As we leave 2019 behind us, the web design improvements it brought about remain: choices centered around the user and their experience, aiming to increase revenue and conversions by providing more intuitive and efficient web experiences, without compromising on aesthetics.
This renewed focus on user experience pays off, as DesignAdvisor notes that for a $1 investment in a website’s user experience, there is a $100 return for the investor. What’s more, having an up-to-date and efficient site will stop you from bleeding potential customers, as more than 90% of users will bounce from a site if it has degraded web design.
By now, you must be wondering what you can do to keep up with the changes this year has brought us, so here’s a shortlist of do’s and don’ts complete with web design stats and case studies.
- Don’t have a cumbersome (or cluttered) site
No one likes a site that is difficult to navigate. You should avoid clutter and open up your site’s layout to provide a more straightforward user experience. If anything, never use cumbersome or unintuitive design elements such as horizontal scrolling.
- Do create an engaging content strategy
Custom content strategies establish a bridge between your company and potential customers. Companies are starting to realize that potential customers want to know more about what they are buying and who they are buying it from. Research has shown that more than 80% of visitors trust a site after reading its custom content.
- Don’t ignore mobile users
This mistake is common among small businesses, of which more than 90% have not yet optimized their websites for mobile viewing. Ignoring mobile users is an ensured way of losing out on valuable customers, as a growing number of purchases and product searches are being conducted through mobile phones.
- Do speed up loading times
Even if you can only manage to speed up your website’s loading time by a tiny fraction, it could make a world of difference. As user expectations continue to grow, website owners and designers are continuing their quest for faster sites in order to keep up. This could significantly improve your revenue: by increasing their loading speed by 5 seconds, Shopzilla got a 7-12% growth in conversions.
- Don’t forget to test your site
Procrastinating on testing costs money, as research has shown that a regular optimization can yield a jump in visits of up to 113% and 117% increase in clicks on site. Setting up regular testing schedules can help you detect site failures that if unattended could develop into more significant problems, or act as user repellent.
- Do use bullet points
This is a slightly weird one, but it works. Web design developers have figured out that adding bullet points to lists drives more visitors to read them: while 55% of visitors look at lists without bullet points, 70% of visitors look at lists with them. This type of tweak is very easily implemented and can profoundly alter a user’s experience in your site.
As a final tip, we recommend you do yourself a favor and take a lot of the guesswork out of the whole process by hiring a leading web design agency. Have a successful 2020!
