Over the past couple of years, UX design is all that everybody in web design and marketing communities has been buzzing about. That’s because plenty of statistics shows it can have great potential in raising a website’s conversion rate and bring huge returns.

Don’t believe us? Here’s what UX design statistics say:

– On average, for every $1 invested in UX, businesses can get up to $100 in return, meaning a whopping ROI of 9,900%.
– A good UX design can yield a website conversion rate of up to 400%.
– 70% of customers abandon their purchases online due to a bad user experience.
– 23% of customers who had a positive experience with a brand’s website told ten or more people about it, while 62% of customers say they share their bad experiences with their peers.
– 79% of visitors who don’t like what they find on one website will click back and search for another site.

These stats prove just how important it is to have an impeccable UX on your website to hook visitors and turn them into buyers.

But first, let’s make sure we’re on the same page with what UX really is.

UX design explained

Today, UX has grown so much in popularity that it evolved from being a noun to becoming a verb. Web designers often hear out their clients saying, “we need you to UX our website.”

But, what exactly UX means? User Experience is all about how potential customers perceive, use, and remember websites. In other words, it’s how a person feels when interacting with a system, be it a website, mobile app, or any other form of human-device interaction.

User experience has become increasingly important to attract visitors and convince them to convert. The competition is harsh out there. According to Statista, there are 1.72 billion websites on the web. So, there are plenty of other options for Internet users to choose from if they don’t have a great experience with one website. Brands who don’t want to see huge numbers at their bounce-back rates need to make sure their website provides great UX.

Now, user experience is different for everyone. There is no exact answer to what makes a great experience. Some Internet users might like a particular thing about your website design, while others might consider it too complex or unnecessary. However, there are a few UX design principles that represent solutions to user experience problems that have been identified since the dawn of the web. These principles include:

– Focus on the user
– User control
– Consistency
– Hierarchy
– Accessibility
– Usability
Now, based on these principles, UX is important as it tries to fulfill the users’ needs and provide them with positive experiences that will keep them loyal to the product or brand.

4 tips on how to UX your website

There are a number of steps to go through when designing with UX in mind.

– Rethink your landing page experience
What do visitors see when they enter your landing page? But, more importantly, how do they feel? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, it’s time to find them ASAP.

Not having a dead screen on your landing page should be your priority. By dead screen, we mean a page that is loaded with hefty content and nothing that can engage or capture the attention of your visitors. Why should your landing page be the most attractive part of your website? Well, it’s obvious: it’s the first page visitors see when entering your website. So, since you have just a couple of seconds to capture the attention of the visitors.

Making your landing page interesting can be as simple as having a minimalist design with plenty of white space and just a few background videos, gifs or animations, o any other type of interactive element that will engage the visitors.

– Optimize the little things that matter
In web design, there are a few little things that actually matter a lot, from the overall design to the color scheme you choose, how easy it is for visitors to find the navigation buttons, or the interactive elements that engage the people who land on your website.

UX design is all about identifying these small details that can make the difference between a good user experience or a bad one. Identify the buttons or visual elements that visitors typically interact with the most on your website and optimize them to provide the best UX.

– Get really visual
In the late ‘90s to early 2000s having big bulks of text on your website was the normality. Yet, over time, things have changed, and visual content became a lot more important than written content. After all, you know what they say, “an image can speak a thousand words.”

Visuals, be it images, videos, infographics, or gifs, are the easiest and most engaging form of content. Modern Internet users don’t have the time to read a lot of text to find what they came looking for. They want their answers and needs to be answered fast and in a convenient and engaging way.

And, since you are creating plenty of visual elements that will engage your visitors, don’t forget to make them even more interesting with some background music or sounds. As the experts from Melody Loops explain, “Background music helps set the scene and provoke specific emotions in visitors that may engage them and also influence their buying behavior. Sounds, on the other hand, matter for site navigation as they help indicate to the user that they have made a click on a specific button.”

– Live chat is a must-have feature
Contact us forms are so last decade! Live chats are today’s customer support normality.
User experience doesn’t stop after the customer has made the purchase. Sometimes, it can extend to the point where the customer comes back for support because they’ve encountered a problem with the order or the product and service. That’s the moment when you have to be then and there to address the people’s concerns. Live chat is a great feature that makes the support process more interactive, faster, and intelligent.