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Emphasize Website Performance and UX
As a rule of thumb, your average business owner is going to pay a lot more attention to the way their website looks than they do its actual performance. They’ll obsess over layouts, graphics, and colors. But don’t devote a lot of mental space to how quickly their pages load or the reliability of their web hosting. It’s not hard to focus on the ultimate website UX design.
This is understandable, given that the look of a website is visual and immediate. However, the various aspects of web performance and user experience (UX) impact the impression buyers get from their visits and interactions. Aspects of a website that can seem minor or trivial during the developmental phase can significantly affect the bottom line.
Think about it this way: In the first chapter I advised you to give your website a job. By emphasizing website performance and UX. You are having your site show up for work on time and dressed for success. This has always been the case, but it’s more important in 2024 than ever before. Because I have learned over the years that business owners’ eyes tend to glaze over when I bring up topics related to usability. I’m going to be brief and non-technical in the details. But there are a few things you have to know about the way your website performs…
Website Speed, Hosting, and Accessibility Matter
You’ve probably noticed in the past that some websites load up significantly faster than others. And, while the differences might not be that extreme when you’re using a broadband connection from a desktop or laptop computer. They become more pronounced when you’re accessing the internet from a tablet or phone.
Website loading speed has become a hot topic within our industry because studies have shown that potential customers are several times more likely to leave your site. And go back to their search results to find another answer or competitor. If it takes more than a couple of seconds for your content to load. This remains true with subsequent clicks, as well. The slower your website is, the more sales opportunities it’s going to cost you.
There are essentially three ways you can speed up the delivery of your web content. The first is by improving your web hosting. Which, in addition to making your website faster, will likely decrease your odds of being hacked and give you access to features like automatic backups. It’s also worth pointing out that premium web hosting is incredibly cost-effective.
Improve the Speed of Your Ultimate Website UX Design
The second way to speed up your ultimate website design is by optimizing menus, images, CSS tables, and other portions of your layout. The older your site is, the more likely you are to have outdated bits of code and photos that are larger than they need to be. All of these slow your website down and cause frustration for visitors.
Another choice is to implement accelerated mobile pages (AMP) into your web content. That’s something I will address separately in a different section. But it essentially means you structure your site in a way that lets a stripped-down version of your content display faster for mobile users.
You don’t have to worry about the details of web performance to know that it’s important. It takes so much time, effort, and money to bring buyers to your pages. So why let them leave in frustration? With a few small improvements to your site, and a bigger monthly investment in quality hosting. You can probably make your content easier to access. That’s always going to be a great decision.
You Must Have a Mobile-Friendly Website
At some point in 2014, something happened that industry insiders had been predicting for years. Mobile web users going online with smartphones and tablets have surpassed so-called “traditional” computer users. They became the majority.
For some reason, however, lots of businesses still treat mobile web users as an afterthought. Perhaps they think their customers aren’t the ones using iPhones and Androids. Or that buyers are doing their “real” research and shopping via computers. The statistics show that both assumptions are almost always wrong. Mobile e-commerce is booming, customers are using apps and voice-assisted searches now more than ever. And the share of mobile web traffic is rising to the point that traditional computer users are becoming more of a rarity.
Mobile Responsive Means Mobile Friendly
Again, I’ll tackle the bigger implications of this trend in the chapter on mobile computing. But I want to take a second to point out that you really do have to have a mobile-friendly ultimate website design in 2024 and beyond. Your pages should be responsive, at the very least, meaning they adapt themselves to any size of screen or browser.
Without mobile compatibility, you’re putting your business at a huge disadvantage. Customers who come to your site and find that your content loads slowly. Or doesn’t format itself correctly, are almost definitely going to take their business elsewhere. Given that they make up a growing majority of most markets. Why would you make it harder for them to work with you?
The best part about a mobile-friendly, responsive web design is that it works perfectly well with traditional desktop and laptop screens, too. So, you aren’t giving anything up by adding mobile compatibility. But you are opening your business up to millions and millions of customers who stay connected to the web through phones and tablets.
Where Do Customers Go?
Improving UX isn’t just about the speed of your website, or the delivery of your pages on mobile devices. It also includes your navigation. And the flow of traffic from one part of your website to another.
Put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer, and then ask. How easy would it be for me to find the information, products, and services. Or answers I was looking for if I were to arrive at the site for the first time? How many layers or menus would I have to navigate?
Sometimes, the answers to these questions are intuitive. In other cases, you may have to study your web analytics to see how real-life customers are going from one part of your site to another. Either way, the goal is to make it as simple and frictionless as possible for any person to reach their destination. That might mean adding a search bar to each page. Or “flattening” your ultimate website design so there are fewer sub-menus and topics to get through.
Ultimate Website UX Design for Easy Navigation
One way to streamline your ultimate website design is to create a flow chart that shows options that lead from the main navigation bar. Along with links from one page or topic to another. When designing a website, it’s easy to imagine that a potential customer will simply arrive at your home page. Click on whatever it is they are looking to find. And then take the action you want them to. In real life, though. The vagaries of search listings, bookmarks, and emailed links mean visitors might show up on sub-pages instead of your home destination. It’s imperative that they be able to get from that point to what they need in a flash.
As with everything else related to website performance and UX, this is all about making things easier for buyers and keeping them on your website. So, try to make it simple to get from one page or topic to another, because that clarity will pay off in the long run.
