How to Design a User-Friendly Website in Northampton

Websites are more than just text and pictures. People now see webpages as something that will entertain them. They expect your site to deliver quality content that is also intuitive to use. Meanwhile, pleasing aesthetics can convince visitors to stay long enough to click on your call-to-action (CTA) buttons.

So, to convert people to customers and leads, you’ll need a user-friendly site. Here are some tips that can help you achieve that goal.

1.  Ask your users about your website

Consider asking regular visitors for their input about your webpages. Do they find navigating between pages quick or tricky? Obtaining answers direct from the users can help discover what features you need in your pages. Sometimes, you’ll only know what’s missing on your website once people point them out. Once you’ve collected enough comments, you can then ask your website designer to fix any unwanted features.

If you heed their feedback, you’ll have no difficulty turning your website into a user-friendly one. By designing your pages to their liking, you can also expect an increase in your sales.

2.  Ensure that your website has a speedy loading time

Visitors, especially mobile users, expect fast loading speed. One in two users wants pages to load within two seconds. If it takes more than three seconds, they will probably leave the site. So, if you want visitors to stay, consider speeding up the loading time.

You can make your page load faster by removing:

• Large images or files.
• Complicated or long animations.

If you have to use pictures, consider optimising them. There are also online tools that can help determine a site’s loading time. One of them is Page Speed Insight from Google.

Consider asking your designer to remove any elements that are slowing down your web pages. If you want visitors to do business with you instead of the competition, adding this feature is a priority.

3.  Remove any unnecessary content

Visitors to your page are looking for information that will help them decide about your products or services. However, if you place too much irrelevant content, people may think that you’re not being truthful.

Once they can’t find the required details, they may leave and go to your rivals. So keep your pages’ content relevant and easily accessible. Also, avoid using jargon or terminology that users can hardly understand.

Meanwhile, your content should capture visitors’ interest almost immediately since you only have eight seconds to capture their attention. So, consider presenting content that is divided into short but powerful paragraphs with clear and concise headers.

You can also include suitable images and icons. For example, you’re selling Epsom salts. Understand that your likely buyer will have concerns about the effectiveness of your product. You can increase the chances of converting them to customers by providing an in-depth guide about its use.

Your site should also include answers to common questions that visitors may ask.

4.  Create an intuitive navigation menu

Once a visitor lands on your website, they will rely on your menu to travel between pages. Your navigation bar is crucial since it’s also the guide back to your landing pages.

However, too many items on your menu can make it bulky and confusing. So consider retaining only the important ones. It’s also essential that the bar is located in the same place on every webpage.

To ensure that the menu is in the right spot, consider using A/B tests. This will require altering positions, arranging the tabs and even changing the wording. It will require some work and time, but it will help make your website user-friendly.

5.  Use colours that your target audience will respond to

Colours can help enhance or blur your website’s message. So it’s essential to achieve a colourful combination of beauty and clarity. Also, it pays only to use colours that are considered appropriate in your industry. Furthermore, ensure that the background colour will make the text easier to read and not strain your visitors’ eyes.

Meanwhile, you can stimulate certain emotions from your customers through the use of colours. For example:

• Red can mean power or passion.
• Orange can symbolise happiness.
• Yellow can represent the brightness of the sun, optimism or hope.
• Green may indicate money or nature.
• Blue can trust or stability.

6.  Include various layouts

People will use multiple devices and browsers to view your website, so make sure that it will look good in each format. For example, most visitors will be likely to use their smartphones to visit your site. So it’s critical to design a website that will look good on both desktop and mobile. They don’t have to look the same. However, mobile users should enjoy your site without having to zoom every section. It’s also worth mentioning that Google now prefers sites that are optimised for mobile devices.

7.   Place CTAs in strategic locations

To convince visitors to buy your product or services, you’ll need to convince them. You can do that by using a strong CTA button that people can easily see. To make the CTA a useful tool, consider choosing a colour that will stand out against the background. It’s also essential to set the CTA button in a prominent position on your webpage. For example, most sites feature a CTA on the top page. However, a few have managed to succeed in placing the button at the bottom.

8.  Fill up your contact page

Many customers believe that a website with incomplete contact information is a sure way to lose their trust. Unfortunately, a survey revealed that many sites lack contact information, which can lead to missed sales opportunities. So, if your only contact detail is an email address, add more information such as a telephone number.

Conclusion

The above are some of the design tips that can enhance the user experience (UX). It’s also essential to continuously improve the UX of your website. So consider consulting your web designer periodically to learn the latest UX trends. Also, remember that tools that can make a blog site look good may prove inadequate for an e-commerce one. Furthermore, always test new features with the help of your target audience. Websites that are easy to use are better at obtaining more sales and clients.