Looking to improve the user experience for your next website redesign? If so, you’re not alone. Redesigns can be an excellent opportunity to update website design practices, user experience techniques, and strategies.
According to the 2021 Google Algorithm Update, users are less likely to stay on a website if they don’t feel like the design is optimized for their needs.
In today’s digital world, users expect to be able to find what they’re looking for right away. They also want their website experience to feel personalized and tailored to them.
This website redesign guide will teach you 6 ways to make usability improvements for your new design.
Tip 1: Design for mobile-first
Users have become increasingly reliant on their smartphones to find what they’re looking for. With over 60% of Google searches being made on mobile devices, your redesign process needs to focus on how websites will look when viewed from this device.
Designers need to create a responsive web design, which means that website content will be displayed differently depending on what device it is being viewed from. This includes desktop computers, smartphones, and tablets so you can make sure your site looks good no matter where people are browsing from.
For example, a blog post with a video might be a great design to have on your site, but if most of the site traffic is coming from mobile devices and tablets, it’s not going to be as effective. Pain points such as website scrolling, website loading time, and website layout may need to be addressed to improve the user experience.
When redesigning your existing website for mobile, it might be worth considering what will look better as well – do you want visuals or more text on the website’s mobile homepage?
To optimize for mobile, make sure images are high-resolution, use bright colors as an accent for your buttons or CTAs, and break up content into smaller chunks so it’s easy for end-users to scan as they’re scrolling.
Tip 2: Utilize website copy strategically
A website redesign allows you to quickly update and reorganize existing content to find what the user needs. It can help them know what they should do next and have confidence that their website journey will have a satisfying end result.
Keep in mind that since most users judge your homepage in just seconds, it’s essential to make the homepage copy clear and concise.
Research your audience and what they’re looking for, along with mapping out your personas. Wireframes are a great way to map website pages and sections before the design process so you know what information needs to be added or moved around.
Here are some tips to follow:
- Telling a story on the homepage is an excellent UX design tactic because it explains your purpose and establishes your brand for visitors so that they feel like they’re in the right place and know what to do next.
- Website visitors will also be looking for keywords related to their business or industry to find valuable information. This allows you to create new content related to keywords they’re searching for in the design process.
- Break up your content on each individual page. Make sure that each column has its own header and summarizes what’s inside (think newspaper article style) and that the website copy is easy to read.
- Optimize content by using enticing headlines on each page that draw the audience in.
- Website copy should include your company product or service’s benefits and make it easy to sign up for a newsletter or updates.
Click here to learn about strategies that can help you create meaningful website content.
Tip 3: Give your users an interactive experience
Website users want to feel like they’re part of an experience.
Interactive website content can help them do this. It can be as simple as conducting a quiz that gathers voluntary information or adding customer video testimonials recanting their experiences with your company.
But it doesn’t have to be complicated either – sometimes website content, such as a blog post or website copy that’s interactive, can be the most effective way to increase website conversions and leads.
- Create interactive pages by adding video content, website infographics, and gated white papers.
- The website design should include website tools such as a contact form or newsletter signup on each page.
- Consider using eye-catching techniques with vibrant colors, background vectors, and floating content that will draw your attention as you scroll.
- Adding a call-to-action (CTA) button that reacts to the mouse makes for an experience where users are not distracted by clunky buttons or links.
- A loading bar is a simple yet effective way to let your users know what stage they’re at as they scroll down the webpage.
- Icons can effectively replace text. Icons help boost usability by allowing users to take in more information and make it easier to understand what they’re looking at.
Tip 4: Motivate your user to take action
Website copy, such as images, forms, or CTAs, should motivate your target audience to take action.
Use visuals that speak a compelling message for your audience and grab the user’s attention by using eye-catching background colors and graphics.
Use site copy to tell a story and answer the question, “What do you want me to do next?” Adding a clear CTA to each web page can lead the user to take action by filling out a form, downloading a brochure, or directing them to your resources web page.
If you have an eCommerce site, website conversion rate maximization will depend heavily on the site layout and how your CTAs are positioned or where they appear to other site content.
An effective way to increase website conversion rates is to measure website performance analytics such as bounce rate, time on site, or the number of clicks.
The website design should be designed with a conversion perspective by using tools like A/B testing and Google Analytics that will help you determine what works best for your redesign project to increase the number of leads generated from website traffic.
Tip 5: Optimize Page Speed
Website speed impacts user experience because pages that are slow to load will frustrate site visitors who don’t want to wait any longer. Slower page loading can also affect conversions if a visitor is in the middle of completing an action and then they have to stop before it’s complete.
Studies have shown that website page speed can impact a website conversion rate up to 14%. This means you need to make sure your website loads in under three seconds, or it could affect the number of people who will convert or purchase items from your site.
The website design should include website data tools like website speed optimization plugins to help you identify, monitor, and fix website performance issues.
Website owners can also use website page compression techniques to minimize the number of images on a web page or optimize their website content without compromising quality by removing unnecessary codes.
Tip 6: Keep website design flexibility for future growth
Keeping your new website design flexible is a great way to keep it up-to-date and allow for future growth. Look and feel will change over time, so website design should be created to still work for your business in the future.
This means having space on each page where text, videos, images, and links can be added. You also want to make it easy for website visitors to navigate from page to page without any confusion or frustration.
With the rise of mobile usage, you should be able to tweak the content with ease on devices like tablets or smartphones without compromising quality in any way.
User experience is an essential factor to keep in mind when designing a website because it can have a powerful impact on your website conversion rates and overall website performance.
Website owners should take time to implement practices that will improve the user experience for their site visitors, which will lead them to convert or purchase items from your site.
It’s essential to take a look at user experience techniques that help your users have an enjoyable website experience without any frustration on their part as they navigate through each webpage of your site.
The website design should also be flexible to make changes or add content as needed without compromising website quality.
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Happy designing 🙂
