Let’s talk about what we can do to improve the user experience. We know a great website will convert better than a crummy website with poor calls to action. So, what are some ways we can improve the website user experience?
1. Make your logo clickable Home.
Get rid of the home button and make you logo and branding clickable to your homepage. This is the current standard in web.
2. Make your navigation rock!
You have a chance to have contrast between your colors and to make text visible and readable and make it the right size for your site. The navigational text is going to drive the client/customer also known as the user through your site and all the pages. Make it easy and make it a great experience. Use custom terms to make it more personal or to make it more branded to your businesses voice instead of just generic terms like ‘services’. Creatively come up with some verbiage that will show your user that you are making an effort to give them a pleasant experience.
3. Determine goals of site.
Do you know the goals? Are the goals to have a transaction? Is your goal for someone to pick up the phone and call you? Are the goals to get their email or other information to re-market to them later? Maybe the goal is disperse information or links to other sites? Are you trying to sell a piece of equipment or 1 specific item? Or are you selling a service?
Make a list of the goals of the site. Write down your goals and then show it to someone and talk about it. Whether it’s a web designer, a partner, someone in your marketing department or even a customer or good friend. Get feedback and then integrate calls to action to match your goals.
4. Do desk testing, it’s insightful.
Sit down and roll through the procedures on your website with someone. Desk test your website for speed and functionality. Sit down with someone who isn’t web savvy, who doesn’t have a lot of web experience. Do this with one person who is your ideal client. Then try to find someone who doesn’t meet your persona specifications or demographic, someone out of the box who might find your website. Make a list of the things they ask, or say when they navigate the site. Sit with them and interview them as they go through the process. This can provide you with a list of 25-50 items that you can attack and have your web developer fix. It can increase your user experience by 30 or 40% or more.
5. Create a visual style guide.
Many web developers offer this to their clients. They will actually go in and create a full style guide explaining suggested color palates for their branding, website and marketing – and why we are using them. A definition of the personas we are targeting, specific styles of fonts and image usage. A standardized way to use fonts, imagery, graphics, logo and branding and all other marketing components. A standardized way to keep branding and messaging stays consistent – so the experience stays consistent.
6. Determine type of experience.
Do you want to have a transactional experience? Do you want to have an Informational experience? A navigational experience?
7. Make it easy to find stuff.
If you are offering PDFs or a book for sale, make them easy to find. Make it easy to find the products and services. Don’t make it hard. The easier you make it, the happier people will be navigating your website. They’ll feel good and have a smile on their face instead hitting a wall and bouncing off.
8. Make your site friendly.
The verbiage on your site has to speak to the customer in a way where they will actually engage with you on your site, or you’ll drive them to another page on the site, or to the sale or product or service. Little snippets of verbiage that you can use can make a huge difference. If you look at MailChimp.com you’ll see a good example of their voice—every time they have something to tell you – they tell it using calls to action with a personality and a voice. They utilize verbiage that makes you feel like you are part of the experience. Example- reading a note from MailChimp saying “Your newsletter performed well, you earned 5 bananas. It’s a fun user experience.
9. Determine type of search user wants?
This is another super important item. It goes hand in hand with #6. Transactional, Informational or navigational- if you can determine what kind of search they want you can drive them through a search funnel and in a way that is more focused way that is tried and proven thru analytics.
10. Create user persona.
Create at least 1 person, if not 2 or 3 of the type of person and customers you are trying to reach. Frame up who it is you are selling to, who you are marketing to. It will make you feel so much better about your website. And when people come to your website you’ll be able to say things to them they want to hear, because you’ll be speaking in that voice and speaking to that demographic and that targeted person that is focused and looking for your product or services.