It’s Time to Clean Up Your Pages
Imagine for a moment that you failed to do any regular maintenance to your company’s office or retail location. What message would it send to customers if paint was chipping, windows were faded, and signs were cracked and broken? How much credibility would you have if your brochures and contracts were filled with typos. Or if your phone numbers went to missing extensions?
Most business owners would realize pretty quickly that these types of obvious errors would destroy their ability to win new customers. And would take steps to correct them immediately. And yet it’s not particularly unusual to come across websites with broken links. Or outdated images, missing or scraped content, and other obvious problems.
You could probably get away with these kinds of issues as a marketer a few years ago. But in 2024 your closest competitor. Whether they are down the street or half the world away. they can be found with a few clicks of a mouse. If buyers can’t trust you based on what they see when they visit your pages. They’re going to look for someone with more credibility.
Find a Great Marketing Partner
We advise the organizations we work with to conduct ultimate website design audits at least once per year. That gives us a chance to take a deep dive into their content and HTML to look for technical issues that could cause problems. And to explore any openings that can be exploited by hackers or online thieves. It also serves as a prompt for the business to make sure its content and messaging are up to date. And to look for parts of a website that need a bit of refreshment and improvement.
If you haven’t been paying as much attention as you should be in maintaining your website. Now is the time to do a bit of spring cleaning. Your site is going to be the first (and sometimes only) thing people see when they are looking into your business. Make sure it gives accurate information and shows your company in the best possible light.
The Two Sides of Performance and UX
So far, we’ve been addressing ultimate website design performance and UX from the perspective of winning customers. After all, that’s the result most business owners are working toward. However, there are considerations that go beyond the one-on-one interactions’ buyers have with your pages.
Specifically, Google is paying a lot more attention to website performance in 2024. The trend started years ago with revisions to its search algorithm. But today factors like website loading speed, availability, and mobile compatibility are very important search signals. In other words, if your content comes up slowly, Your website is frequently offline, or you don’t have a responsive web design. Google may choose to essentially ignore you.
Google Matters in the Ultimate Website UX Design
This obviously creates a powerful incentive for companies to keep up with the times. It’s ironic, but many marketers are more (immediately) concerned about their Google ranking than they are generating conversions. The same men and women who ignored mobile computing and the value of strong web hosting in the past. Even though it mattered to buyers, are now discovering that they want to get up to speed because it’s going to cost them search traffic.
I mention this for two reasons. First, because it illustrates in another way the importance of following best practices. And not falling behind your competitors when it comes to the back end of your website. Second, it makes a nice illustration for the “forests and trees” problem that is so pervasive in internet marketing. Things like search engine algorithms, social engagement formulas, and pay-per-click Quality Scores are important. At the same time, they are really symptoms more than causes. If you focus on giving customers what they want. The technical details of your plan will largely take care of themselves.
That’s especially true when it comes to website performance and UX. Paying attention to these details will help you improve your search visibility on Google. But that shouldn’t be your first reason for looking into them.
Don’t Overlook Web Development
Because the phrase “web design and development” is often used by marketers and industry professionals alike. Business owners tend to assume they mean the same thing. They are closely related, but a few distinct differences should be noted because of what they mean for your company.
Ultimate website design really relates to the way your site looks. It’s about graphics, fonts, images, and other visual elements. Web development, on the other hand, has to do with the coding that lives behind the scenes in your pages. It incorporates custom maps, plug-ins, and other bits of functionality that might not be reflected in a layout or display.
Get With the Program of an Ultimate Website UX Design
Businesspeople don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the development end of things, and they usually don’t have to. When considering the usability of your site, however. It’s worth considering whether there are features, or even custom bits of software. That could make your pages more valuable to customers, vendors, or even employees.
By working with your web design team, you could explore apps and plug-ins that automate marketing. Connect e-commerce to inventory, calculate currency conversions. Or even help with tasks like scheduling or invoicing. Alternatively, you could examine the existing tools on your website. To see if there are ways to make your existing plug-ins faster and more stable. Or to close known security exploits.
The topic of web development is a huge one, and the possibilities are virtually endless. And so, rather than advising you to pick up a specific tactic. I would recommend you consult with a web development professional. And see if there are ways to better align your website with the business goals you’re trying to meet. You might be surprised at what’s possible, and how little time and money it costs to implement the perfect solution.
Assessing and Improving Performance for the Ultimate Website UX Design
You may be too close to your ultimate website design to identify issues with performance and UX. And you might not have the technical expertise to deal with them. However, my goal in this chapter isn’t to turn you into an expert on traffic flow or web development. Instead, it is to get you thinking about the different technical and usability factors that ultimately determine. Whether your website can be found by customers, and how they’ll react when they do arrive.
A well-designed web presence is a beautiful thing. But it’s not enough to help you improve your bottom line. If you really want your website to do its job, you have to invest in performance. And UX on an ongoing basis.
For Columbus Ohio Web Design Call Marcy Design
Finally Marcy Design is named after Mount Marcy, the tallest mountain in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. The founder of Marcy Design climbed Mt. Marcy over 30 years ago. It was at the top of the mountain that a new company was born. As a Columbus Ohio Website Design company. Marcy Design will work with your business producing quality work and be more effective at marketing. And increase sales through online and traditional methods.
How to Build the Ultimate Website Articles
1. A New Comprehensive Guide On How to Design a Website
2. How to Build the Ultimate Website Design
3. How to Build the UX Website Design
4. How to Build the Ultimate Business Website Sales Funnel
5. How to Build the Ultimate Business Website SEO Optimization
6. How to Build the Ultimate Business Website PPC Campaign
