As one of Brisbane's top digital creative agencies, you could say there’s not much we don’t know about websites.
A well-constructed, great-looking website is crucial to set yourself above the competition and convert leads into sales.
However, to make a lasting impact on your audience, one of the most important factors is a website that puts your customer at the heart of its design.Join our incredible team of expert website creators to find out the answer to why online entrepreneurs must focus on their users.
Why is a User-Friendly Website Important?
Yoast, a leading industry SEO WordPress plugin expert, tells us the top factor for ensuring your website has the best chance of success is that your site ‘satisfies user intent and has a clear goal’.For anyone who is working on an SEO content campaign or simply wants to increase traffic, it’s clear from the experts that keeping the customer satisfied is a top priority.According to recent research by Stanford University, it’s also worth knowing that a hefty 75% of visitors judge a company's credibility by its website design.It’s crucial to understand that your website is a window into who you are and what your business is all about. Obvious care for your customer's experience is important to build that credibility.
What is User-Friendly?
Giving your customers the best experience relies on an easy-to-navigate website. This means that your visitors can find what they're looking for quickly and easily.In a nutshell, If your website is difficult to use, people will leave and likely go to a competitor's site. User-friendliness is important for several reasons. Crucially it helps to ensure that people can use your site to browse, navigate and ultimately purchase your product and service. A site with the customer's user experience as a focus makes a good impression on visitors.
A well-designed website that has the experience of its visitors at its core will leave little doubt that you're a professional and reputable business. Having the customer's journey as a priority shows that you prioritise your visitors' experience, which can build trust and loyalty to your brand. It also helps with search engine optimisation (SEO). One of the reasons for this is that search engines like Google penalise sites that are difficult to use. Giving your customers a seamless journey will potentially help your site rank higher in search results.Overall, it will simply make using your site a much simpler and easier process. This means they're more likely to stay on your site and convert into returning customers.
How do you make your website more user-friendly?
The number of internet users in Australia is set to reach the dizzy heights of over 23 million by 2025, according to statisticians. To get your share of that colossal pie, it’s important to have a user-friendly website that firmly places your audience at the core.
Check out some of our best tips to please your visitors and keep them coming back for more.
- Use clear and concise text: People should be able to understand what you are saying without difficulty. A lot of text can be confusing; always check that your point is made quickly and clearly.
- Have a visually appealing website: Use colours, images, and videos that are pleasing to look at. Using rich content such as images means visitors are more likely to remember the information presented in an interesting format.
- Make it easy to navigate: Clear menus and easy-to-understand labels can help your customers easily find their way around your website. Always ensure site navigation is easy to understand and takes logical steps through your site. This is important because, without it, your audience cannot find the information they are looking for.
- Make sure your website is responsive: With so many other sites competing for an audience, they will be less likely to stray if your site is uber responsive. Visitors are unlikely to wait more than a few seconds for a website to load, so it is important to make sure your site reacts quickly to your visitor's journey.
- Make sure your site works well on all devices: It should look good and be easy to use on all devices, including phones and tablets. It's important to optimise your website for every device, given the vast range available that your audience may potentially use to access your site. Mobile optimisation is particularly critical.
- Include calls to action: Calls to action (such as "sign up now" or "learn more") help guide your audience through your website and encourage them to take the next step.
- Use customer testimonials: Hearing from other happy customers can help put potential new ones at ease.
- Social proof: This is when people see that others are using and enjoying your offering. Reviews are important in ensuring your customers have faith in your business and product or service.
- Keep it simple: A clear, uncluttered, simple website design is visually more appealing for your visitors to connect with. This can mean they are more likely to purchase and, more importantly, become repeat customers.
- Offer customer support: If people have questions or run into problems, you should have someone available to help them.
- Pay attention to detail: From the colours and the images you choose. Every detail on your website matters.
How Can I Measure User Experience?
As a busy entrepreneur wearing a myriad of hats, it’s understandable that you want some quick wins.Easy methods to optimise and measure user experience can be one of the best ways to improve your customer’s journey and, in turn, convert more sales. There are several ways to measure user experience, but one of the most important is simply to ask your audience. You can do this through surveys, polls, or by giving the opportunity to provide feedback on your website.
Another way to measure your customer's journey is to track your website's use. This can be done using analytics tools like Google Analytics. These tools can give you insights into what your potential customers might be doing on your website, how they're finding it, and where they're going after they leave. Finally, you can also use user testing to get feedback on your website. This involves showing people your website and asking them to perform specific tasks. It can be a great way to identify areas where your website is confusing or difficult to use. No matter how you measure it, user experience is important. A good user experience can help attract and retain customers, while a bad user experience may drive them elsewhere.So make sure you're doing everything possible to create a positive experience.
To Finish
We hope that’s given you some clear information on the importance of having a user-friendly website and some tips on how to achieve it. Our experienced web developers understand that defining your brand and ensuring your customers have the best journey isn’t simply about the mechanics of ‘building a website.’
If you are in the Brisbane area, get in touch to discover more about how we can help design your story, build the best user-friendly website and, more importantly, help to develop your business.
