FIVE TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR WEBSITE USER EXPERIENCE

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Breadcrumb Navigation. • Site Maps. • Footer Navigation (Privacy policy, Facebook posts, Tweets and T&Cs). • O
FIVE  TIPS  TO  IMPROVE  YOUR   WEBSITE  USER  EXPERIENCE     10  March  2014    

The following five questions should be answered while looking over your current website: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Why do I have a website? How is my site first impression? Is my site easy to navigate? Is my company easily reachable? Is mu site mobile enabled?

As a business owner it may not be your responsibility to design, develop and test your business website, but it is your objective ensuring the website delivers the best possible results in the form of sales or leads. It’s critical to take a strong viewpoint when it comes to choosing your Web Development Company. It’s also important to that they are capable of addressing these questions effectively. 1. Why do I have a website? Can your visitors, on their first visit to your home page, instantly and easily identify what business you are in and your company’s core offering? A common assumption many business owners make is other people (internal or external) care about their website as much as they do. The reality is no one cares more about your website than you. What you’ll need to understand is that people often come to your site to search for a solution to appease their need or pain, and it’s usually for the following reasons: • • • • •

To research information about your products or services To make purchase To be entertained To seek community engagement Social evaluation of a product or service

If your website can connect within the first couple of seconds of their visit, you have already convinced your visitor that they have come to the right place. 2. How is my site first impression? It’s a 5 second rule. The average Internet user wait less than 5 seconds for a web page to load in full before they close the browser or their smartphone. No matter how unique your web design is or how attractive your offerings are, you only get one first impression. Great design gets people to trust you and to stick around. Poor design creates mistrust and makes people leave. 3. Is my site easy to navigate? Can your visitors easily find the content they want? And get there with a limited number of clicks? An effective navigation should solve 3 key questions all visitors have at any stage in your website: 1. Where am I? 2. Where have I been? 3. Where can I go? The following navigational elements should be used as a standard in order to answer the above three questions.

• • • • • •

Top Navigation (With Social Media Links and Search Box) Primary Top Navigation Breadcrumb Navigation Site Maps Footer Navigation (Privacy policy, Facebook posts, Tweets and T&Cs) Other action buttons and links

People visit your website to solve their problems. Not to admire and appreciate your artistic creation. Therefore, when it comes to website navigation, it is very important to keep the navigational elements where the users expect them to be. 4. Is my company easily reachable? Do you encourage your visitors to contact you? How hard do you make it for them to find your contact details, physical business address etc. We’ve seen too commonly where contact forms are the only option to reach a company when your visitors know that sending an email is just click of a link away. If you are actually in a legitimate business and expect your customers to do legitimate business with you, why do you really have to work so hard to hide your contact details? At XtremeDev.NET we believe by providing maximum communication capabilities like live chat, SMS options and of course contact page allow your visitors to engage quickly with your offerings. 5. Is my site mobile enabled? With millions of users accessing mobile content though the iPhone, iPad, Droid devices and more, developing a professional mobile website has never been more critical for your business. Mobile website allows you: • • • • • • • • •

Broad reach: Engage anyone who has Internet access via a mobile device Be found: Appear in search results Stand out: Few businesses have built a mobile site – this sets you apart from your competition and in your local search results Consistent branding: Provides a consistent look and feel for your business on multiple platforms Visitor traffic: You have users that access your current website via mobile devices today – check your analytics and research your number of mobile visitors Longevity: Like a regular website, it can last as long as you are in business Upgrades: No need for approvals or user downloads to improve or update your content Marketing with social media integration: Integrate your site into your mobile marketing promotions with social media Analytics: Learn more about those that visit you via the mobile web

User Experience is all about how you manage user expectations. What is important to understand with regard to user experience in the digital space is that it is fully dependent on users’ level of expectations and users perceived value of what you have delivered during his/hers visit to your website. About XtremeDev.NET XtremeDev.net is a NH based digital solutions provider company specializing in web design and development, mobile apps, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), branding, social media and digital marketing consulting services. “We develop integrated user experience strategies that help you attract new customers and inspire your existing users. Our goal is to create a quality product that will set your web presence apart from your competition.” - XtremeDev.NET. www.XtremeDev.net | [email protected]