How can you improve the experience of your website users? It’s a question that should be near the top of every business owner’s priorities, but it often isn’t considered.
That’s understandable. Running a business in today’s ever-changing economy involves so many different calls on your time, from designing new marketing strategies to weighing up the advantages of certified umbrella services when hiring contractors. But neglecting this particular aspect of your online presence is a mistake. Paying attention to website users’ experience is vital.
That is because your website is essentially a 24/7 salesman working on your behalf. It has the potential to be a strong asset and the heart of your marketing strategy. But as new technology develops at pace, older websites can be left looking out of date. A complete redesign may be necessary from time to time, but there are other ways to improve your website to make it more useful and richer for customers. Here are four of the best.
White space
White space is an essential component of good website design. It helps make the content easier to read and draws the attention of site visitors to the elements around the text. Strategic use of white space can help to create a sense of openness, and it conveys a fresh, modern tone. Of course, it can also take up a lot of room, so the key is balance: ensure that the essential information is displayed prominently and highlighted by the white space.
Page speed
Few things are more frustrating for website visitors than having to wait for the page to load. As mobile devices have become more advanced and ubiquitous, people have become less patient. Whether they are browsing online at a coffee shop or while playing a game on their laptop, they expect a fast speed. If they don’t get it, they may well leave the site.
The first step in assessing the speed of your website is to get your score via Google’s free service. Not only will this tell you how fast your page is, the service will also offer helpful suggestions on how you can improve your load time.
Bullets
Bullet points are just about the best way to convey information to a website visitor. By using bullets, you can tell them all about the benefits you are offering, how you can solve their problem, and the key aspects of your product or service. In a time-poor market environment, this is an ideal way of passing on information, without getting caught up in complicating details. Combining bullets with appropriate, fun icons is a winning combination.
Choose images wisely
It is a fact that images are far more appealing to website visitors than text, but this is an area where you need to tread carefully. Users are increasingly able to spot generic stock photos and their use can create an unsatisfactory impression. It is vital that the photos you use on your site are unique and relevant to your brand. It is also important to balance the number of images with text, to create a pleasing impression.
Tweaking your website until it offers the best possible user experience should be an ongoing process, but these four tips will be useful to you.
Hi Emily,
Excellent post with very good information. You have discussed very vital points here which generally doesn’t catch out attention. However, from the visitors point of view it is very important to give them a good pleasing experience. So that they come back again and again.
Thanks for sharing this lovely post. Have a good day. 🙂