When designing your site, ensure that there’s a search bar on the header. This will make it easier for visitors to search for specific content without moving from one page to another. As a result, your customers will be less frustrated.
- Add a Contact Page: Some people may find it hard to navigate through sites in this digital era. Thus, creating a contact page on your website will make it easier for visitors to communicate with you when they experience issues.
3. Use Heat Map Tools
Utilizing heat mapping tools will play a huge role in improving the site UX. A data mapping tool is a data visualization system that converts user behavior into a graphical representation. It’ll allow you to understand how users engage in particular areas of your site.
For instance, your site’s hottest areas or most popular regions receive higher engagement than others. With this, you can gain crucial information, such as which buttons on your site the users are clicking, which pages they’re visiting the most, and much more.
There are heat mapping tools you can use to measure user behavior on a website, and they include:
Click Maps
This tool shows what users often click on your website. This information will make you understand how compelling prompts and calls to action (CTAs) grab the attention of your potential leads. You can also identify problems with your site through this. For example, if you notice that very few users are clicking a certain button, you can conduct extensive research to identify the reason behind it so you can optimize your conversion rate.
Scroll Maps
This tool records user behaviors that have to do with the problems they encounter with the site’s format. For instance, users who stop scrolling halfway could indicate that they’ve suddenly lost interest or are experiencing issues while navigating your web page. Use the recommended solutions to address such concerns.
4. Optimize The Site For Mobile Devices
In recent years, the percentage of smartphone usage for online transactions, web browsing and app utilization have increased. For this reason, it’s important to optimize your site for devices such as mobile phones and tablets. Failure to optimize your sites may affect user experience and drive visitors to your competitor’s website.
Also, with the growing trend for virtual working, ensure your sites can adapt seamlessly to work both on mobile and desktop devices without compromising the performance or quality.
5. Use Conversion Funnels Tools
Conversion funnels are tools used to understand the flow of visiting customers. Just as physical funnels guide liquids into an opening, a conversion funnel will guide the customers to the last desired action (purchase or a conversion event).
In its basic form, the tool may follow the classic AIDA model (Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action). While it can boost user experience, some visitors may lose interest along the way, reducing your conversion rate. For this reason, it’s important to utilize innovative ways to optimize your conversion funnel tools. For instance, you can educate customers on your product’s benefits and develop an increasingly smooth transition from the top of the funnel to the bottom.
Bottom Line
As discussed above, boosting your site UX may improve your ranking, leading to increased traffic. Conduct extensive research to identify the ideal tip or tool you can use to boost user experience. Also, learning more about your users may play a huge role in improving site UX.