Whether you own a small business or a large corporation or have just entered the marketing landscape, a well-designed website is critical for developing and maintaining your online presence.

And while many of you might understand the value of having a website, only a few comprehend the techniques involved in creating a good user experience (UX).

User experience (UX) is a fancy word for a feeling that people usually describe with phrases like “easy to use” or “a pain in the neck.” It is the resulting outcome created from a user’s interactions and perceptions while using a product or service.

On top of that, it is a professional practice with its set of methods and techniques to analyze the wants and needs of the users, ultimately developing products and services as per their preferences.

The main ingredients of User Experience (UX)

Visual Design.
User Research.
Content Strategy or Copywriting.

In this article, we will discuss the techniques involved in these ingredients that would help you to enhance your website’s user experience.

Visual Design

According to research by Startup Bonsai, 75% of site visitors judge a website’s credibility based on its aesthetics, and it takes only 3.42 seconds to see if it’s worth their time. This is how important the visual design of a website is.

Few things that you can use to make sure your website is visually appealing for the users are,

Choose a proper size.

Add visual “weight” to the parts of your design that you want the user to notice. In other words, the essential things should be bigger than the less important things.

Choose your pictures wisely.

Convey the authenticity of your brand, products, and services by using stock photos and images that are relevant and visually engaging. Using them effectively and strategically will allow the user to connect with your brand on a personal level.

Add contrast

You can enhance the user experience by giving high contrast to the essential things.

For example: For your call-to-action buttons, make them larger and more evident so users can easily find them.

Choose a proper color palette

Use a simple and adequate color palette, usually two to three colors.

Focus on the typography.

Increase the readability of your website by improving the typography through the following steps,

Add well-written headings.
Use fonts that are easy on the eyes.

Pro Tip: If you want to use two different fonts together, make sure they look visually appealing.

Increase the text size to make it readable and feel simpler.
Put some space between the words and the lines to make them easier to read.

According to Joel Marsh, the optimal space between the lines is about 1.5 times the height of one line of text.

Add space around the text and embrace the white space.

The white space is not your enemy. Adding and utilizing this space effectively will ensure people stay focused while doing their thing.

Create a visual hierarchy.

Using the proper size, placing the images strategically, using colours for contrast and adding text will create a visual “hierarchy” on the page.

This will make your website scannable and allow you to choose what you want the user to see first.

Know your goals

Knowing what you want to achieve through your website lets you choose from different information architecture (IA) types to structure your website correctly.

For example: If you have a retail store website, then choosing the type of IA called categories, involving terms like (Men, Women, Kids, and Sales), will help you design your website in a user-friendly way.

Keep a consistent design flow for every page.

To make sure that a user doesn’t get confused after visiting your site,

Use the white space as advised above and ensure your website is not cluttered with information.
Use the “triangle approach” to allow the user to use your website more naturally. This involves fanning your content by placing the dominant image at the top and the rest below.
You can also place similar information together so that the reader does not repeatedly look at the same thing in different places. An example of a website that uses this technique is YouTube.
Avoid a “dead end.”

Ensure the users always have the “next step” and somewhere to go. Moreover, make sure they know how to get there.

Add navigation and call-to-action (CTA) buttons.

Highlight and place them in appropriate places so the users can easily navigate your website to get the services/products they need.

Pro Tip: Make sure your navigation bar is short enough, as it can irritate a user.

Incorporate a chatbot

Add a friendly interactive chatbot to your website to ensure a 24/7 service to the users who visit your website.

User Research

According to Joel Marsh, users are the sun in your user experience (UX) solar system. You need research to understand them and their needs properly.

Some experts say proper research should be done before any other thing. Some say you should do it after the right plan and a drawing. Some say the best time to do it is after building a working product.

However, the question we should be asking is not “when.” It’s what. “What are we trying to learn about our users?”.

The next question is, “How will we do it?”.

Knowing the answer to these questions is essential to conduct your user research and thus formulating original techniques that would enhance the UX on your website.

Content Strategy or Copywriting

Making a perfect layout isn’t everything. Your content should offer value and be authoritative and informative to generate leads.

To make a perfect UX copy,

Your headlines should be calls to action.
Your explanations should be instructional.
Your labels should be simple.
Your button labels should be written for clarity.

Pro Tip: Combine it with brand copywriting to write your content in a tone allowing users to form associations between your products and the things they love. This will motivate your users and thus increase engagement.

Some additional tips include,

Optimize your website speed.

Use Google Analytics first to check and assess the speed of both your desktop/mobile website. Use this information to check the baseline measurement and the final one after you will follow these steps,

Optimize your web images by resizing and compressing them.
Eliminate unnecessary plug-ins.

Doing this will prevent 40% of users from abandoning your site.

Conclusion

Harnessing the power of a good website UI can be a game-changer for someone trying to attract and retain website users.

Create a meaningful experience for your website’s customers by removing obstacles that might impact their product-finding journey. While it’s a thing that is universally understood, it takes work to achieve.

By following the tips above, you can incorporate relevant elements to your site and thus enhance your users’ findability and overall experience.