User Experience – more than just a buzzword

If your business has a website, or you are looking to build a custom website for your business, there are many things to consider: branding and graphic design, Search Engine Optimisation, front-end development, hosting…the list may seem endless!

That’s why many businesses opt to have their websites built and managed by a custom website design agency, such as the team here at INCUB8! However, just because someone else is working on your website doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be keeping a close eye on how the site is performing.

You may have heard the term ‘user experience.’ Essentially, this term means exactly what it sounds like – what is the user’s experience of your website? In other words – what do your potential clients and customers experience when they visit your website? Can they find the information they are looking for quickly and easily?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself about your business website is performing:

• Are your forms simple and to the point?
• Do you have clear and concise calls to action?
• Does your website perform well across multiple devices?

Are your forms performing well?

Most websites have at least one form on their website, and this is usually a contact form. Take a look at the contact form on your website (whether it is live and functioning, or your web designer is asking you for feedback). Imagine you are your own ideal client or customer. Perhaps you are strapped for time, stressed out about a certain issue, or have a burning question relating to your business’s products or services.

Now – try filling out the form. Is it quick and easy? Or are you asked to fill in a myriad unnecessary personal details, such as your birthday, gender, nationality, etc.?

Web users today often don’t have the time or patience to fill out lengthy forms with details that seem irrelevant to their query or problem. This goes for contact forms, and any other type of form you might be using on your website.

A contact form, for example, only has four necessary fields: Name, Email Address/Phone Number, Subject, Message.

If the forms on your website aren’t performing the way they should contact the web experts at INCUB8 Web Design today. We specialise in custom websites and will be able to help your business website improve its user experience, so you will have more happy and satisfied clients and customers. It’s a win/win!

“Call to Action” – what are they and how should they work?

A Call to Action (CTA) is simply a piece of content that induces the person viewing your website to perform a specific act – such as call your business, submit a form, or purchase a product.

For excellent user experience, the CTA’s on your custom business website should be prominent, easy to identify, attractive, and simple. For example, if you want people to call your business or submit a contact form, you should have a button (or buttons) in a conspicuous place on your homepage, such as in the header or ‘hero’ section.

Your website needs to function well for your user, and it also needs to work the way you need it to. CTA’s help you and your clients/customers achieve the actions that help both of you – to locate your business using a map, to submit a contact form to set up an appointment, or to purchase a product or service directly from your site.

If you need help with your CTA’s, contact INCUB8 Web Design today. We are user experience experts and know how to get your customers to behave the way you need them to when they visit your website.

What’s your ideal user using?

You have a business website, and it looks great on your office computer or laptop. You’re happy with the way it functions and the way it looks – great!

But have you tried looking at the website on your phone? What about on your tablet? Your friend’s laptop? Your mother’s desktop computer? Moreover, have you tried looking at it on different web browsers?

To truly offer great user experience, your business website needs to perform well on as many platforms as possible. Today, a significant percentage of your potential customers and clients will be accessing your website on their mobile device.

If your website doesn’t translate well to different devices and across numerous web browsers, you may be losing clients. The web specialists at INCUB8 Web Design can help! Contact us today to talk about the usability of your website, and we can discuss improvements.