The concept of user experience (UX) is beginning to enter common usage. Online shop owners in particular should take an interest in it. So if your website is not intuitive, takes a long time to load or is cluttered, you should realise that a large proportion of your customers are likely to abandon their purchase. Taking care of the user experience is an investment. See how to make it happen.
Young entrepreneurs realise the importance of a company's online image. Older ones, unfortunately, often do not keep up with current trends. Nowadays, the search engine is the first place we look for information on any topic, so the website is the business card that reaches the largest number of potential customers. It should therefore, in a matter of seconds, encourage them to stay for longer and learn more about your offer. Experience user design will help with this.
User experience – co to takiego?
What is user experience? The English term can be translated as 'user experience'. Nowadays, it is most often used in relation to websites, but the user experience is of great importance when designing any product. Large companies know this best - the position of UX designer first appeared at Apple in the 1990s. Today, the intuitiveness and user-friendly design of devices are their hallmark.
Focusing on the needs and feelings of users when creating a product offering is the key to success. You need to ask yourself what a potential customer expects from your website or product and give it to them in the simplest form. Once the user has opened your website or app, he or she decides within a few seconds whether he or she wants to delve further into it. If finding important information (e.g. a price list or contact details) is not intuitive, they will easily become frustrated and decide to move on to a competitor's website.
UX takes into account the overall technical and aesthetic experience. It tries to eliminate the negative ones in order to deliver a user-friendly and easy-to-use design. Even the best marketing will not help if your website lacks basic functionality. Therefore, a user experience approach is extremely important in any business today. 
Good UX - the building blocks
The UX of a website is made up of the sum of interactions that its users make. You need to look at the site with fresh eyes and put yourself in the shoes of the person looking at your shop or blog for the first time. Making your site easy to use involves a number of actions. Some of them are very simple and logical. However, many sites still have outdated solutions that prevent users from making a purchase or learning about their offers.
What are the most important elements of UX design? The details vary from industry to industry, but many functionalities are common to all websites on the internet. For example, we are used to the main menu always being at the top of the site. It is not worth forcefully changing users' habits in order to stand out. The user experience of an online shop should be characterised by:
- readability of the interface,
- appropriate hierarchy of issues and functionalities,
- navigation speed,
- intuitiveness, and in it respect for the habits of internet users,
- usability of solutions and order.
Transparency should be added to the intuitiveness of the design, which is influenced by many factors, such as the type of font or default processes resulting from user actions (e.g. clicking on an arrow). It is better to dispense with embellishments and focus on page loading speed and specific functions.
An important element of comfortable use of the website is ease of navigation. Use a simple message to tell the user where to find the information they need and how to make a purchase. And don't forget the buttons that make it easy to return to previously viewed tabs.
What should be taken into account when designing UX?
The UX web designer must be sensitive to every detail. Once the initial design has been prepared, it is worth subjecting it to internal testing to help verify that the design intent has been met.
Considerable experience in user experience design sometimes causes us to overlook minimal errors. Beginners, on the other hand, may overlook aspects that determine the usability of a website. The key to success is to maintain a balance between creative and functional solutions. It should be noted that these two qualities are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
The initial focus should be on the legibility of the interface - visibility of menus, simplicity of operation, availability of necessary buttons or redirects. Try to specify the areas you want to interest users with, e.g. price list, product list or special offer. Keep in mind generally accepted conventions, i.e. solutions familiar to most websites. Here's an example: as a rule, the close button for a window (e.g. a pop-up encouraging subscription to a newsletter) is located in the top right-hand corner. Moving it elsewhere may confuse or even annoy some users. By doing so, you will achieve the opposite of the intended effect. 
Readability and usability are also affected by the design of the whole. Care should be taken to ensure that texts are formatted appropriately, i.e. placement of headings, bullet lists. Font should be friendly, legible and consistent throughout the site. It is advisable to use a maximum of two-three fonts not only on the website, but also in all communication - social media, flyers or graphics.
The choice of colours is also of great importance. You should opt for colours that will be associated with your brand. They should evoke a positive feeling and make the site easy to browse. For some industries, a combination of multiple colours may work, but for most it is better to opt for two or three consistent shades. Also pay attention to whether the texts are sufficiently visible on a coloured background.
