Five easy ways to improve your website’s UX

Having a website for your business is essential, but it’s equally important to have a site that your customers enjoy using. Whether your site consists of three webpages or 30, it has to offer visitors a seamless and satisfying user experience (UX). Sarah English, a professor of UX design at Toronto’s Centennial College, says the first thing you should do is your homework.

Take advantage of free Web analytics tools to determine if people are leaving particular pages quickly. That may indicate usability issues. “You can also conduct DIY usability testing to learn how people interact with the site,” says English. Ask a few friends to perform tasks on your website, such as a product search or the purchase process. Get their feedback about where they clicked, what they liked and where they had problems.

Here are five more of English’s tips on creating user experiences that attract, retain and engage both prospects and clients.

1. Listen to testing and customer feedback
This can be as simple as making text more legible or changing the wording on a navigation tab. “People have very low tolerance points for being inconvenienced, and a user-friendly website is critical in today’s market,” explains English, who also co-founded Canada’s first user-experience design studio, Usability Matters, which appeared on the PROFIT 500 list of Canada’s fastest growing companies numerous times.

“People have very low tolerance points for being inconvenienced, and a user-friendly website is critical in today’s market.”

2. Include all your contact info
English claims that a common mistake is not including your physical address somewhere on your site, especially when some customers may be looking specifically for a Canadian provider. She also suggests business owners make sure their Google My Business page has a location listed and an accurate link to their website.

3. Keep it simple
“Your site should be straightforward with clear calls to action,” advises English. “For each page, think ‘What is the next step?’” The customer journey needs to make sense. Streamline your content, starting with any bells and whistles that distract instead of convert. Replace any jargon or potentially confusing terminology with plain language, which ensures your content is easy to understand.

4. Be smart about product images
It won’t matter how gorgeous that product shot is if no one can see it. “A big frustration for people is waiting for a page to load, so speed things up by sizing your images correctly,” says English.

5. Make your site responsive
How will people find your website? “Mobile’s really overtaken desktop as a preferred search approach,” says English. “If something’s not worth putting on a tiny little screen, it’s not worth putting on a larger one either.” Budget-conscious business owners can choose from responsive WordPress plug-ins, templates and themes that display differently from mobile to tablet to desktop screens.

“If something’s not worth putting on a tiny little screen, it’s not worth putting on a larger one either.”
Above all, your site’s UX must take the lead, even if that means simplifying it. “Business owners don’t have to love their website, but their customers do,” says English.

What are CRM tools and how can they help your business? Click here to find out.

Original Post on Rogers Small Business Blog – click here for more.