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Web pages are packed with quite a bit more science and psychology than many people assume – both good and bad. Website user experience (UX) refers to how people move through a site’s pages.
But why is user experience important for businesses?
The truth is, if your visitors have a bad experience on your website, they’re likely to leave without engaging in any way. And that means they won’t convert into customers – or even return again.
So, what are some of the most common UX turnoffs you should avoid at all costs? In this article, we’ll discuss ten user experience elements that can quickly turn customers away.
It’s no secret that most users have a zero-tolerance policy for slow websites. We live in an increasingly fast-paced world, and people want results quickly. If your site takes a while to load – especially if it’s much slower than the competition – they’ll likely click away before your page has finished loading.
Fortunately, there are lots of steps you can take to speed up the loading time of your site, including (but not limited to):
Optimizing your website’s loading times can make a huge difference in customer satisfaction, so it should be one of your top priorities. When you work with a creative agency, quick loading speeds will be a core aspect of their user experience design process.
But how can you tell if your site architecture is turning potential customers away?
Well, one potential sign is high bounce rates with low conversions. However, getting to the core of the problem requires you to look critically at your website. Does your information architecture:
If users run into these problems, they will more than likely abandon your site and leave with a bad impression of your organization.
A well-organized andintuitive navigation structure makes all the difference in keeping users engaged and coming back for more. So, take the time to review your website and make sure that it’s easy for people to find what they are looking for.
To reiterate, users don’t want to spend time trying to figure out a website – they want to be presented with a clear and responsive user experience from the get-go. As such, an overly busy design with multiple elements jostling for attention can be detrimental to a site’s success.
If it’s challenging for users.to navigate a page, identify key content, and take the desired action, you will lose out on potential conversions.
At Wildish Agency, we typically work to eliminate clutter by sticking to a minimalist approachdesigned with the user’s journey in mind. This can mean using fewer design elements, relying on whitespace to separate content, and avoiding too much animation or videos that may distract from a goal completion.
Of course, a little extra flair here and there can be great, but it’s important to get the balance right. Too much design can veer away from a site’s purpose and overwhelm users.
Lead generation forms are a great way to capture potential customers’ contact information. However, if your forms contain too many fields, users may become overwhelmed and decide not to complete them.
Users sometimes wrestle with the notion that handing over their contact information will result in endless notifications and emails. This fear is especially true if they are not sure what to expect after submitting the form.
For these reasons, when designing your forms, make sure that they only contain essential fields. Also, be clear about how you plan to use customer information and what type of content they can anticipate from you. Additionally, offer them a chance to opt out of future emails if they choose.
Website accessibility has become a standard practice in the field of web design over the past few years.
In a nutshell, website accessibility works to ensure that people with physical and cognitive disabilities can use a site with ease. Some common website accessibility features include:
Most industries these days have strict website accessibility functional requirements – but even if yours doesn’t, it’s still a good idea to incorporate these features. All you’re doing by neglecting it is alienating potential customers with disabilities, and that’s not a good look for your brand.
Most creative agencies and UX designers prioritize accessibility when designing websites. So, if you need help, it’s a good idea to reach out for some professional assistance.
This is one of the most common user experience elements that companies overlook. Yet, in 2023, more people are accessing the web via their mobile devices than ever before. If your site isn’t optimized for viewing on a phone or tablet, you will rapidly lose potential customers and potentially even rankings in Google search results.
Constant scrolling/zooming, long load times, and difficulty tapping links or buttons can really put people off. After all, why should they have to go through so much effort just to find out more about your services or products?
Make sure to test your site for mobile responsiveness and ensure that it looks great and functions properly across multiple devices. This practice should be conducted regularly, as mobile trends evolve rapidly, and you don’t want to lose out on potential customers from a lack of optimization.
Web developers can get pretty creative with animations, adding flashy and fun elements to sites. But if these are overdone, they can become more of a distraction than an enhancement to the UX design.
Now, we are not saying animation has no place in UX design. Quite the contrary – when used properly, animation can be incredibly useful for conveying information and providing a unique experience to users. But it is important to use these elements sparingly and ensure they are adding value to your site rather than detracting from it.
Be sure to discuss the use of animations with your web development team and come up with a strategy that works for you.
Auto-play videosmight seem like a great way to engage users right off the bat, but they can often have the opposite effect. When users land on a webpage and are suddenly bombarded with loud or unexpected videos, it can be incredibly off-putting. Most users prefer to have control over the content they interact with, and auto-play videos take away this choice.
Moreover, these videos consume a lot of bandwidth and hurt loading times.
If you want to use videos on your site, ensure that they are opt-in and allow users to decide when and if they want to watch them. This will give users a much better experience that will encourage them to stick around. You can also create videos that are silent or have muted audio by default so users can decide what kind of experience they want without being overwhelmed by sound.
The checkout process is the culmination of the user journey and should be as straightforward as possible. If your checkout process requires users to fill out long forms or jump through multiple hoops before they can complete a purchase – they will likely abandon it altogether.
Simplicity is everything when it comes to creating a great checkout experience. This is how Amazon took over the eCommerce world with “One-Click” purchasing options. Every extra step that you add to the checkout process reduces the chance of people completing it.
Here are a few tips for creating an effective checkout process:
These are just some of the many ways you can simplify the checkout process and create a better user experience. A professional UX designer can help you streamline the checkout process and come up with creative solutions to make it as easy as possible.
When it comes to creating a great user experience, you should never put sales before solutions. Too often, companies focus on pushing their products and services before they understand the needs of their users. The result is a disjointed website that doesn’t provide value to its visitors.
People prefer to shop on websites that provide solutions to their problems. If you can focus on providing valuable content and insights rather than pushing sales – your customers will be more likely to engage with your brand and make a purchase in the long run.
If your website isn’t converting users into customers, chances are it’s not benefiting your business.
So, how do you solve this problem? As much as we’d love to give a straightforward answer, the truth is there are millions of factors that could be causing your website to underperform. User experience is an umbrella term that encompasses many different elements. Identifying the culprits starts with a professional UX audit. At Wildish Agency, our team of experienced UX designers will work with you to identify issues and create a solution tailored to your business needs. We’ll help you create an engaging user experience that helps increase conversions and builds customer loyalty. Ready to take the next step? Get in touch today, and let us show you how we can improve your website’s UX!