What do site visitors do when they arrive at a new website for the first time? What do you do?
My guess is you go through a process something like this…
- I have come to this site because I have a requirement
- Now I am here, do I think I will find what I am after?
- If so, where do I click/go next to find it?
If you don’t get to 3 and take your next step within about 5-10 seconds you will most likely move your search elsewhere.
So it’s not just about getting visitors?
In SME digital marketing circles, almost all the focus is about getting people to visit your website:
- Search Engine Optimisation
- Paid advertising (Pay per click, Banners etc.)
- Social
- E-mail marketing
These are the marketing tools people use and all have the same goal – to get people to visit your website. There is a presumption that this is all that matters but if your new visitor arrives at your site and they don’t immediately find the path to what they are looking for, they will be gone. All your effort (and cost) will be wasted and (worse) they may have a bad impression of your business.
Getting people to visit your site is only the start. You then need to guide them. Show them that you are here to help and can give them what they are looking for.
This is the process you need to develop if you want to build successful relationships with your customers and clients. Big corporates spend vast budgets developing the ‘User Experience’ (UX) on their website. They know how important it is. In my experience, some succeed more than others!
Even when your business is just you, if you have a website, you need to think about user experience when they visit. If you use some common sense, it doesn’t need to cost a fortune and a bit of thought can pay big dividends.
Here are my top tips for a great User Experience…
1. Put yourself in their shoes
Just because you think in a particular way doesn’t mean everyone else does too. If you are reviewing your website, put yourself in the shoes of a new visitor who is here for the first time. What possible different ways are there that they might view your site content? Is there a clear path to the ‘next step’, whatever this might be?
2. Make life easy for your site visitors
Keep things simple and ensure all your site content is clear, relevant and up to date. Sometimes less is more. There are some who suggest that having everything on a few pages means people can find things quickly but if this involves scanning or scrolling a page, a lot of content in one place can be overwhelming. Consider putting related groups of information each onto its own page with clear navigation so it is easy for visitors to follow the path to what they are looking for.
Minimising the number of clicks required to find something is important but not the only consideration a few clicks on a clear journey through a well-defined data structure can be better than trying to find the one thing you want on a single, overwhelming page.
3. Your site navigation should be consistent and joined-up
Design is an important element of your website but people get used to certain things. Stick to convention when it comes to menus. Cutting edge design ideas may look great but do they make life easy for visitors?
Website navigation is not linear. There can (and should!) be different ways of finding your way through site content. Mixing text links and image links will provide different options to visitors who might think in different ways. Whatever you do, the important thing is to ensure your site navigation is consistent and joined up so visitors don’t get lost down a blind ally.
4. Functionality is key
Modern websites can be so much more than online brochures. Think about how you can make life easier for our site visitors by including useful functionality. E-commerce is the obvious one but what about a secure portal where customers can log in to track progress on work you might be doing or access documents and information relevant to their relationship with you? Functionality can be a great way to build in added value for your customers and contacts, encouraging them to see your website as a tool to help them in their own life or business. The more you can give people a reason to want to come back to your website time and again, the easier it is to build strong, effective business relationships….
….and after all, isn’t that what it is all about!
