The focal point of user experience (UX) design is, well, the user! When designing your website, you want to make sure that your user has a good experience on your site. That is, after all, what will keep them coming back, and maybe even telling their friends about your site, and in this article, we’re going to cover a few of the many best practices for UX design.
User Research
Since UX web design is all about the user’s experience on your website, it’s important to do several rounds of user research. Who is your target audience? What are their pain points? What are users trying to achieve when using your site? These questions are good starting points when researching throughout various iterations of the site’s design.
If you don’t have time or budget for user research, you can start by making assumptions about your target audience’s pain points. In a few months, evaluate your data and see how it aligns with your assumptions. If needed, you can make modifications. This is one of our strategies with our B.L.O.S.S.O.M. product: we envision how our target audience might interact with the site, and then we make updates as we review the data and gather more research.
Accessibility & Consistency
Your design should work for everyone, including those with hearing and sight disabilities. Using accessibility standards in your user experience practices increases the number of people who can interact with your site. Tools such as Userway will help you with guidelines when it comes to web accessibility journeys; they will do accessibility audits, add widgets, and more.
Your design should be accessible and consistent for everyone. Design consistency reinforces your brand, builds trust, and limits confusion. In addition, a consistent design makes the site easier for the users to engage with, which in turn makes it easier for them to return to it.
Consistency includes the body of the site, yes, but it also includes the navigation.
This may seem obvious, but if your site has a confusing navigation, chances are, people won’t want to figure out how it works.
They will leave your site without purchasing, all because they couldn’t figure out where to find the product they’re looking for. No one wants that, so it’s best to have a clear navigation on your site.
In addition to the overall site and the navigation, consistency also includes branding. Make sure that your brand colors, logos, and voice are visible on your website. You want people to know what sets you apart from your competitors; including information about why you’ve started your company and why people should purchase from you over anyone else is always a good idea.
Responsive & User-Centric Design
Now that we’ve covered user research, let’s talk more about the design aspect of user experience design.
Your design needs to be responsive, meaning that it needs to adapt to different screen sizes. A lot of people are visiting eCommerce sites from their mobile devices, so if something works perfectly on your desktop version, its mobile design should also be taken into consideration.
When it comes to user-centric design, it might help to look into the three types of design and combine that with your user research when you start designing the site.
Effective UX design puts the user first over technical capabilities or aesthetics. This includes using fonts that are readable and the correct size, as well as having a good contrast between the text and the background so that the site is easy to read.
Conclusion
There are several best practices for UX design, and some of the most important ones are user research, responsive and user-centric design, and accessibility and consistency. Are you looking for help with your site’s user experience? Contact us.
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