A user-friendly site is actually a well-built site. All the individual elements, the texts, the titles, the look, the menu, are made to offer the visitor a pleasant and relaxing experience.
It is a well-tuned engine.
Our goal is always to keep the user on the site, browsing the pages and returning to it, with the ultimate goal for the business either to buy its products, subscribe to the newsletter or interact with the brand in any way.
Below we will look at the most sos ways to make your website more user-friendly and increase your site traffic.
Easy Navigation
Η navigation is the be-all and end-all when discussing how usable a site is.
First of all, navigation should be quick and simple. Make sure the navigation is done by intuition.
For example, the brand logo is usually located in the top left corner and by clicking on it the user naturally expects to be returned to the home page.
Still the navigation menu of your site should give important information about the topics and by clicking on each one, sub-sections should appear in a vertical list format, and logical consistency. This in principle will help the user to quickly find what they are looking for. But, in addition, give him the option to search on his own by adding internal search engine accessible on every page of the site, if your site has many pages.
Also, from each page of the site the visitor should be able to go to the Information about the business, the Contact Information and the Privacy Policy. This will enhance the trust towards your brand and contributes to a positive user experience.
In most cases it is worth analysing the navigation on the sites of your major competitors. There are always some "patterns" in navigation which (for years now) have been pre-digested in the user's mind. It's always important not to stray too far from these.
An integrated contact page
For most websites the contact page (contact page) is a critical page for visitors looking for ways to communicate.
Ensure the completeness of communication methods (contact form, email, social media, phones) and their best possible visibility and use, especially on mobile devices. Finding the contact page by users should be easy within your website as mentioned above.
Loading time
The "magic" page load time is said to be 3 seconds. It may seem very short, but the truth is that users get frustrated if they have to wait longer.
You can check the speed of your site in this Google tool and see suggestions for faster loading. I don't know if you can get it to 3 seconds, but at least you can try!
Aesthetics & Colours
Emphasize the impression you make through the colors and patterns you use on your site. Η palette of colours that you will choose should consist of a few colours, which reflect the aesthetics of your brand, and at the same time ensure a colour Contrast between the background and the main text, so that the content is legible.
Most users are used to reading text in dark colours on a lighter and brighter background. So give them what they need.
Similarly, the font you use for the main text and headings should be legible, and don't forget the general layout of texts, headings, call-to-actions, photos and so on, so that they are properly margined and readable.
Understandable Content
Make sure your texts are easy to read. This has to do with the very way a text is written, as it may seem incomprehensible to a visitor and create questions instead of answers. If the site does not have strictly scientific or technological content, then you should still avoid technical and obscure jargon. You don't want your visitor to feel less intelligent, as this would discourage them from continuing reading.
Reading becomes easier if you format your texts in short and concise sentences. discrete paragraphs, by Headers and bullet points, so that the user can quickly find what he needs at a glance, without having to read the whole text.
You can also enhance your content with photos, as long as they blend harmoniously with the text, do not distract the user and ideally match the site's colours.
Mobile First & Responsive
Since most users search and read from their mobile phones, it's important to ensure that your website is user-friendly, no matter what device they're reading from. In practical terms this means: legible font no need to zoom in, accessible menus without searching, large buttons that can be pressed from a mobile phone, and of course (and here too) fast response time.
In the context of "mobile first", as we keep saying, it is quite interesting sometimes to add or remove elements/information for the visitor who enters from a mobile device. For example, a phone with direct link to call on the home page is ideal for someone who has logged in from a mobile phone and wants to call you directly.
Adaptation according to what the public wants
Having insight into what visitors want or what they are looking for on your website, make their navigation more Easy and fast. For example, if you notice in the Analytics that a product or article category has increased traffic, consider adding it to the main menu so that people visiting your website can find it more quickly.
In a similar way, it is worth adjusting the design of your website itself and especially your homepage. Tools that offer the creation heatmaps will help you understand where your visitors click more and where they don't, information that you can use for a more efficient User-Experience.
Give in-depth information
When a visitor lands on your page, they want to receive the right information to get a Decision about your product or service.
If the visitor has to search too much for this information, they may get frustrated and leave for a competitor's site. Pay extra attention to providing appropriate multimedia (videos, photos) and prompts that will quickly lead the user to contact, purchase or some other important link.
A-B Testing
Perhaps the best way to find out what really makes a difference in the friendliness of your site is to test. With tools that give you A-B Testing, such as Google Optimize (which is free) you can try running experiments with different pages, with small or big changes between them, and in the end choose the one that really made the difference for your visitors.
Finally, don't forget that after a certain point when you have mastered the basics, you will learn the rest. through your own audience.
