No matter what business you run, when you’re designing your website, you’re not really designing it for your business—you’re designing it for your customers. Users of your website need to be able to easily find your website and navigate it to find the solution to their problem. This process is all part of their user experience (UX), and providing them with a positive experience should be your main motivation behind every design choice you make.
As business leaders themselves, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council understand what it takes to produce a thoughtful website that keeps the user experience in mind, and here, they each share the one rule or lesson they think about when trying to create a better user experience for their website visitors and how this thinking helps shape their final design.
1. Keep It Simple
When designing a better user experience, I remember the importance of simplicity. Keeping the interface clean and intuitive enhances usability and reduces cognitive load for visitors. This principle shapes my final design by guiding decisions on the layout, navigation and visual elements. I prioritize streamlining information and delivering clear messaging. Simplicity enables visitors to find what they need quickly, understand the website’s purpose and engage effortlessly. It also builds trust, professionalism and a positive user impression. – Ian Sells, JoinBrands.com
2. Be Consistent
Use the same fonts, colors and layouts throughout your website. This helps the website appear simple and appealing to the eye. Every page of the website should give off the same vibe, which creates a central theme for the website. The user should feel comfortable on each and every page they visit. It’s fine to have a unique website design as long as it is consistent! – Robert De Los Santos, Sky High Party Rentals
3. Focus On Functionality
Focus on function over aesthetics. Is your website mobile-friendly? How quickly will your page load? Is the overall design and feel of your website consistent? The website layout should be clear and consistent. The language, message and positioning should also be clear. Will your website guide your prospects or make them feel dumb? An intuitive layout, design and messaging will convert your visitors into customers by addressing their problems and providing them with solutions. But being intuitive and thoughtful doesn’t translate into being boring! Just because it’s purposefully designed doesn’t mean it should be boring and predictable. Add some creative elements that will make the user experience unique and memorable. – Candice Georgiadis, Digital Day
4. Include Responsive Design
To offer a seamless user experience to my visitors, I prefer to go with a responsive design for my website. So, for me, the priority would be to optimize my site for all devices, such as desktops, smartphones, tablets and more. People have diverse preferences and prefer accessing content through different devices. Plus, they might not always be in front of their desktop screens when exploring your content. So, it’s important to optimize your website for different devices and various screen sizes to make sure that you don’t offer a clunky user experience to your visitors. – Jared Atchison, WPForms
5. Make It Intuitive For The User
If you’re looking to appeal to a broad base, the technology needs to be intuitive. Technology should make our lives easier, not harder. The iPhone changed our lives because it came with no directions and we used our fingers. When designing our tech, we always create it so that my daughter and my dad can use it without directions. In fact, they are often my first two testers! UX isn’t simply based on how well the software works. Don’t get me wrong, that’s half the equation, but users tend to use programs they feel the most comfortable and confident using. And the experience most often begins with the description. One of our latest technologies uses artificial intelligence. We left “artificial intelligence” out of the app description so that users aren’t intimidated. Create tech, but remember the user! – Bill Mulholland, ARC Relocation
6. Design Like You’re Throwing A Party
Like a party, a website must anticipate and engage guests’ needs. Why? People stick around where they feel understood and entertained. Just as you’d arrange the music, food and decor at a party to create a certain vibe, design your website to evoke the feelings you want your visitors to have. It’s all about empathizing with your users and making their journey enjoyable and memorable. This mindset shapes every design decision we make. – Idan Waller, Bluethrone
7. Remember That Speed Is Key
One rule I have when trying to design a website that offers a better user experience is to come up with a site that loads instantly. The average visitor expects a website to load in three seconds or less. It’s important that the website is not heavy so I can offer a decent experience to my visitors. This means that I have to be extra careful when selecting a website theme and its customization. Plus, I like to consider moderation when it comes to the use of visual content, such as videos, as well as optimize the images for the right size to ensure that the website’s load time isn’t affected. The design of my site might not be as fancy as many others out there, but the experience it offers will certainly be better. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
8. Consider The White Space
Effective use of white space is crucial for improving the user experience. When you strategically incorporate white space, readability is enhanced and the overall interface becomes visually pleasing. It separates elements, provides clarity and highlights important information. White space contributes to legibility, reduces eye strain and creates a sense of organization. It is particularly important for mobile devices, optimizing content and ensuring a comfortable user experience. By utilizing white space effectively, websites become more inviting, engaging and easier to navigate. – Sujay Pawar, CartFlows
9. Include A Diverse Range Of Content
When I’m trying to improve the experience users have on my website, I look toward content diversity. Some people love reading content, others prefer listening and another group likes watching. Creating a wide range of written, video and audio content with different formats is a surefire way to create a better experience for everyone who visits your website. – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
10. Remove As Much Friction As Possible
Always remove as much friction as possible. The smartest way to do this is to keep your UX as simple as possible. Adding unnecessary steps or new concepts that the user doesn’t understand creates more friction both in terms of effort and the “cognitive load” the user has to undergo in order to use it. The concept of “cognitive load” itself is massively underappreciated by many product developers. It’s the unseen killer of UX because it’s not as easy to measure as other issues, such as the number of steps to complete a task. Put yourself in your user’s shoes and try to anticipate how your UX might be perceived by the uninitiated. – Andy Karuza, NachoNacho