In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, you’ll often hear about the customer journey and find plenty of examples of the importance of generating high-quality leads, and while it’s undoubtedly imperative to make the customer journey as frictionless as possible – especially online – the journey itself is simply a collection of stops on the road to a sale. Heidi Sullivan, SVP of Product & Marketing for UpCityOpens a new window , shares crucial UX tips to make the customer journey as frictionless as possible along that road.
When you peel back the layers, you can see that it’s less about where a potential customer is in the journey and more about their experience. Unfortunately, user experience (UX) doesn’t always get as much attention as it should. There’s the mad rush to move a prospect from point A to point B without adequately thinking through how to get them there and how it might affect conversion success. It’s a blind spot that can prove quite costly in attracting new customers and retaining current ones.
So how can a greater focus on UX make your business more efficient and effective? Here are five key considerations that can give you a foundation to build an improved user experience that can produce meaningful, measurable results.
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1) UX = Science, UI = Art
User experience (UX) is not the same as user interface (UI). However, they are often mentioned in the same breath. UX is the actual science behind the strategy, design, and development of an intended experience you want a user to encounter. On the other hand, UI is the art and interactive elements born from extensive UX planning.Â
Where the customer journey is an entire ecosystem of support that isn’t limited to a website or application, UX should still inform the proper execution of your overall design system, resulting in smoother processes throughout. For a deeper understanding of design systems and any other relevant UX topic, the Nielsen Norman GroupOpens a new window is a tremendously valuable resource that any UX professional should regularly refer to. Â
2) Know the Difference: Responsive Design vs.Mobile-First Design
We live in a mobile world now, and no longer can you simply implement a responsive design pattern for your website and forget about it. In fact, according to a study conducted by PerficientOpens a new window , 61% of website visits in the United States in 2020 were done via mobile device, which was a four-percent increase from 2019.
The numbers are even higher when expanding beyond U.S. borders. From a global perspective, mobile traffic in 2020 accounted for 68% of site visits, up nearly five percent from the previous year.Â
A mobile-first design is appropriate for most modern sites these days, and as far as a user’s experience goes, you don’t want them to struggle with navigation if most visitors are visiting from their phones and tablets. However, if your site is exceptionally content-heavy and your analytics show most of your visitors are on a desktop or laptop computer, then responsive design is the proper choice.Â
Regardless, keep in mind that your Google ranking can be affected negatively if your site is not mobile-friendly. Do your research, gather accurate data, and make decisions that are right for your business.
3) Balance Media with Usability
Make no mistake, technical functionality plays a considerable role in a website user’s experience. You can use a compression tool such as Panda (TinyPNG) to reduce the size of multiple image types on your site and allow your pages to load faster. Additionally, look into the specifications for responsive imagesOpens a new window . There’s no need to load the same image on a widescreen display as you would with a tiny phone.Â
Another good tip is to avoid trying to load too much media at once. However, that’s not to say having video and other media is bad, because it’s quite the opposite. Video content is becoming a significant factor in Google rankings, and search results with video tend to be placed above those withoutOpens a new window .Â
The problems come when media placement and integration are not done correctly. This can make your site drag considerably, and even the best broadband can struggle. Look for a healthy balance. An element of good UX is that the site works the way it’s supposed to and, perhaps more importantly, the way a user expects it to. And, we have to mention again that Google rankings take usability into account as well, so it puts even more emphasis on making sure your site is in good order and performs well.
See More: 3 Myths About Accessibility in the Design Process, Debunked
4) Accessibility & Inclusive Design
The web is for everyone, and it’s imperative to adhere to an inclusive design when building your online assets. A good start is using color and ensuring there’s as little conflict as possible when differentiating colors. Likewise, proper contrast must be considered to help those with varying levels of visual impairment.Â
Of course, making sure that your site plays nicely with screen readers, alt text is updated correctly on images, and captions are included with your videos also paves the way to a more inclusive site and better overall experience.Â
Above all else, do your best to maintain AA compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1Opens a new window , and be sure to keep an eye out for WCAG 2.2, which is expected to be released at some point in 2022.Â
5) Simple, Consistent & PurposefulÂ
Without question, psychology plays a critical role in design. Understanding how a user consumes messaging and calls-to-action can light the way. Get back to the basics and apply the golden rule of art, which guides proper placement for pleasing visual interpretation.
Continued research is a must. What was once entirely foreign for web users even five years ago is commonplace today. We’re constantly adapting, and what’s intuitive is an ever-evolving dynamic. However, always lean toward the side of simplicity—the path of least resistance.
Be clear in what it is you want a user to do on a particular page or specific call-to-action. We call this a “task.†Make it something that’s easy to understand and complete. Remember, the more hoops a user has to jump through to achieve their goal, the more likely they will walk away and find a different solution.Â
And finally, UX isn’t just about “the look and feel.†It also has a great deal to do with the written word. Implement UX writing by adopting common language and intuitive naming conventions and stick with them. Don’t muddy the waters with jargon simply because you think a prospective customer should know what it means, because it’s what’s currently trending, or especially because your company calls it internally. Get to the point with your written messaging quickly, be direct with what you are asking the user to do, and explain why you are asking them to do it. Be informative, but save the fluff for your blog.
Bonus Tip
Keep the UX Team Close to Your Product and Marketers and Your Development Team in Lockstep with UX
In any business, there are a lot of different wheels turning at the same time, a lot of balls in the air, many different hats being worn, a lot on everyone’s plate, and any other cliche about being busy you can think of. And as we’re all in the trenches in our day-to-day, it’s easy for things to get lost in translation when there are several interdepartmental dependencies. The best bet is to make sure your UX team is at the table with your marketing and product strategists. It’s significantly better to head off potential problems early than it is to untangle a spider web of miscommunication and expectations that go against best practices.
The development team also needs to work closely with the UX folks to ensure the technological capabilities are in place to deliver the best user experience possible. For example, if a development team implements a data visualization library that does not support accessibility standards, then UX will fail. Inversely, if a UX design pattern relies on a specific unsupported technology by an existing application or website, the development team is in a rough position.
Tip the Scales in Your Favor
We’re in an age where the user experience simply can’t be ignored. With so many design and communication directions to choose from, most businesses can’t rely on the product alone to sell itself.Â
Think about competing local bakeries. Both feature delicious apple pie, but in one bakery, you have to call at least a week ahead of time to reserve your order, and in the other, you can just walk right in whenever and pick up a fresh-baked pie. The first bakery might have a superb offering, but the friction involved with getting it makes for a less-than-ideal experience and will drive people to look for an easier option.
UX is not just design; it’s the science of creating an unparalleled, meaningful interaction between a user and your business’s properties, be it your website, products, services, etc. Reflect on your UX and ask yourself, “how do you feel when using this?†If the answer is good, you’re probably on the right track. If something just doesn’t feel right, perhaps it’s time for an audit.Â
There’s no time like the present, and those who figure it out have an automatic leg up on the competition, attracting new customers and generating loyalty for a greater lifetime value. Â
Which of these UX tips have you employed at work? What were the results? Share with us on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to know!