Your website is the most powerful marketing tool in 2024 that you have at your disposal. It’s no less than a salesman available round the clock to make marketing efforts for your business. That’s why focusing on the user experience factor of your website is essential.

Why? 

When users have a good experience, they’re more likely to become customers or subscribers, reducing the chances of them quickly leaving the site.

Search engines, like Google, also favor websites with excellent user experiences, granting them higher rankings. 

To note, statistics reveal the significance of user experience, indicating that 

• Poor usability contributes to the failure of 70% of unsuccessful web businesses.
• 75% of consumers judge a company’s trustworthiness based on its website design
• 88% of users are less likely to return after a negative user experience.

In short, a happy user is vital for a successful website. 

What’s more, a website design company recently observed that rapidly changing UI/UX design trends can make your site old and outdated. However, redesigning it can be a task and requires a lot of time and resources. So to overcome this challenge, we have curated a list of top 10 actionable tips for better website user experience in 2024. 

But before hopping on to the tips, let’s take an overview od a Good user experience!

What is a Good User Experience?

User Experience (UX) on a website refers to the behaviors customers exhibit when interacting with it. It sums up the impressions users form about your site based on its ease and enjoyment. Improving UX creates a more favorable environment for customers to engage with your brand, reducing friction between your site and your target audience. In essence, it’s about creating a memorable experience for potential customers.

A positive website UX means users:

• visit your website;
• navigate through different pages;
• grasp what your website is about;
• ultimately, find what they were looking for.

Various factors influence website UX, impacting your business. Key considerations to assess: 

• Accessibility – Can anyone access your website, especially people with disabilities?
• Usability – Is your website really easy to use?
• Value – Is your product/service/content worthy enough to make users stay and spend time on the website?
• Findability – Can a user easily navigate through your website? 
• Usefulness – does your website cater to the user’s requirements?
• Credibility – Does your brand, service, content or even identity builds trust and brief of the user?
• Desirability – Is your website relatable enough to touch the emotional chord of the user?

Ensuring these elements align enhances user satisfaction and contributes to the success of your website.

How can I improve my website user experience?

1. Use whitespace

Clients sometimes complain about too much white space on their websites, wanting more room for advertising. However, white space is crucial for good design as it enhances content legibility and user focus. Studies show that white space around text increases user attention by 20%. While it gives a fresh and modern feel, too much white space can replace valuable information, so finding a balance is key. An example, Sara Does SEO’s website, effectively uses white space, drawing attention to important elements and making information easy to digest with clear headers and supporting points.

2. Optimize for mobile devices

With the rise of mobile usage, having a mobile-friendly website is essential. Users access websites through various devices, and a mobile-friendly design ensures easy navigation. Google now penalizes non-optimized sites, emphasizing the importance of responsiveness. Ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is a key step in enhancing usability. You can check your website’s mobile-friendliness using a free tool.

3. Keep website pages consistent

Ensuring a good website experience involves maintaining consistency across your webpages. Any professional website development company will utilize web page builders and their features to keep the same font style, color, and writing tone throughout your site. Ensure uniformity in headings, button styles, design elements, illustrations, and pictures. Consistency fosters brand recognition and prevents user confusion. Providing a seamless end-user experience requires visitors to easily recognize that they are still on your website as they navigate through different pages.

4. Determine calls to action

CTAs (Call-to-Actions) play a crucial role in enhancing user experience on your website. These buttons guide users to take specific actions, like buying, subscribing, or contacting. To make them effective, ensure CTAs are visually distinct and compelling, grabbing users’ attention. This increases the chances of users clicking on them and completing the intended actions on your site.

5. Design Layout 

The experts of UI/UX design services aim for visually distinct page layouts to create a user-friendly experience. The key is making it easy for users to find what they need. Important details, navigation, and call-to-action buttons should stand out. Providing clear headings, visible navigational tools, and distinct search fields are crucial. Paying attention to contrast and color ensures readability and caters to users with color blindness. For example, blue is used for text links, red for warnings, and calls to action demand a strongly contrasting hue. Overall, the goal is a visually clear and engaging design for a seamless user experience.

6. Implement User Feedback and Testing

Successful businesses pay attention to customer feedback. Consider adding a survey on your website to learn about user experiences, desired features, and expectations. Analyze the results, addressing trends like adding a search feature for users struggling to find posts. This approach enhances user experience significantly.

Usability testing is vital in web design to ensure easy navigation. Methods include user interviews, behavior observation with tracking software, and gathering feedback through surveys and focus groups.

7. Decrease loading time

A speedy website is crucial; if it takes more than 3 seconds to load, 53% of users will leave. This impatience extends to visitors expecting swift product delivery and a rapid overall website experience. Load times, waiting periods, and smooth animations significantly influence user perception. Any delay, even an extra five seconds, can boost your bounce rate by over 20%. Google offers a free service to assess and enhance your page speed, with image compression being a vital step. A prime example of quick loading is Barnes and Nobles, ensuring prompt element loading for a seamless user experience.

8. Catch 404 Errors

Soft 404 errors may not heavily affect your search engine ranking, but they significantly impact user experience. Suppose you click on a website URL to reach a page and found out a pop-up that says “Page Not Found”. It’s frustrating. Such incidents prompt users to reconsider spending time on your site when they can simply visit another site for a quicker response. 

Similar to slow page load times, 404 errors disrupt the user journey and can lead users to explore faster alternatives. To identify and address 404 errors, use tools like Google Webmaster or a free 404 checker. Additionally, ensure that your 404 pages offer users options to navigate back on track.

9. Focus on content – the king of your website

Marketing goes beyond crafting a robust website; it involves well-structured content. Content reigns supreme, and its accessibility is key. Connect with your audience using a language that resonates—make it warm, lively, catchy, and transparent. Humans crave good stories, so tell a compelling business narrative. Research your audience’s age, culture, and language to ensure your story captivates and engages them effectively.

10. Implement accessibility features

Enhancing website accessibility is crucial for a better user experience, particularly for users with disabilities. An accessible website allows navigation for those with motor or visual impairments. Without proper accessibility, some users miss out on-site content. In WordPress, using accessibility-ready themes and plugins like WP Accessibility helps address issues for users with disabilities. Even for non-WordPress websites, providing text or audio alternatives for images and ensuring keyboard navigation ease are vital steps for increased accessibility.

Lastly, it is recommended that you should keep an eye on opportunities to increase visual contrast in the UI/UX designs for your website. 

Pro tip: Make sure that the colors of text in your web pages are in contrast with the background so it’s easier to read. 

Are you all set to improve your website’s user experience in 2024?

These tips offer cost-effective ways to enhance your website’s user-friendliness without a complete redesign. Achieving this goal might seem challenging, but partnering with an excellent website development company can make it a seamless process. They ensure your site is functional, contemporary, and relevant, providing potential customers with a seamless and fluid experience. 

Keep in mind that a satisfied user is more apparently to become a loyal customer and promoter of your brand.