We’ve all been to that one store where it feels as if you’re walking through a ghost town or it’s more of a post-apocalyptic feel. No one appears to work there, things are missing off the shelves, and why are all of these lights flickering? If you manage to find another living soul who happens to work there they are cold, dismissive, and not helpful. You find yourself wandering the aisles again feeling confused and really considering if you need to actually need to be here.
This feeling isn’t something exclusive to physical businesses; this can happen on your website. If you’re struggling with keeping users on your site it might be because they don’t feel valued. If you are noticing astronomically high bounce rates or all of your traffic is from you, it’s time to spruce up that UX (User Experience). Here are a few tips to help design a website that makes users feel valued.
Respect Your Users Time
This has nothing to do with the instant gratification culture that people love to blame on the internet. There isn’t a single woman, man, child, or beloved pet that is willing to go through a maze for something that they need. It’s frustrating to be on a website that can double as an escape room. Focus on making navigation through the site smooth and simple. A user shouldn’t have to enter a cheat code to find the services page. Make it easy to get to what they want. Are you offering a free e-book or a free consultation? Build an eye-catching CTA for it.
The two most notorious detectors from your user’s time are forms and checkout processes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve personally left a website because one error on a form forced me to fill it out again. The same goes for checking out. If I’m forced through a long process of data collection, form filling out and addons that gives me time to reconsider if I really need to spend $85.63 plus shipping on your products, it’s going to take too long. I’m more likely to leave my cart rather than finish the purchase.
Another way to respect your users time is to utilize white space. Landing onto a webpage that is is just a cluster of content is overwhelming. Space it out and allow your users to read at their own pace.
Provide Clear Instructions
Speaking of respecting your users time, put some effort into making instructions clear. Would you be surprised if I said this can be done in more than one way? Delete that bulleted list of instructions and consider just adding it into your web copy. Looking to go above and beyond? Use illustrations or videos to add a lot more detail. The easier it is to understand your website or service the more likely it is that you can convert a first time user into a returning one.
If there are links within your web copy don’t forget to use hyperlink differentiation. Different colored font or an underlined word is a clear indication to your user that you want them to click on it. Wanting to go above and beyond for this too? Make it a button that pops with color.
Let Them be Able to Talk to a Human
Hey, remember the scenario from before? How walking through a store without being able to talk to another human is the worst? And utterly frightening? Don’t do this to your users! A contact form really doesn’t do a lot to ease a first-time buyer’s weariness. For all they know, this form goes into a black hole of an inbox that no one looks at.
Including a more personal looking email or a business phone number in the footer of your website gives users reassurance that there is someone who can help them. A living person who isn’t going to make them find all the photos with cars in them. Adding contact info to your site also just shows that you care about someone’s experience and are willing to help them.
These might seem obvious but surprisingly they are still hard to find on many websites. It’s far more common to build a website from the viewpoint of the business and not your user. So, why not make some easy changes to your site and make yourself different from competitors? By making your users feel valued you are starting to build up your brand loyalty. Overtime this loyalty will crush your competitors who still want to leave their users confused and wandering around.
Looking for help?
If you’d like to chat without our developers and designers about making these changes to your site, you can email us at info@innov8.place or reach out to us on our contact page. We promise, our contact form will end up in a real inbox for a real person to get back to you. We’ll get you started on the right path with a free consultation.
If you already know what you need and are ready to go, schedule a meeting with us!