Minimalism in content and graphics remains at a premium. It makes it easier to achieve order and thus lead the user to the goal, the tab with the specific product. Place the most important categories on the main page. Additional information, e.g. company history or employee introductions, can be omitted, or 'hidden' in the footer of the site.
Titles, descriptions and, above all, product sheets should be concise and written in simple language. Excessive content and images also slow down the page. Proper formatting, ensuring accessibility for the visually impaired and including keywords in the texts will also have a positive impact on search engine positioning.
If you have a lot of products in your shop, make sure that you can scroll through them comfortably. An internal search option and filtering of results is also a must. On many sites, these functions do not work properly, so it is worth focusing on them. They may be the ones that convince some customers to shop with you. Consumers increasingly rely on convenience and speed.
What functions does UX need to fulfil?
User experience website design aims to attract customers and respond immediately to their needs. UX specialists need to be creative but also logical in their thinking.
A functional website design is created after researching the needs of potential users. It is advisable to survey several members of the target group, preferably not friends or family.
UX must make sure that the audience gets what they need in a short time. Functionality and intuitiveness come first, only followed by eye-friendly design, but it is also worth paying attention to. Providing the user with a user-friendly experience will significantly increase sales revenue. Positive impressions and good products will keep the customer coming back regularly.
User usability is oriented towards simplicity. An application or a website should be created in such a way that it can be easily used by a person using the Internet for the first time. This is helped by a clear interface, a simple category system and content that encourages people to stay. These are not large requirements, but in practice the term "intuitive" may mean something different to everyone. That is why it is worthwhile to enlist the help of specialists when creating a website design. 
What can we gain by creating a good user experience?
You know what UX is, but you haven't yet explored all its possibilities. The statistics are merciless - more than 80% of people do not return to a website if they find it difficult to use. For every search term, we get thousands of results with similar products. Owners of intuitive and easy-to-use shops sell the most. Online shopping is about saving time, so let's not take it away from potential customers.
A friendly website that is consistent with the brand image is memorable, so evoking positive emotions is an extremely important part of marketing. The websites of the major players always impress with their functionality and usability and are a pleasure to browse. Follow their example when creating even an online business card, let alone an online shop.
The impact of UX on online sales
Competition online is so fierce that having a complicated website can put you out of the game altogether. Research conducted by Amazon Web Services shows that e-commerce businesses that do not follow user experience principles lose up to 35% of potential transactions. This is why business owners are starting to put UX at the top of their priorities (confirmed by as many as half of the entrepreneurs surveyed).
In the next five years, there will not be a single successful sales company whose website does not meet user experience requirements. The aforementioned accessibility for the visually or hearing impaired and the possibility to translate texts into different languages are also important.
When to use a UX specialist?
The growing demand for developers involved in UX design cannot be ignored. A simple conclusion follows - good user experience is a must. Action to implement it should be taken as soon as possible to avoid falling behind the competition.
Redesigning a website yourself is not the best idea. There is no user experience software that will do it for you. While website builders and shop creation platforms usually follow basic UX design principles, you will face many limitations when creating a site with their help, even if you have basic programming skills.
This is why it makes sense to use designers who offer user experience design. Professionals use the best software and, based on experience, they can rebuild even the most ancient website in a short time. You won't be able to implement modern facilities on your own, or it will take you much longer. Implementing user experience design is a considerable expense, but the investment will more than pay for itself.
UX has been known to major brands for a long time. Without doubt, it is largely responsible for their success. Although trends in web design are changing, the fundamentals remain the same. Making the user experience comfortable and getting the consumer through the path to purchase quickly benefits not only you, but also them. Relegating the need for a website redesign to the bottom of the priority list can end tragically for your business. It's not worth waiting! It's time to take a step into the future and then happily follow up with an increase in sales.
Choose InPost Subscriptions for businesses and send parcels at a fixed price.
Take one minute to leave your contact details and start sending parcels from as low as 11.89 PLN*.
- One contract for courier and Paczkomat shipments
- Free courier pickups
- Express delivery
- Price guarantee for the duration of the contract
- Fuel surcharge included
- Dedicated post-sale support
* Net price per Paczkomat shipment in the Subscription 600 plan.
Czytaj również
