How can good User Experience help my business succeed?

Online experience for your visitors.

At first, it can be tempting to think only about details that help communicate what YOU want people to know (such as information about your products and services) and what YOU want them to do (such as clicking the "buy now" button). But you also need to think about how your online experiences make people feel. Are you confusing them? Do you come across as cold and indifferent? Are you rushing them or being too demanding?

A strong user experience organise all your information and interactions in a way that visitors find pleasing. And if your website's UX makes people feel good, they are more likely to stick around and become your customers.

User flows

To the good UX mindset, it is essential to think like a potential customer rather than a business leader. As a potential customer, what actions would you want to take on your website? Write all these actions on separate sticky notes.

Some actions would include:

• Information search.
• Clicking on a menu item
• View references.
• Requesting quotes.
• Explore products or services.
• Buying products or services.

Arrange your actions/sticky notes in the order in which potential customers would perform them (AKA a user flow). You may need to create duplicate sticky notes because some actions may happen multiple times on your site or in your app.

Make sure each action can be completed in 5 steps or less. For example, to "make a purchase" visitors would:

1. On the homepage should land.
2. Then click on the product category.
3. Then click on the product page.
4. Checkout.

Pro tip!

It's smart to do this exercise even if your website or landing page is already live. To help, you can have a friend give you your website or landing page have it read through and give you feedback. Again, use the sticky notes to write down actions your website or landing page has now, and any actions you still need to add.

UX is all about feeling.

Your user experience can evoke different feelings through a combination of shapes, colours, navigation, content... The right mix of elements depends on your brand's identity, voice and style, and who your target audience is.

Suppose you own a spa with a luxury brand identity, you would want people to feel calm and peaceful when they visit your homepage. You would then probably use soft colours and sophisticated design instead of harsh neon colours.

The marketing that leads to your site or app should match your UX. If the UX of your site is meant to let visitors explore your offerings in a relaxed way, without pressure, you should reflect that in your ads.