We all know the old expression ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ – this has never been more relevant than it is today. Perhaps we shouldn’t but we all subconsciously judge a business in a matter of seconds (or less) after visiting a website.
User experience (UX) has never been more important. The web has grown, it’s busy out there and users are so much savvier. Expectations are high and unless your site offers a positive experience your site just won’t deliver the results you are looking for. 2016 won’t be any different and if anything UX is going to be more important than ever.
We’ve come to expect so much from our online experiences. Websites that are difficult to navigate will result in a high bounce rate as will sites that don’t load quickly, don’t look good or don’t work effectively on different devices.
It is so congested out there and everyone wants to stand out. The key is to stand out for all the right reasons!
If you haven’t reviewed your website recently then make it your New Year’s Resolution to look at it in 2016 with fresh eyes. Try and think about your site from the perspective of your target audience. What are they looking for? Does the site deliver?
Consider how a visitor will navigate the site, can they access what they are looking for quickly and without too many clicks? If it is an e-commerce site how easy is to make a purchase? Consider the design, aesthetics are so important and a huge part of first impressions. It is also important to look at your site on different devices to ensure it performs well on mobile devices. It’s a common mistake to look at your organisation’s site on a desktop PC in the office and forget that at least half your audience will be viewing it on mobile.
Your website really should be a priority in 2016, it is so vital to your organisation’s image that there should be no excuses for having a badly designed website, which is difficult to navigate or doesn’t provide a mobile friendly viewing experience.