First impressions of your website, to new or existing users, is extremely important, mainly because a first impression may become a lasting impression, whether it be positive or negative. And if a user has a bad experience, research suggests that 88% of users are less likely to return to a website.
Improving your website’s user experience can help towards lowering your bounce rate, increasing conversions and providing customers with a better perception of your brand. This will ultimately lead to increased revenue.
Below we look into a five ways you can improve your websites user experience.
How to improve user experience
1. Mobile first mindset
Did you know, mobile accounts for 53% of total online sales? And it’s rapidly increasing, which is why it’s so important to deign and build ecommerce websites with a ‘mobile-first’ mindset.
Whether your customers use a desktop device, tablet or mobile, your website should be fully responsive meaning the shopping experience is always tailored to the device the user is using.
2. Clear calls to action
The ultimate goal that you want users on your ecommerce site to complete is to make a purchase, right? Therefore, it’s important to have clear calls to action (CTA) such as ‘BUY NOW’ or ‘ADD TO BAG’, to help convert website traffic into sales. CTA buttons like this should really stand out. You can do this by using bright, bold colours and bold, capitalised text.
3. Easy-to-use navigation
If you have a complex catalogue consisting of hundreds, or even thousands of products, it may be difficult for users to find what they’re looking for. Structuring your navigation and product categories to make it easy for a user to find what they’re looking for, is key. If a user can’t find it, they can’t buy it! Adding search and filter functionalities is also a great way to simplify the process of finding the right product.
4. Good product images
If you were shopping on the high street, you’d have the ability to touch and feel a product, even try an item of clothing on, or sit on a piece of furniture. This can all contribute to converting visitors into paying customers.
When shopping online, you don’t have any of that, which is why it’s extremely important to use the right product images, to aid a users purchasing decision. This includes:
- High quality images that convey the real value of a product, however you must always bear in mind that they must be optimized for web to avoid slowing down your site.
- Several images, not just 1 or 2, to give the best visuals of what the product looks like, since the customer is unable to touch and hold the product.
- Different images showing different variations of products i.e. different colour or styles etc.
- Use images to highlight any features of the product that may not be clear from a standard image. For example, if you sell beds, are there any features such as storage drawers that could be shown in the photography to really sell the product.
5. Simple yet effective design
It might sound obvious that 94% of first impressions on your website are based on the design. That’s exactly why it’s important that your website has a slick design, that’s going to draw your customers in, not turn them away.
It’s particularly important to have a slick homepage design, since this is the first page the majority of your users will see. Sometimes less is more. When there’s too much information on a page, it can look untidy and cluttered, and can defer from the purpose of the page.
Final Word
If you need help and advice about improving your ecommerce user experience, please reach out to us today. Foundation Commerce is a small team of Magento 2 experts ready to assist you with all your technical and design needs.