When it comes to websites, the term “user-friendly” cannot be stressed enough. It is also equally important to realize that an aesthetically pleasing design does not mean that your website is easy to navigate. It’d be a shame if you invested in a website developer to build your site just to find out that it has a high bounce rate due to its difficult navigation for visitors. That being said, a user-friendly web design is key.
For businesses, it is especially vital to realize what a poorly functioning website is actually costing you. If people come to your website and have a bad experience, then they are likely going to reflect that onto your company as a whole. This could be costing you so much business! If you lack a user-friendly website, then you could be lacking positive representation on the internet. Now having a user-friendly site is not dependent on one aspect. There are numerous aspects that come together to form the best user experience for website visitors.
What Makes A User-Friendly Website?
Consumers want to be able to find what they want on the internet in an efficient manner. Most people do not want to waste their time searching around and bouncing between sites. When someone gets to a website that makes it easy to find the information that they were searching for, then there isn’t really a need to jump onto another site. Now hopefully you website is the stopping point due to its easy use for visitors, but if it is not, don’t worry because we are going to walk through what makes a user-friendly website.
Typically the main parts associated with a user-friendly website are quick load times, mobile compatibility, ease of navigation, and readability. First we’ll discuss quick load times. It is no secret that now, more than ever, people are very demanding when it comes to the Internet. No one wants to wait around for a page to load. In fact, if people have to wait more than a few seconds for your webpage to load then they are probably going to find a better, competitor’s website that will give them higher speeds. If you want a user-friendly website, then you’re going to have to have a site that loads very fast.
Another key aspect to a user-friendly website is mobile compatibility. Nowadays people practically live on their smartphones and rely on them for fast information at the palm of their hands. If your company’s website isn’t compatible with smartphones and tablets, then it’s simply not going to survive. If mobile phone users have a bad experience on your website while they are likely not going to try and visit your desktop website. Don’t give people a reason to count your website and your business out before it gets a chance to show them what you’re made of. Instead, make sure that you have a mobile user friendly site.
The third aspect that goes into a cohesive website is ease of navigation. If you were to go into a store looking for a specific item, you would probably get very frustrated if you had to spend a long time meandering through aisles to find it. This is the same idea with websites. No one wants to go to a website, only to be met with a confusing maze. User-friendly websites will have the information up front and center so people are sure to find it. Website visitors will have a far more positive experience and association with your company if they are able to access their desired info on your site with ease.
The last piece in the user-friendly website puzzle is readability. When visiting a website looking for services or products, consumers don’t want to be met with a difficult to read, dense bit of text. This is not only hard to decipher, but can be intimidating to visitors. Overly complicated phrasing can push customers and clients away because it may confuse what your brand’s message actually is. Unless you run a website catering to scholars, it is probably best to avoid writing in a way that is more advanced. Try keeping the written content on your website at around an 8th grade reading level.
The Takeaway: Cater to Consumers With a User-Friendly Website
Having a hard to navigate and use website can really hurt your business. That’s why it is so important to make sure your website is user-friendly. Don’t let your competition get waves ahead of you because their website is superior to customers and clients. After reading this, you may be wondering how you can tell if your website is user-friendly or not. If you give us a call here at Digital Marketers Chicago, we would be able to answer all of your website usability questions. We offer website usability analysis services to businesses both large and small.
