6 Principles of User-Friendly Website Design Your Site Needs
User-Friendly website design focuses on the users’ experience, something that even great looking websites can miss the mark on — did your website design?
Every business wants to have the most dazzling and gorgeous website on the internet. However, no number of eye-popping elements or pieces of jaw-dropping content will help your case if your website isn’t user-friendly. This may seem obvious but many businesses make the mistake of focusing so much on design that they completely overlook usability.
From landing page to checkout, today’s consumers expect an instant and seamless experience when browsing the web. Nobody is willing to waste their time trying to navigate a frustrating, clunky and unresponsive website.
So, what can you do to provide your visitors with a browsing experience that’s as satisfying and enjoyable as possible? Consider the following principles of user-friendly website design.
1. Responsive Design
Your first step should be to ensure that your website features a responsive design. In other words, it should load and display correctly on any screen size, from mobile to desktop. This ensures that anyone can comfortably browse your website. It also improves your SEO ranking as Google gives preferences to mobile-friendly websites.
2. Load Times
Just a one-second delay can decrease your page views by 11 percent. Bump that number up to six seconds and there’s a 106 percent increase in the probability that a user will leave your website. It’s not only consumers who don’t like extended loading times. Search engines penalize slow websites, too.
So, run some tests to determine how long your website currently takes to load, and if necessary, find ways to reduce that time. This can include eliminating unnecessary plugins and elements, switching to a better host, compressing your images, using a lighter theme, and fixing broken links.
3. Navigation
The easier it is for your users to get around and find what they’re looking for, the more likely they are to convert. Minimize clutter, focus on consistency, and use short, clear labels to explain what each option does. Take a look at this menu on www.ticketsales.com for an idea of what a simple and effective navigation design looks like.
4. Forms
How your forms are designed can be the difference between consistent lead generation and no leads at all. Minimize the number of required fields, offer help and suggestions to make the process easier, and ensure that the user is fully aware of the incentive that they’ll be rewarded with upon completing the form if appropriate.
5. Clear Information
A large portion of your visitors are potential customers who want to learn more about your product or service. If they can quickly and easily find the information they’re looking for, they’ll be more likely to do business with you.
Aim to answer common questions, solve common problems and show your prospects how they will benefit from your product or service.
6. Color Choice
The color palette you choose to utilize should be appropriate for your industry and easy on the eyes. Aim to grab the user’s attention with bold, contrasting elements where you want them to take action, while still ensuring that all elements are legible.
Keeping the above principles in mind will help you put together a more user-friendly and effective website design. Remember to keep it simple, informative, and enjoyable.
