6 Most Common UX Mistakes
Is your website designed to look appealing, convey information and/or give visitors an experience they cannot forget? Though all three points are important it is the third point where your website may not be living up to its full potential. That is where UX design comes in. Unlike UI design, UX design is all about the customer experience. Your website may be the first place visitors can learn about you and your product/service and suffice to say that you want that experience to be a positive one. With that said, let us explore some of the ways your website may be driving away visitors.
1. Hide and Seek Menus
If your visitors can not easily find the navigation menu then finding the information they came for may also be just as difficult to find, and should this be the case then they might go somewhere else. The first two places a standard user looks for navigation-buttons is the top of the webpage and on the left-hand side. If the buttons are anywhere else, it has a high likelihood of interrupting your visitor's visual flow of your website. Think of it as a stumble at the start of a relaxing walk.
2. Demanding Popups
Pop-ups that interrupt a visitor’s goal on your website is not only bothersome but can potentially push away that visitor causing a higher bounce rate. Yes, you want customers to give you their contact information, and your app may make mobile access more pleasant, but do not force this information on your visitors. Use the sidebar to let them know these options exist. When they feel confident in your content, they are more likely to seek these options.
3. It's a Website, Not a Slideshow
Websites that divide their content into multiple pages with “Read More” buttons are unfortunately gaining in popularity. Each page has only a little bit of information which forces the reader to go to the next page for more content and this type of page by page clicking continues until the end of the article. When people click on a link to an article that interests them, they want to read the content and its entirety on one page. Having to stop and wait for the next page to load is not only time-consuming, but it also breaks the flow of the content. The majority of visitors will not stick around long enough to complete what they were interested in when a website becomes a slideshow.
4. Unresponsive
We are not talking about loading time, although that is also an annoyance, this is in reference to internet browsing devices. Today, many users view websites from a variety of devices, and they like to have the experience be the same across all of them. Responsive design is something any successful website needs to keep up with the needs of today’s users. Good UX design involves being able to experience a site from anywhere.
5. What Do I Do Now?
Visitors like to be told what to do next. Information that nudges them toward the next logical step helps to convey the message that there is more to see and has a greater chance to keep the visitor around longer. Making sure you have a visible Call To Action button available is one example of those steps. Set off the Call to Action with a bright color surrounded by white space and make sure it is obvious what the visitor is going to see when they click. Remember, your website's goal is to lead customers through the sales funnel, but it needs to be done subtly. Call To Action buttons helps to fulfill that purpose.
6. Asking Too Much
People do not want to give you their entire life story the first time they meet you. Having people fill in too much information when they are signing up for your newsletter will cause many to change their mind. You will gain information over time, but this initial contact is meant to get your foot in the door. Ask solely what is necessary to reach that goal. In most cases, a first name and email address will be all you need.
Final Words
Go to your website and ask yourself if your design is creating a positive experience for visitors. Did you use UX design from the beginning or is it something you need to consider now? Check the conditions above and then think about the things that annoy you when you visit a website for the first time. Make sure your site does not have any of those elements either!
