It’s finally done! Your graphic designers have built a beautiful website for your business.
But now… no one is using it. So, what went wrong?
It’s a common misconception that a visually-pleasing website will boost your business. In reality, using principles of UX (user experience) will optimize your website to perform better for your visitors.
Let’s take a quick look at how accounting for website UX improves the development process, ultimately resulting in better user engagement.
What Is UX?
UX stands for user experience, and it is a field that centers on the holistic experience that a customer or user has using your product. UX designers don’t just focus on the website’s appearance; they also focus on how the site’s functionality is or how intuitive and/or easy it is to use.
Designing for UX is a balancing act. UX designers must ensure your website is aesthetically pleasing, aligned with your brand’s vision, easy to use, and fulfills its purpose.
What Can UX Do?
Consider the pain points of a clunky website. Perhaps the text is difficult to read, or there’s too much fluff.
Maybe the design is bland and causes you to click away. Perhaps the pages load slowly, or the information isn’t organized in a way that makes sense.
These are some of the factors that UX design considers to ensure the overall experience of using a webpage is a good one. UX designers and researchers truly study the website visitor. For example, they may rely on user feedback or conduct focus groups and surveys to improve the existing design. They’ll take the website through stages of testing to find any pain points and fix them.
However, UX design isn’t completely independent of looks. UX design also ensures that the website’s visual aspect is both pleasing and functional.
Why Does UX Matter?
The functionality of your website significantly impacts how much users can interact with your business.
If a user cannot easily navigate your website or find the information they need, they’re likely to click off and go somewhere else. Plus, if your website isn’t optimized for a search engine, it may be possible that no one can find your website.
(Because it’s buried under your competitors’ links.)
A robust website will generate more business for your company and generally give your brand a stamp of professionalism. Your digital footprint reflects your brand, and having weak web pages isn’t a good look.
There’s a Difference Between Design and UX
In reality, web design vs. UX isn’t a fair comparison, because design is one (important) aspect of UX. You’re investing in future revenue growth and customer retention by employing UX principles for your company’s website.
If you’re looking for a UX company to help you reinvent your business’s online presence, contact us today.