The Importance of Good User Experience: Boost Sales and Keep Users Happy

We’ve all been there. You visit a website and find it frustratingly difficult to locate what you’re looking for, or it takes so long to load that you simply give up and go back to Google. How about a checkout process that forces you to create an account before you can even buy anything? All of these things create a poor user experience – and they’re probably hurting your sales.

Why is User Experience Important?

While it’s no secret that eCommerce in the UK is booming, the sheer number of brands competing for attention means the market is more competitive than ever. To drive sales and keep shoppers coming back time and time again, it’s absolutely essential to make sure you provide the best possible shopping experience on every device. 

According to recent research by Magento, the single most important factor for UK consumers when shopping online is that a website is easy to use, with more than half of respondents (56%) citing this as a key deciding factor. This was followed by a quick loading time (41%), and products being in stock (34%). In truth, you can have the best products in the world, but this actually counts for very little if people have to jump through hoops just to buy something. That’s why UX design is so important.

What is User Experience (UX) Design?

User Experience (UX) Design is the process of creating a meaningful and relevant experience to users of a particular product or service. It incorporates many different things, including design, branding, usability and function, to create a great overall experience that meets the needs and expectations of the people using it.

People often confuse UX with user interface (UI) design, but it’s actually just one part of the equation. UX design is concerned with the entire user journey, taking into account things like the motives, values, views and expectations of the audience to create a solution that is both aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.

In the context of ecommerce, the user experience is key for customer retention and, in many cases, it can be the difference between someone choosing to shop with you or going elsewhere. Good UX design helps increase user satisfaction, maximise conversion rates and reduce cart abandonment.

Some Common UX Problems

Take a look around the web and you’d be surprised by the number of ecommerce stores that don’t provide a good user experience. Some of the most frustratingly common problems include:

Overly complex menus and confusing navigation

Poorly designed menus make it difficult for people to find what they are looking for and often create confusion by bombarding the user with too much information all at once. Logical menus, clear product categories and useful filter functions are just some of the ways you can improve interactions with your website.

Complicated checkout process

To minimise cart abandonment, the checkout process should be simple and intuitive, with clearly labelled fields and a logical order that directs the customer towards completing their purchase. Don’t place any unnecessary obstacles in front of the shopper.

Unclear message

Have you ever landed on a website and not known what it’s actually all about? It’s important to provide users with a clear message that’s easily digestible the moment they land on the page, as well as providing easy access to all the information they are looking for.

Slow speed

There’s nothing more frustrating than a slow website! In order to increase conversions and maximise sales, it’s important that users aren’t sitting around waiting for things to load. The chances are they’ll just go elsewhere!

User Experience and Aware

Here at Aware, we spend a great deal of time making sure each eCommerce site we build delivers the best possible user experience. The solutions we create are based on customer needs and are closely integrated with your specific business goals, resulting in experiences that attract, engage and allow customers to interact with what is in front of them.

Our strategically driven wireframe and design process begins with understanding your business and its users to build a picture that will shape the subsequent creative and UX design phases. Through a combination of audience insight and our extensive expertise, we can create a solution that looks after the end user and ensures the best possible conversion rate.

Looking for some friendly advice about how to improve user experience on your website? Contact us today.