3 Website UX Goals You Should Have for 2019
[This article was written by Kelsey McKeon.]
The new year is an opportunity to redesign your website to provide a better user experience (UX) for your customers or readers.
Like many New Year’s Resolutions, however, committing to a website redesign is a daunting task for business owners.
Investing in UX this year can mean the difference between increased conversions or decreased traffic on your website.
As online users’ attention span decreases due to digital wellness trends, businesses compete for limited amounts of time with a target audience. Good website UX keeps visitors engaged and coming back to your site, and the new year is a perfect time to tackle this ambitious goal.
If a website overhaul is too daunting, or if you don’t know where to start, here are three small goals for you to discuss with your web design team:
- Make a good first impression on mobile
- Focus on content
- Improve design and usability
1. Prepare for a Mobile First Impression
Your mobile website is your chance to make a first impression on almost half of people browsing online.
According to a survey from Clutch, a B2B ratings and reviews firm in Washington D.C., 47% of people use a mobile device the most to browse online. This means that significant portions of the buyer’s journey now occur on a mobile device.
“A quality mobile website is a norm now,” said Aditi Buch, marketing head at IT services firm Tatvic. “Having a mobile-friendly website provides not only a better experience but also increases the credibility of your site.”
Investing in a good mobile UX – fast load time, easy navigation, and responsive pages – shows that you care about your customers’ experience. This both helps your brand’s reputation and expands your reach by providing access to valuable content faster than the time taken to download a mobile app.
For your website to compete in 2019, make sure your mobile website UX is just as good as your desktop’s.
Think of your mobile website as a business card – keep the essential information for your audience at the forefront, but provide direction to additional information and resources.
2. Create Greater Value with Content
High-quality, relevant content is an integral part of UX. Content builds a readership base and boosts SEO.
As you plan your content strategy for the year, consider how your users’ needs or desires may have changed. This will help you identify if your content meets those needs or needs re-evaluating.
Content establishes an authoritative brand voice, building trust with your audience. According to Clutch, 48% of people come back to a website for useful and relevant content.
If your content is irrelevant, however, the data shows that half of your visitors will leave the website for good.
Curate content for your visitors by analyzing page traffic and using that data to inform how you structure your pages or topics.
If your research finds that people aren’t spending much time on your “About Us” page, for example, brainstorm other ways to present that information to your readers. Creating useful content builds trust with your audience by showing you care about their specific needs.
If you are unsure where to start in your user research, try mapping customer journeys to develop the most relevant information to your readers on each page.
3. Revamp Your Design
Trendy web design strengthens your content on mobile and desktop. Web design that’s attractive and current:
- Establishes a positive brand impression
- Draws your readers’ eyes to specific content and page elements
- Allows visitors to navigate your website easily
Most people (83%) think an updated appearance is useful on a website, but beautiful web design is only helpful if it prioritizes the user. You can apply this user research to your design and content.
Millennial audiences, for example, prefer minimalist, “flat” web designs that give websites a modern feel. If your target audience is older, consider incorporating images, colors, and clearly identifiable buttons to optimize the UX.
Inventive web design can also make your content more engaging for readers. Web design structures your content to draw readers’ eyes to certain points on the page. If you struggle with readership on your company blog, for example, you can restructure the page to break up text and include more images, making the page more dynamic for readers.
By using clever web design that enhances your content, you add value for users visiting your website.
3 Tips to Start Your Website Revamp
High-quality website UX engages visitors and builds your brand’s reputation. Use 2019 as an opportunity to tackle a website update.
Start by evaluating and improving your website’s mobile UX, then improve your content and web design to provide more value for your site visitors.
Use these three tips to guide your conversation with your team of web designers when you’re ready to begin your website overhaul:
- Prioritize the mobile web: Determine which content is the most useful for mobile browsers and how to make it appealing on mobile.
- Increase your content’s value: Research what your users want to see on your website and find creative ways to deliver that content.
- Update your visual web design: Incorporate your updated content as you design to meet users’ needs at every stage of the customer journey.
By breaking down the larger goal into smaller steps, the task becomes possible. With the help of a top web design company, make 2019 the year you optimize your website UX.
Author Bio:
Kelsey McKeon is a Content Writer and Marketer at Clutch, a B2B ratings and reviews firm in Washington D.C. She covers web design and user experience in her research. Kelsey is also a contributing writer at Visual Objects.
Twitter: @kelseyatclutch
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