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Online sales continue to grow.
So, what does this mean for businesses? Website conversions are now more critical than ever.
But online sales aren't solely reliant on demand for the products you sell and the services you provide. You could offer a highly desirable product but still experience low website conversion rates. This is because in many cases, website conversions are directly tied to consumers’ user experience.
What is user experience?
User experience refers to how customers interact with a website. These interactions strongly determine the website conversions that your business generates. For example, if your customers have to jump through hoops to make a purchase, or if they become frustrated by your website’s unappealing design, then they may decide against a purchase they otherwise would have made.
Every interaction your customer makes with you through your website – a purchase, a request for information, or receipt of a confirmation email – will significantly impact your website conversion rate. Therefore, improving the user experience can result in a direct increase in your website conversions.
Here's a look at five of the best ways to improve your user experience and increase your website conversions.
1. Keep your website simple and responsive
Have you ever visited a website that took excessive time to load or that had a lot of distracting clutter? If your website is too busy with excessive ads and images, it can reduce its loading speed and cause customers to lose interest.
Your website's design and navigation capabilities are two of the first factors that impact your user experience and website conversions. Try to keep things simple, and avoid distracting clutter. Ask yourself: If you were a consumer, would you be able to easily navigate your business's website and find what you are looking for?
2. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly
Today, most Americans own a smartphone, and most users have shopped online using their smartphones within the last six months. Online purchases from mobile devices have exploded, and making your website mobile-friendly can enhance your website conversions.
To be considered mobile-friendly, your website needs to be responsive when loaded on a mobile device, and it must be able to adjust to a smartphone's resolution and screen size. Determine if your website's design works seamlessly for mobile users, and then make any adjustments necessary to enhance your user experience.
3. Make customer support a priority
Have you ever been frustrated with a website? Maybe you couldn’t find the product you were looking for, were plagued by pages that would not load correctly, or accidentally ordered the wrong product.
When users are already frustrated and can’t reach customer support, it can reduce your website conversions. If your website visitors are fed up, they may become uninterested or seek out a similar product or service from one of your competitors.
Having an FAQ section on your website (such as this FAQ on BBB.org) can answer many of your customers’ questions and reduce the need for customer support, but it’s often not enough. At the very least, your website must have a contact page. This page should be easily viewable and located at the bottom of your website in the footer. Your contact page should include a contact form and any other forms of support you offer, such as email or phone support. Furthermore, websites that have an online chat can connect consumers with help more readily.
4. Make your website visually appealing
Visually appealing websites often hold consumer interest for longer and can help boost website conversions. Website aesthetics include straightforward navigation and design consistency throughout, a complementary color scheme, and engaging visuals that are not overly distracting.
In most cases, you should stick to two or three primary colors when selecting a color palette. This includes background and text colors. Sticking to two to three colors on your website gives your site a more professional, sleek look.
5. Create and maintain a blog
Having a blog or other space for content on your business's website can boost your search engine ranking, improve your credibility, help your ROI, and improve your customers' user experience. In addition, many blog topics can educate and even persuade customers towards a purchase or subscription service.
Posting consistently to your website's blog or news feed can significantly impact your traffic and conversions. Customers will be able to quickly find the information they need to finalize their purchase, and they may even be upsold into a more significant purchase.
The bottom line
User experience is a crucial factor in website conversions, regardless of the industry. By taking the time to optimize those experiences, you can improve your business’s conversion rates, growth, and revenue.
Are you trying to increase website conversions? Show your customers that your business operates with integrity and honesty. Get accredited by the Better Business Bureau today.
BBB of Southern Piedmont and Western N.C. contributed this article.