Were you expecting your website to convert well in 2018, but didn’t get the results you hoped for? If you had the traffic, but your visitors didn’t convert into customers, you should consider increasing your conversion rate by improving your user interface in 2019.
Your user interface (UI) provides the framework or roadmap for your user experience (UX). In general, you want users to find it easy, efficient, and user-friendly to use your website — and of course, to have an experience that leads them to take the action you want them to take. (Examples: make a purchase, provide their email address, etc.). This means the best UI design requires the user to provide minimal input to achieve the desired output, and it should also minimize undesired interactions with the user.
With that said, here are 9 ideas to consider when looking to improve your UI (and conversion rate) in 2019:
The images on your user interface should not only show what you’re offering to your customers, but why it matters to them. How will buying your product or service solve their problem, make them happy, or otherwise change their life for the better? Answer that question, and then choose images that put it on display.
When it comes to how to write a tagline, clarity beats cleverness every time. Remember, you have seconds to grab your customer’s attention. This means your pitch needs to be easy to understand. If you’re a catering company, for example, a tagline like “Delicious catering for your big day” (along with a well-designed website, a compelling image of a beautiful event you have catered, and a strong call to action) tells your customer exactly what you’re offering and therefore would likely increase conversion rate.
Allowing your customers to sample your products and services remains a very effective way of attracting them down the path of action. Can you offer a trial membership or version of what you offer? What about giving them some free content that will allow them to glimpse the kinds of solutions and information you provide? (Note: This is also a great way to add people to your email list and improve your marketing.)
Generally speaking, people will respond more positively to a series of smaller connected requests much more easily than a large request. For example, asking a visitor to fill out a short survey before asking them to engage in a more thorough intake process for a service or membership may make them more likely to commit to the latter. This is commonly known as the “foot in the door” technique, which aims for a few smaller “yeses” before attempting to get the bigger “yes” from them.
It is frequently said that what looks clickable, should be clickable. However, make sure no link above the primary call to action (CTA) runs the risk of taking your visitors away from what you want them to do. Reducing the number of links on your pages is a sure way to increase the chance of your visitor taking the action you’d like them to take. (Note: Online checkout processes often employ this method by removing the global and header and footer during checkout.)
Make sure your design elements are drawing the eye to the primary call to action on your page. Such elements might include larger fonts, stronger contrasts, field auto focusing, highlights, sticky or floating element interactions, and even simple arrows. Emphasizing a second or third call to action is fine too—just make sure that emphasis decreases according to the priority of these CTAs so they are not competing with each other.
In general, your call to action should be prominent and visible above the fold, usually in the upper right corner. If you have a longer page or multiple pages, however, it’s important to repeat your call to action so customers will encounter it again as they scroll down or click through and learn more about your product or service.
Many website owners don’t realize that every dropdown menu adds to the effort required by site visitors. If any of those options that are even slightly tucked away happen to be critical to your visitors being able to take action, you could make it easier for them by showing them all of the options (without them needing to click anything) instead.
An opt-out strategy implies that visitors are almost required to take part in something without them having to take any action. Not only does this alleviate resistance on their path of action, but it also implies what specific action they should take. (Note: We have seen this as a major difference maker for clients, though due to new GDPR laws, we do advise against this for clients who cater to European customers.)
We hope that these ideas help provide you with fresh motivation so that this quarter or perhaps early 2019, you’re able to continue improving your users’ experience. These truly are some of the greatest suggestions for improving your user interface design skills at this time. A website is a powerful tool that can drive your business. It can be almost endlessly improved, giving your business limitless potential. Ideas that don’t work out can simply be traded for something better. Isn’t that wonderful? SO never stop, never give up on trying new things and looking for better ways to create an engaging and satisfying experience for your customers. If you have the traffic, it will pay!
Have another idea you think should be featured here? Need help implementing anything we’ve presented? Get in touch with us today, or leave us a comment below.
