Does Website Design really Impact User Experience

My customers focus on my products, not on the looks of my website.

This is what I usually hear from my clients. If you’re of the same mind, I need to disappoint you. Website design matters for user experiences.

With the ever-growing number of websites, online searchers needed to find a way to separate the wheat from the chaff. They’ve become more demanding and learned to assess the quality of your business based on the overall appeal of your site.

Moreover, it takes them only 0.05 seconds to form an opinion about your site.

Let’s see how website design impacts user experience.

The Look and the Feel of your Site Builds Trust with Visitors

The goal of building a solid online presence is to build trust with your target audience and nourish relationships with them. And, your website design plays a fundamental role in this process.

While doing my research, I bumped into the Trust and Mistrust of Online Health study that supports my claims. Namely, its aim was to answer a simple question- how much does website design impact the trust of sites in the health industry? And, the results were shocking, highlighting that 94% of all factors that resulted in rejecting a site were design-related, such as the choice of inappropriate domain name, lots of popups, and complex layouts.

To get the most out of your website design, you first need to go beyond simple aesthetic elements. Your website is the online representation of your business. It stands for your brand’s core values and missions. It needs to reflect your unique personality, evoke emotions, and persuade your potential customers that buying from you is their best choice.

This is exactly why you need to take a holistic approach to your design and provide a seamless user experience. Now, let’s see what such an approach includes.

Website Navigation Directly Impacts Conversions

The mere fact that someone visits your site means that they’re looking for some sort of information there. Statistics show that over 50% of visitors use its navigation menu to find the desired information. Moreover, 67% of them would kick your site if your navigation is too complex or difficult to use.

Precisely because of that, your goal is to simplify your website navigation and help your visitors find that information faster:

• Instead of generic menu bar labels, such as “Resources” or “Solutions,” go for descriptive options that really help users find the information faster.
• Create a simple menu bar. This will help users find the information faster.
• • Include internal links, catchy calls to action, and a search bar to help users navigate through your site effortlessly. Most importantly, make sure that even the most distant page on your site is no more than 4 clicks away from your homepage.

  Sharing Social Proof Demonstrates your Reliability

  Your customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Before they buy from you, they want to hear real-life opinions about your brand. This is where sharing social proof on your site shines. It helps you demonstrate your professionalism and build trust with your target customers.

  • Ask your customers to write testimonials and publish them on your landing pages.
  • Leverage embedded social media posts. Use social media monitoring tools to find your brand or product mentions on social media. Once you’ve identified them, you could simply embed them on your landing page to increase conversions.
  • Show the number of users. For example, Codeacademy is killing it with their “Join the millions of others taking our courses.”
  • Display the number of likes and shares of your blog posts on social networks.
  • Create and share case studies.
  • Publish user-generated content.

  Your Customers Want to Know how Safe your Site is

  Cyberbreaches are constantly growing and your customers are aware of that. So, to inspire your customers to buy from you, you need to prove that you are safe and reliable.

  For starters, invest in SSL certificates. Sites using HTTP are labeled as “Not Secure,” which may hurt their experience with your brand and discourage them from leaving their data to you.

  You should also write a solid privacy policy and place it on a prominent place on your site. Finally, add security seals to reassure your potential customers that their sensitive information is safe with you.

  Visitors Expect Seamless User Experiences on All Devices

  The number of mobile users is rising at an astonishing pace and, with it, thinking mobile-first is now more important than ever. Research says that 52% of mobile users emphasize that a bad user experience makes them less likely to buy from a brand.  

  First, your mobile visitors expect your site to load fast. So, choosing the right hosting provider, investing in a reliable CDN is your priority, and compressing images should be your priority. Alternatively, you could use Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages to make your content load even faster.

  To increase the overall user experience on all devices, you need to simplify the website layout and architecture and leave loads of white space. Above all, test everything. Make sure all your links, CTA buttons, and form fields are easy to tap on. Also, test how different formats of these elements and their positions on your site work for your audiences.

  The Choice of Colors Impacts People’s Perceptions

  When making in-store purchases, do you pay attention to packaging design? Most of us do.

  One of the most common visual elements that impact our perceptions of a brand is colors. No matter how trivial it is, choosing color palettes for your website needs to be done strategically.

  The right colors boost your brand recognition and impact how people feel about your website:

  • Yellow= clarity, warmth, and optimism
  • Orange= confidence, friendliness, and happiness
  • Red= youthfulness and authenticity
  • Purple= creativity and wisdom
  • Blue= trust and strength
  • Green= health and growth

  Over to You

  The above mentioned examples show us that taking a customer-centered approach to website design is now more important than ever. By tailoring each aspect of your design strategy to your users’ expectations, you will boost your brand recognition, position yourself as an authoritative figure and, above all, build stronger customer relationships.