5 essential steps to improve your website user experience and get more online sales
In a world in which every business has a website, you have to go the extra mile in order to persuade customers to spend time on yours.
You can follow 5 simple steps to improve the User Experience (UX) of your website to get more online sales.
1. Optimise your website load speed time
Slow-loading websites are very frustrating for your users, but can also be detrimental to online sales. According to a study conducted by Google 53% of users will abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. To keep your users engaged, make sure your website loads quickly by optimising image and video sizes, compressing files, and using browser caching techniques.
Useful steps to follow:
Test your website's load speed using tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights.
Monitor your website's speed on different devices and operating systems.
2. Implement an intuitive and clear navigation
A key component of an excellent user experience is ensuring that your web visitors can easily and quickly find the information they are looking for. To do this, start by creating a clear and intuitive navigation menu at the top of your site that covers all the essential sections of your website. Keep the menu structure simple and straightforward, using clear language that resonates with your target audience.
Useful steps to follow:
Review and evaluate your current navigation structure and identify areas for improvement.
Organise content into logical groups of top-level category pages and sub-pages for easy access.
Test your new navigation with real stakeholders to ensure it is effective and intuitive.
3. Make your website mobile-friendly
With the increasing usage of mobile devices worldwide, it's more important than ever that your website is ultra mobile-friendly and fully responsive. Responsive websites are coded in a way that they automatically adjust their layout and content presentation to different screen sizes and mobile browsers. Implementing a responsive design will help you retain mobile users and increase the likelihood of them making a lead enquiry or purchase.
Useful steps to follow:
Use large, easily clickable buttons designed for thumbs on small screens.
Ensure your text is legible on mobile screens without needing to zoom.
Regularly test your website's mobile-friendliness using Google Mobile-Friendly Test.
4. Include CTAs and contact forms
To drive leads and online sales, it is essential to guide your web users towards the actions you want them to take, making it as easy, straightforward and fast as possible. Effective call-to-action buttons (CTAs) and accompanying contact/signup forms are fundamental tools for converting website visitors into customers. Make sure your CTAs are easy to spot, clear, persuasive, and draw users' attention. Also, don’t forget to include a means of contact on every page.
Useful steps to follow:
Identify the key actions you want users to take on each page of your website, such as making a booking, a purchase, downloading a guide, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting your business.
Place your call to actions strategically throughout your website.
Make your CTA buttons and forms stand out by using contrasting, yet in brand, colours.
Keep your CTA copy specific, concise and action-oriented.
5. Use A/B testing for continuous UX improvement
A/B testing is a proven method for valuable insights and continuously improving your website's performance, but also to help you determine which site elements resonate best with your target audience.
With A/B testing, you can create two versions of a page (A and B) with slight variations in elements such as buttons, headlines, content or images. Web visitors are presented with either version randomly, and you compare the conversion rate of each to determine which performs better. Best practice is to test one element of your website at a time and give each test ample time to gather data before drawing conclusions.
Useful steps to follow:
Identify a specific goal, such as improving the checkout process or making people sign up to your newsletter.
Use A/B testing tools like Google Optimise to determine your most popular pages and elements.
Test one element at a time for the clearest results.
Do you need help with optimising your Squarespace website?
As small business web design and marketing specialists, we can help you improve your website UX to capture more leads and make more sales. To find out more, please contact us today.