One of the main aims, if not the most important aim, of a website, is to showcase a company’s products and services. In other words, a company website fulfils the similar function as the shopfront of a brick and mortar store.Ergo, instead of being a physical shopfront, it is a virtual shopfront.
Additionally, it is easy to assume that all a business needs to do is cobble together a website, alert the brand’s target audience to the fact that the website exists, and expect people to rush to the site and purchase a large number of products.
Unfortunately, this statement is far from the reality of utilising an online presence to increase product sales. As Link Helpers Phoenix Website Design Company notes, one of the most challenging aspects of digital marketing is to convert visitors to a brand website into returning customers. In fact, it is easier to retain returning customers that convert visitors.
Website Optimisation: User-experience, usability, and user-friendliness
Therefore, the question that begs is how do brands ensure that their website is optimised to maximise customer conversion rates? In other words, how usable and user-friendly is the site, or what is the site’s visitor’s user experience?
Succinctly stated, the only way to increase a brand website’s customer conversion rates is to ensure its user experience(UX) and user-interface (UI) are according to industry best practices.
Why?
In theory, the answer to this question is straightforward. However, the practical application thereof is slightly more complex. Therefore, by way of answering this question let’s look at a simple definition of both terms:
User Interface (UI)
In summary, the website’s UI is the visual interface that the user sees and interacts with. It consists of elements like webpages, screens, buttons, images, check boxes, and online shopping carts. These elements need to be arranged on the website in an aesthetically pleasing manner that guides the user through the site from the beginning to the Call-To-Action (CTA).
If the website’s look-and-feel is jumbled and confusing, the user will move off the site and navigate to a competitor’s site.
User Experience (UX)
The way the user experiences a website, or the usability of the site is key to whether (s)he converts to a returning customer or navigates away from the site without answering the CTA. Therefore, as mentioned above, it is absolutely vital for website designers to pay particular attention to the usability of the site.
One of the most important points to remember in this regard is that a user’s eyes track from left to right and top to bottom. Ergo, the user will first look at the webpage’s top left-hand corner. Thus, it is vital that the site process flows start at the top left-hand side of each webpage and guide the user down to the bottom right hand side of each page where a next button or the CTA is situated.
Final thoughts
Designing a successful website, one that converts visitors into returning customers is a complex exercise that is best left to professional UX and UI specialists. Otherwise, the money spent on developing the brand’s website will be wasted as there will be very little return on investment.