User experience design, or UX, is the approach of building a website with the user in mind. Where users look, where they click and what they read first is all part of great UX design, and without it, a website will underperform.
At the heart of UX design is making sure a website is easy to use, functions well and looks amazing. But there’s more to UX design than just a nicely designed website. UX design includes elements like information architecture – meaning how the information, wording, images or data is laid out – visual design, and usability.
These features all look after the experience visitors have when they use your website. They lay a pathway for how visitors and users actually interact with your website and what they will do next – so whether that’s buying something from your online store, signing up for your newsletter or simply reading your next blog, UX design is an important thing to consider during your website build.
Great UX Design
helps you avoid bounce
There’s no point having great website content if it’s hard to access or interact with. Great UX design will help your website visitors stick around longer. The speed at which visitors leave a page – known as bounce rate – has a huge impact on how effective your website is at converting visitors. You’ll never convince them to buy your product or service if your website is cluttered, confusing or inaccessible. By streamlining content and arranging it in a way that provokes a positive response, you can help your visitors stay and keep clicking.
Cater to modern
attention spans
Good UX design needs to take modern attention spans into account. Did you know that most people don’t actually read whole web pages? It’s true. The classic research published way back in 1997 still holds up today. Website visitors generally skim read or scan a page for the information they’re looking for. And great UX can make sure that the content they see first is the most powerful – as well as making sure you’re not hiding the most exciting content at the bottom of the page!
Whether it’s showcasing a stunning showreel, explaining a complicated topic, or creating a clickable call to action, awesome UX design will get your visitors’ eyes exactly where you want them. Great copy should support UX design, by helping readers to digest the information quickly and easily. Bullet point lists and meaningful subheaders make it easy for visitors to understand – and helps your website rank better in Google search results, too.
The key features of
awesome UX design
There are lots of things to consider when you’re focusing on UX design. The user journey is crucial for your visitors. How easy is it for them to take action? Is it clear what they should do? Make sure you’ve made using and navigating your website as simple as possible for your visitors. UX is about building trust and giving visitors a good experience and a reason to return.
When it comes to users knowing what to do, calls to action are super important. Long gone are the days of a simple ‘click here’ button. Colour, shape and copy are all things to think about when designing an irresistible button customers can’t help but click. Positive and vibrant colours like green and blue and common call to action colours, and active words like ‘now’ and ‘today’ will help you to convert those visitors into happy clicking customers.
UX design is another thing that can help you stand out in a crowded market. What are you doing differently to your competitors? Make sure clear, stylish and user friendly UX is something that sets you apart.
UX shouldn’t
be difficult
It might sound in-depth, but a lot of UX design is actually intuitive. Much like putting the most important information first on a website, UX works in a similar way – you just might never have noticed it before. In fact, truly great UX will go unnoticed because it feels natural and not forced.
Here are some of our favourite examples of UX design online:
- Back in 2010, former President Barack Obama ran a campaign that tested several different call to action buttons. The most successful button created a sign-up rate of 11.6% – an increase of 40.6% on the original button. Read more here.
- Google. Is there anything easier to use than Google’s world famous search engine?
- PayPal is considered one of the best UX examples in fintech. Simple graphics and easy-to-follow calls to action set it apart from other payment tools.
- When it comes to e-commerce, it’s hard to beat Apple. Its stylish graphics, slick design and infinitely browsable catalogue make it a leader in UX design.
Awesome Creative
makes it easy
From swimwear websites to performance car tyres, we’ve worked on the websites and UX design for some pretty diverse brands who all have the same priorities: websites that look great, work perfectly and keep customers on the page for longer. We pride ourselves on fantastic UX design, so if you have a project mind, get in touch today for a chat about how we can make your website look awesome.
