A website is only as good as its ability to convert -- otherwise, why be online in the first place? Websites with excellent conversion rates have one key characteristic in common: they are user-friendly. But what does “user-friendly” mean, exactly, and how do you make a site as user-friendly as possible? These are the questions that boggle the minds of thousands of business owners.
Fret no longer, busy business owner, we’re here to chat user-friendly websites. If you’re a business owner looking to improve the functionality of your website, then buckle up because we’re about to run through the basics of user-friendly web design at lightning speed.
What Does User Friendly Mean
A user-friendly website is intuitive, responsive and personalized. Web designers have hundreds of tricks up their sleeve to improve the user-friendliness of a website. While not all tactics may be necessary for your website, your web designer will be able to identify what methods make sense for your industry, your budget, and most importantly, the preferences and needs of your target audience. The whole purpose of user-friendly web design is to keep the user in mind every step of the way. If you’re ever in doubt about a web design element, sak, “will this be attractive and easy to navigate as a customer?”. That question alone will change the way you view your website.
The Key Principles of User-Friendly Web Design
Whether you’re building your own site on Wix or you plan to hire a web designer to build a custom Wordpress site, there are a few standard user-friendly web design methods to include in your website.
1) Keep Things Simple - Remember those websites from the 90s where the homepage looked like a full phone book's worth of information on it (also, remember phone books?). That’s the exact opposite of user-friendly web design. You want to give the user’s eyes plenty of breathing room so they don’t feel overwhelmed. When a customer is overwhelmed with visual stimulation then they definitely won’t want to hear anything more you have to say.
2) Be Fast And Furious - Your website should be FAST. We don’t have to tell you how small our human attention span is, and nobody has patience for a slow-loading page. HIre a web developer to make sure your website’s backend is clean and up to date so you don’t lose customers because your homepage moves slower than rush hour on the I-5.
3) Put Your Logo Front And Center - OK, your logo doesn’t literally have to be in the center of the web page, but it should absolutely be easy to spot on every page of your website. Your logo, as well as other definable brand elements, should always be present so the viewers knows exactly what they are looking at.
4) Be Brief, Clear And Genuine - No one wants to be confronted by a wall of text online, and your website is not the exception. Use your SEO strategy to write clear, engaging copy that gets to the point in a way your target audience will resonate with. Remember that your target audience is 100% human, so talk to them through your brand voice in that way. Think more “friendly email” than “academic paper”. The idea is to connect with your visitors as quickly as possible. That calls for brevity, clarity, and genuineness.
5) Tell Them What To Do - You could tell the most beautiful, elaborate story about your product, but if there is no clear call to action on the web page, your visitors will not act. Craft engaging calls to action that jive with your brand messaging.
6) Make Content Shareable - Your website content should be easily shareable for social media platforms. Display social media icons in the footer or sidebar of each page, make sure your images and media are pinnable, and highlight excerpts of your text with prompts like, “Tweet This.” Your website visitors are a primary vehicle for getting the word out about your brand, and a little prompting goes a long way.
7) Include A Mobile Friendly Version - Most people browse the internet on their phone at least once a day. As a web surfer yourself, you’ve probably noticed the mobile version of a website is a bit different than the desktop version. This is because your web designer has coded certain elements to minimize or even disappear in response to the smaller screen. Make sure your website is responsive to mobile devices and tablets. This is something your web designer can easily do as they build your desktop site.
Make Your Website User-Friendly
Are you ready to generate more leads and please your web visitors with stellar, responsive and user-friendly design? Contact our wildly capable group of designers at k2 Sonoma County Web Design for your free quote.
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