The marketing landscape today is not same as it used to be a few years ago. The changing technologies have altered the consumer behavior drastically and the only way for a business to survive and step up to the next level is to keep on tweaking the marketing strategy according to the user behavior.
Today, your business website is the most powerful marketing tool than ever before. It serves as a 24/7 salesman for your business and the rapid technology changes can make your website feel old and outdated. So, to make most out of this powerful marketing tool, you must ensure the optimum user experience on your website.
When it comes to improving user experience on your website, the first thing that comes to mind is a “redesign”, but, that can be a costly affair. So, rather than taking expensive moves, why not to fix those little things on your website that can bring a huge improvement. This article will discuss five most important factor contributing to website user experience and ways to improve your website by working on these important areas.
1- Consider the page speed as a top priority; the most frustrating experience for users is a slow loading website. No one wants to wait longer for a page to load because they want fast results for the content they want. Moreover, fast loading pages do not just convert more, but also rank better in the search engine results, so you can improve your search engine ranking with this little tweak.
2- Make sure, your website is responsive; with the rise of the mobile devices, and easy internet access, people access content from various different platforms. They expect the website to be easily accessible, fully functional, and clear to navigate and you have to make sure that your website is responsive, i.e. ensure that they get the same experience regardless of the device they are using.
3- Work on Calls-to-Action; attractive action words enable your users to navigate your website more easily and using the action buttons strategically can drastically improve the user experience. To find the best Call to Actions:
- Test different messages
- Use color variations
- Build emotional connection
- Impose urgency
There can be a lot of ideas to improve your call-to-actions but the above-mentioned ones are must to make people take action. Also, make sure to have at least one call to action above the fold.
4- Use the rich media wisely; people love more visuals than the text, but the text is important for search engine purposes as well. Take time to get some visual food for your visitors. Remember, that people can easily spot the free stock photos. Shoot real photos and videos for your business, and use the optimized version of this rich media on your website. According to a study conducted by Spectrum, Inc. “Harrington Movers”, a New Jersey and New York City moving company increased conversion on a page by simply replacing a stock photo with an image of the actual team of movers.
5- Turn your 404s into information hub; though the search engine penalty for soft 404 errors (page not found) is not that severe, users consider them too annoying. Too many 404s can really turn down a visitor. Optimizing your 404 page can be a game changer. Think of the ways to turn your 404s into an interactive page and here are a few ideas:
- Insert a site search form.
- Provide links to all the major categories/top tags.
- Add a contact form/newsletter subscription form.
- Provide links to your social media pages.
I am sure, the above ideas will help you revamp your website to be more user-friendly without spending extra dollars on a complete website redesign.
