What makes a website attractive? As the saying goes, “There is more than meets the eye.” Read Why Design Matters: Defining User Experience. Understand what makes users interested, and learn how your website can adapt to their needs.
What is user experience?
User experience is a combination of design, architecture, research, and other disciplines. It requires all those parts to provide the user with both abstract and concrete experiences. For this, many often refer to user experience (UX) as the overall look and feel of a website. How you present your site and how users experience it leave an impression that you would want to invest in. Have a youtube channel and want to get more exposure for your videos? Don’t miss out on your chance to get more views by sharing this useful information. Buy youtube views now and see the results instantly.
When people visit you online, they see a presentation of your brand. Because of UX, they get an idea of your identity. Everything they experience in their visit tells a great deal about you. How do you want to be perceived? Users enjoy visiting a website that are easily accessible and remarkably useful to them.
“Brand is reputation, and reputation is the sum of customer experiences.” -Josh Levine
Good reputation is a result of good user experience. Consider how you want to present your website, what specific functions or features you want to incorporate, and what goals you want to achieve. In the end, you want your users to understand your ideas and support your brand.
Investing on User Experience
Design plays a major role in providing good user experience. This means the lines, colors, fonts, and its other essential elements leave an impression on your users. In addition, the layout and functions you provide help users decide if they want to stay or leave. When you make the most out of the elements of user experience, your website will:
1. Look Great and Feel Great
Why Design Matters Defining User ExperienceHaving a website means sharing your brand to others. And, there is no better way to attract them than having good visual design. Let your design communicate for you.
Think about this: 45% of all businesses don’t have a website, and 98% of the amateurs fail in publishing one (according to Webydo). Apparently, creating and maintaining a website is no easy task. Many usually think that it’ll be easy to increase sales and followers once they’ve established a site. Many are also satisfied with just the idea of having something that will represent them online.
Good visual design is organized, looks great, and makes the user feel great for experiencing it. It is perfectly aligned to the goals of the brand, making it easy for the user to browse through the website. It applies the principles of space, typography, etc.
2. Be Easy to Understand
The web provides you with the opportunity to share your brand to a variety of people. What’s easy to one may be difficult to others. This is why it’s important to keep things simple enough for the majority. You would want to present your ideas clearly and precisely (and also creatively), so that you avoid losing potential users and followers.
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.” -Simon Sinek
Guide your users through your website. Make it easy for them to understand the content and functions. Overall, aim for good layout and easy navigation. Build and organize your site in a way that it won’t be difficult for users to browse around.
3. Match User Expectation
Be creative in promoting your brand. Provide your users with the features that they are looking for. Imagine buying a pair of comfortable socks to wear at a party. You buy one from a brand you are familiar with. You expected it would feel as comfortable as any of the socks they have produced. When you try them on, however, you found out that they’re loose, stiff, and not as comfortable as they appear. The same goes for websites.
If users click on a button in your site, would it exactly lead them to where it says it will? If you’re site name says Fast Cars, would you provide them with bicycles? Don’t trick your users into following something that isn’t true. Authenticity, precision, and trust are the primary characteristics that everyone is looking for.
4. Function Properly
To help make your website look great and feel great, make sure that each of the functions you provide works well. Nobody enjoys defective products. Your website is like a great display of fireworks. It should work well to provide that fascinating experience that your users desire.
You can ask yourself these questions:
Is your site efficient enough in carrying out your goals?
Are the available tools and functions effective?
Will users be satisfied with their experience?
5. Achieve End Goals
Having an online presence is a great opportunity for you to connect with others. In the same way, users want to connect to what you’re trying to present. Show them why your site is built that way. Help them understand your message easily.
Apparently, what your users experience is the front-end of your site. What you do at the back-end, however, could reflect in certain features that they experience at the front. This is why it’s important to be clear with your vision to come up with the perfect way of creating your website. Let your ideas stand out and clearly reflect your goals.
As you try to meet your objectives, also think about your users’ identity. Consider who they are and what they want. Also, find ways to measure user experience. Hack Design offers an introductory course for you to do so.
Final Thoughts
As of date, there are more than 1 billion websites available. This includes successful ones like Pinterest, WordPress, and Amazon. But, out of the total number there only stands a portion of those that have lived out their reasons. Could others have neglected some of the essential aspects of a website? Apparently, yes.
Why Design Matters Defining User ExperienceAmong the commonly committed mistakes are:
Disorganized content
Hiding essential features
Difficult to navigate
Slow response time
Background music
Failure to adapt to any type of screen or device
Too much white space
No space at all
Knowing what to improve on will help you identify your site’s needs. Help your users perform what you want them to do. Let your site be the lead. Look around other websites and learn from them. You can start here.