6 Ways to Make Your Website More User-Friendly
A website is no longer an additional tool, but THE tool in your arsenal. These days, with ever-increasing web traffic and internet use, having a website is a must as it is often the front door for any business. However, not all websites are created equal.
It’s not enough to just have a website – the web design must be user-friendly so that users can convert. 88% of online shoppers say that following a bad user experience, they wouldn’t return to a website – that’s a large portion of potential users gone down the drain. In order to avoid this unfortunate circumstance, take note of the following tips and tricks to make your website more user-friendly.
How to Build a User-Friendly Website
To make visitors want to stay on your website, you don’t just need great content – you need to engage users, make your website easy to use, and increase overall convenience. If visitors find your website difficult to use, they’re not going to stick around to figure it out – 40% of users will simply leave if they find the website too messy.
This is why first impressions are key, which we have further explained below – from aesthetics to loading speed, make sure that the user’s first impression is positive. Having done that, you can follow the rest of these tips to enhance user-friendliness and ensure conversion.
It's All About the Aesthetic
Aesthetics are the main reason 52% of users say that they won’t return to a website, and 94% of first impressions are related to website design. Web design is therefore clearly an important factor when it comes to making a website more user-friendly. Not only should websites be simple and minimalistic, but they should choose color carefully. To ensure readability, there should be plenty of contrast between the text color and background color, and busy patterns should be avoided.
The website should look professional but still be attractive in order to reassure users. 94% of users say that they trust websites less if they have a poor web design. A consistent color scheme throughout the website looks more professional, as does the logo being featured prominently.
Mobile Users Matter
Since smartphones are now the norm, mobile devices are commonly used to browse the internet. In fact, 52.2% of all website traffic comes from mobile devices. To make a website user-friendly, you must make it responsive. If not, users will no longer use your business – 8 out of 10 users don’t bother reading content if it isn’t displayed on their device properly, and 50% say that a poor mobile experience will deter them from using the website, even if they favor the business.
First impressions are important, and if a user’s first impression of your website is that of it displaying poorly on their device, you can kiss their business goodbye. If businesses want a user-friendly website, making it responsive is essential.
Speed It Up
Fast loading speed is essential if you want your website to be user-friendly. 47% of people expect 2 seconds or less loading time. 53% of those on mobile simply leave if the website takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
Most users use fast internet and expect the websites they use to conform – this impatience is why it is important to test your website’s loading speed and ensure that it is as low as possible.
Smooth Navigation
A navigation bar is essential for a user-friendly website. However, be sure to keep this navigation bar simple and not too long, so that the user is not burdened with too many categories, especially those that aren’t relevant.
Products can be broken down into categories to make them easier to find, and drop-down menus can be used to facilitate this. It is also wise to keep the navigation bar in the same spot on every page so that users are not confused.
Navigation is made much simpler by including a search bar. However, just adding a search bar does not make your website user-friendly – how the search bar works are even more important.
While many say that you must never display “no results found”, this is actually a good practice since showing products other than the ones users searched for feels annoying and deceptive. One way to combat this is to provide suggestions while typing and allow users to refine search results.
Contact Information
Contact information being readily available is extremely important for a user-friendly website. You can lose users if they cannot find a convenient way of contacting you. Make sure that there are multiple options listed – millennials, for example, prefer handling everything online instead of calling, so only including a phone number and an address would result in a lost customer.
Don’t make the mistake of doing what Google does. Instead of directing you to a contact form or providing you with an email address to contact them, they send you to different forums to find your own answers. Nobody likes a wild goose chase – if you could find the answer on a forum, you wouldn’t be asking the question in the first place, would you?
Make sure to include basics such as an email address and a contact form. Live chat offers immediate gratification and keeps users from moving on to other websites and should be considered to be added.
Readable Content
When wondering how to build a user-friendly website, one of the most important aspects to consider is readability and engagement. Previously, I mentioned color choice affecting readability. Another important aspect is how the content is presented.
Long paragraphs will bore the reader and make them unlikely to engage with your content. Short paragraphs and bullet points, as well as avoiding the use of jargon will ensure more readability. 70% of users read bulleted lists since they’re easier to digest.
It’s all about the user experience so cater to the user. If your target audience is mature and has college degrees, you can use more complicated language than if you’re writing for teenagers. One of the ways to determine the level of readability is through tests like the Flesch-Kincaid readability tests, which can measure grade-level or reading ease.
While the details may vary from audience to audience, one thing is for sure – if your language isn’t suited to the user, they’re not going to stick around. Use this tool and ensure that your content is readable and comprehensible.
Also make sure to break up the text with other media, such as pictures and videos. Humans are inherently visual creatures – hearing information results in only 10% retention 3 days later, but if the information is accompanied by an image, the retention skyrockets to 65%.
Additionally, 80% of users watch a video but only 20% bother to read the text. Adding visual interest to websites, therefore, makes them more user-friendly.
Make Your Website User-Friendly
The importance of web design and user-friendly websites is undeniable. Businesses need to take control and make sure that they are not losing consumers due to things that can be easily remedied.
If you’re interested in discussing this more or any other topics on digital marketing, feel free to contact me to keep the conversation going!
