UX: User experience

How many times have you visited a website but you’ve been infuriated by how it works? Hard-to-find buttons, menus that don’t work properly, and information obscured by popups are all common complaints. It can be a very frustrating user experience.

the importance of user experience online

There are now more ways to browse the Internet than ever before. You can use your laptop, a tablet, your smartphone, and even some watches! It is imperative that your website, whatever your offering, is easy to use and browse for all. This is what we mean when we talk about User Experience (UX).

Every decision made when designing your website is an opportunity for improvement. Will my main menu be easiest to find at the top of the page, or will users find it useful if it sticks to the top of the window? Does this paragraph of text need to be displayed straight away? Will my customers expect to be returned to the home page when they click my company logo? These are all very important design and UX aspects to consider.

browse our browsing tips

• Your website’s job is to give people the information they’re looking for as quickly as possible, with a minimum of fuss. Strike a balance between offering routes to that information, and not overloading visitors with too many options!
• Keep your page layouts tidy and consistent. That concept for a different-shaped-page-where-the-text-runs-in-a- spiral-from-the-inside-outwards may be on brand, but how likely is it that the average user will stop and spend a minute wrapping their head around it?
• Don’t try to squeeze too much in. Like we mentioned about not overloading visitors with options, it is often counter-productive to feature too many products or services at once. After all, not everything can be the most important thing on the page! This is particularly important for mobile website layouts, where space is at an absolute premium.
• Usability before user ability. Remember, no matter your industry, you’re catering to a wide range of computer literacy. Your website should offer speed and reliability to your more capable visitors, and gently guide those that know what they need but require help getting there.

At Source, we pride ourselves on website design and ensure that all of our work is created and built with user experience as the main feature. Don’t take our word for it, have a look for yourself at some of our projects.