Website design needs to take into account a wide range of factors, including the design, development, and marketing of your website. One factor that can’t be neglected is the overall user experience (UX).
It’s a term that increasingly pops up in relation to website design and technology in general, but what does it actually mean? Read on for our guide to UX design and how it can be leveraged for a range of goals, including customer satisfaction and conversions.
For personalised advice, contact our team at practiceedge today.
What Is User Experience (UX) Design?
User experience design, or UX design for short, refers to the experience people have when they interact with a device, system, product, or service from a business. The term is frequently used when talking about website design, but can also relate to software, computers, and a range of tech.
UX design is a dynamic and relatively new field that has grown alongside a range of technological and societal developments, including tech breakthroughs and the changing preferences of online users.
Designers in this area consider all aspects of a website, from its overall architecture to individual elements like menus, forms, and call to action (CTA) buttons. They want to create an intuitive and enjoyable online journey, with a focus on ease of use, accessibility, and convenience.
Why Does UX in Website Design Matter?
UX design has a lot to do with people’s psychology and emotions. For UX web designers, the goal is to provide a positive experience every step of the way, from a user’s first view of a website right through to any communication they receive after making a purchase or booking.
If this journey feels smooth and easy for users, there is a feel-good effect and the business can build loyalty with their visitors. Conversely, if this journey feels awkward or difficult, the user is less likely to return to the website and transact again, or recommend it to people they know.
Good UX design helps move users through the sales funnel, from wherever their starting point is – a search engine results page, or perhaps a social media post – through to the checkout step. It also helps with search engine optimisation, or how a business ranks in search engine results.
Overall, UX design can directly impact the financial performance of a business and if done poorly, can cost you customers and sales.
Is the User Experience of a Website More Important Than How It Looks?
This could be considered a trick question, as the useability and aesthetics of a website are in many ways intertwined.
Website design is often used as an umbrella term to describe a number of elements and processes, including UX design and also UI design. Website designers are focused on what users see and experience on a website, rather than the background systems and codes that make the website work.
Independently, UX and UI design are also primarily concerned with what users see on a website, rather than the background development. UX design is focused on the user’s overall journey through a website, whereas UI design asks how the surfaces they engage with look and function.
However, web design, UX design and UI design all require a combination of decisions or actions with different degrees of visibility or aesthetic value. For instance, UX design covers both the visual design and architecture of a website and a range of less visible background actions, including in-depth research into what a target audience may want, need or feel.
10 Ways To Create a Website With Great UX
- 1. Start with thorough research and planning. This process may involve undertaking user interviews or online surveys, developing customer personas, mapping out potential user journeys, and building website wireframes or prototypes to test your website.
- 2. Plan a logical information architecture for your website. Also known as a sitemap, this architecture creates a consistent user flow and experience, or buyer’s journey. No matter where they are on your websites, users should understand where they are and have access to tools that will help them get where they want to go.
- 3. Use clear language in menus and CTA buttons. Microcopy with phrases like ‘View More’ or ‘Sign Up’ are easy on the eye and can help increase conversions.
- 4. Review the number, scope and placement of your menus. If there are too many menus, too many confusing options in a menu, or the menus are in a strange place, users may feel overwhelmed and select nothing, or navigate away from your website.
- 5. Leverage your footer menus. They attract a surprisingly large amount of attention, and can be used to present information that may be hidden or lost in the main menu, such as your blog or address details.
- 6. Create a balance between scrolling and clicking. Primary pages are visited by lots of casual users who tend to prefer scrolling, whereas secondary pages will attract committed visitors who don’t mind clicking through to pages with relevant content.
- 7. Utilise trusted reviews, testimonials and case studies. This content is powerful social proof that your offering works, and if positioned near CTA buttons, will likely help boost conversions.
- 8. Strategically position and conceal content. If content is more specialised, complex or technical, hide it behind a click or an accordion layout. This will make your website look less cluttered, while still enabling access for the more committed users.
- 9. Make your website inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities. Some tools you can use are alt text, descriptive URLs and headings, and colour contrasting for text and backgrounds.
- 10. Keep your website simple and human. Your website should provide users with a clear, compelling overview of your business, without drowning them in information or feeling cold and robotic.
Enhance Your UX and Website Design With practiceedge
At practiceedge, we understand that your website is more than just a collection of pages and images. It is a critical extension of your medical or healthcare business, and should connect and engage your target audience through aesthetic design and functionality.
We have a proven track record of creating websites that not only look good, but provide an easy, awesome user experience. To find out more about our web design services, schedule a free call below.
