How does your website engage with your customers? Here’s how to improve customer experience through good quality web design practices and customer research.
Wondering how to improve customer experience?
Did you know that Time.com’s bounce rate dropped 15% after they adopted a continuous scroll for their site? Bounce rate refers to visitors who navigate away from a website after viewing only a single page. That means fifteen percent more visitors stayed on Time’s site.
That’s one massive gain from one minor alteration.
But that’s the way it is with web design. The experts look beyond the simple aesthetics. They take into account the metrics, usability, intended audience, and more.
It’s part science, part art. That’s not to say they don’t also have a few tricks up their sleeves. Read on to discover the secrets to their success.
How to Improve Customer Experience
Even if you’re using a website builder, you can still design with your website customer experience (CX) in mind. Most CX strategies focus on your site’s content rather than its structure. That’s not to say the design isn’t important; it is, but we’ll get to that.
Create Long-Form Content
In past years, short content was the way to go. Typical blog posts consisted of 300 to 700 words. Though sites catering to short content still exists, the modern trend pushes for long content.
What is long content? The definition is still a little hazy. Some experts say its 1000 words while others say 2000.
For convenience sake, let’s stick with 1500 words. Content over 1500 words gets 68% more tweets. It also gets 22% more likes on Facebook.
Long form content provides greater in-depth information than short content. Step-by-step tutorials, product comparison guides, detailed studies. They’re all forms of long content often accompanies by videos, screenshots, and other helpful visual aids.
Build Scannable Content
According to the Nielsen Norman Group, only 16% of users read articles word for word. 79% scan instead. Scanning is where it’s at.
So how do you make your content easier to scan?
The key is to break up your text in meaningful ways. Separate your text into blocks. Attach a descriptive header on each of those blocks.
Also, change things up. Include bullet point lists. Vary font size and font style.
Alter the font itself. Drop Calibri, Arial, and Times New Roman. Pick a new flavor that better suits your writing style and content topic.
Use everyday language. Avoid industry jargon and verbose language, like “posterior lumbar” and “retinal myopia.” Just say “lower back” and “nearsighted” instead.
Design Elements
Yes, aesthetics are part of the picture. They’re just not the whole picture. When you create your website, be sure to use a contemporary design.
Old designs give your audience the impression that your business is behind the times. Also, web design has improved over time with easier-to-use tools and today’s preferences. They’re simple to navigate and they load faster.
Sites like Wix, Square Space, and WordPress offer a wide selection of modern templates to choose from. If you aren’t comfortable building your own website, hire an expert like Website Designers in Bristol.
Search for a company with experienced designers. Check their portfolios to make sure they’ve built sites for your industry and sites in the style you want.
Avoid designers from online content mills like Fiverr and Upwork. They may offer cheap prices, but it comes at a cost. You’ll also have to deal with language barriers, time zones, and questionable service.
What’s Next?
We’ve built an entire site dedicated to design and development. How to improve customer experience is just the tip of the iceberg. We offer everything from Photoshop tutorials to inspirational typography.
If you enjoyed this article, head over to our library full of other great web design articles.
So long and good luck!
