Digital
Unlocking Sales Potential – The Power of UX Design for Websites
By Yellow Circle
By Yellow Circle
Before we explore how UX design influences sales, let’s clarify the difference between User Experience – UX design and User Interface – UI design.
UX design focuses on the user’s overall experience while navigating your website. It encompasses factors like ease of use, efficiency, and the emotional response evoked by the website’s layout and functionality.
UI design deals with your website’s visual and interactive aspects. It includes the layout, buttons, icons, colour schemes, and everything that contributes to the look and feel of your site.
Good UX design synergises these aspects to ensure your website looks great and functions intuitively, making it easy for visitors to find what they need and convert into paying customers.
Now that we have defined UX/UI design let’s look at how good UX design can dramatically increase sales.
Engagement is the gateway leading to sales. Engaged users spend more time on your website, exploring your products and services and getting to know your brand. Effective UX design captivates visitors, guiding them through your content and keeping their attention.
Conversion rates are the lifeblood of online sales. An optimised user journey, with intuitive navigation and clear calls to action (CTAs), encourages visitors to purchase, sign up for a newsletter, or request a quote.
A high bounce rate (the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page) is detrimental to sales. Good UX design reduces bounce rates by providing a satisfying user experience. When visitors quickly find what they’re looking for, they’re more likely to explore further.
Trust is the cornerstone of sales. A well-designed website exudes professionalism and competence. Clear, consistent branding and a polished user experience instil confidence in visitors, making them more comfortable purchasing or sharing their information.
Effective UX design can influence users to spend more. You can guide customers towards higher-value purchases by strategically placing upsells, cross-sells, and related products, which can increase your average order value.
Mobile-friendly design is a crucial factor for websites. With growing users shopping on smartphones and tablets, ensuring your website is responsive and offers a smooth mobile experience is essential for capturing mobile sales.
One of the significant challenges in e-commerce is basket or cart abandonment. Good UX design minimises friction in the checkout process, simplifying forms and reducing steps, ultimately leading to fewer abandoned orders and more completed purchases.
A well-designed website incorporates cross-selling and upselling techniques seamlessly. Through product recommendations, prominently displayed related items or bundled offers, UX design can encourage customers to add more items to their basket.
Good UX design also improves search engine optimisation (SEO). Search engines favour user-friendly websites, and a well-structured, easy-to-navigate site can rank higher in search results, leading to increased organic traffic and, subsequently, more sales opportunities.
It’s not just about acquiring new customers; retaining existing ones is equally vital. UX design can improve the overall experience, making customers more likely to return for future purchases.
Let’s delve deeper into real-world examples illustrating how UX design drives sales.
Bose
Bose employed a comprehensive UX strategy to enhance customer experience and boost sales on their website.
Intuitive Navigation
Bose ensured site navigation was easy, allowing users to find products effortlessly. It reduced bounce rates and increased user satisfaction.
Visually Appealing Design
They used a visually pleasing design aligned with their brand with high-quality images, creating an engaging experience that kept users on the site longer.
Responsive Design
Bose optimised their website for all devices, ensuring accessibility and user satisfaction across platforms.
Personalisation
They integrated personalised product recommendations based on user preferences, driving cross-selling and upselling opportunities.
The result:
– Higher conversion rates
– Improved customer retention
– Increased revenue through returning sales
Airbnb’s website combines beautiful design with a seamless UX. High-quality images, intuitive search filters, and detailed property listings engage users and encourage them to book accommodations. The trust-building element of user reviews further boosts conversions.
The result:
– A global platform for booking accommodations with millions of bookings.
– Enhanced user engagement and satisfaction through personalised recommendations.
– A design that simplifies the process of discovering and booking unique stays.
Apple’s website is a testament to great design and intuitive UX. Visitors can easily explore Apple’s product lineup with clear descriptions and persuasive visuals. The clean layout showcases the brand’s commitment to quality.
The result:
– Apple’s products are synonymous with sleek design and high sales figures.
– A website that conveys the brand’s identity and builds trust with visitors.
– Effective cross-selling of accessories and complementary products.
To harness the potential of UX design for increased sales, adhere to these principles:
1. Know Your Audience
Understanding your target audience’s needs, preferences, and pain points is paramount. Conduct user research and create buyer personas to inform your design decisions.
2. Streamlined Navigation
Simplify navigation with intuitive menus, clear labels, and an organised information hierarchy. In other words, plan your website structure to ensure users can find what they’re looking for with minimal effort.
3. Clear Calls to Action (CTA)
Implement persuasive calls to action.
Create oriented CTAs that guide users towards conversion points. Use contrasting colours to make buttons stand out, making it clear to users what you’re asking them to do.
4. Responsive Design
Optimise your website for mobile devices. A responsive design ensures a consistent user experience across various screen sizes, boosting mobile sales.
5. Page Speed
A fast-loading website is essential for sales. Compress images, minimise code, and leverage content delivery networks (CDNs) to improve page speed.
6. A/B Testing
Continuously test different design elements, layouts, and CTAs to identify what resonates best with your audience and drives conversions. Make sure your website connects with Google Analytics and Google Search Console to record and measure user interactions.
7. Trust Signals
To reassure visitors, incorporate trust-building elements such as user reviews, security badges, and clear return policies.
8. Persuasive Content
Craft compelling product descriptions and persuasive content highlighting your offerings’ benefits. Do not copy information from competitor websites. Ensure imagery is high quality and relevant.
9. Mobile-First Approach
Prioritise mobile design, given the prevalence of mobile shopping. Ensure seamless experiences on smartphones and tablets. The use of mobile devices is more prevalent than ever, so make sure to provide the best experience on mobiles.
10. Accessibility
Design with inclusivity in mind, ensuring your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Add alt text to all images so that screen reader devices can describe the image. Ensure the colours are easy to visualise for colour-blind users.
Let’s dive deeper into highlighting how UX/UI design was pivotal in dramatically improving businesses and driving significant sales growth for a client.
Profile Glass manufactures bespoke glass splashbacks, balustrades and toughened mirrors.
They already had a website and employed an agency to run SEO campaigns. However, they were not achieving good results in increasing leads, enquiries and sale conversions.
Based on a recommendation from one of our existing clients, they asked us if we could help.
We looked at every aspect of their website and presented our ideas for improving and redesigning it to align with their branding.
We redefined the site navigation, making it simple for users to find what they were looking for. We created helpful content, a series of measuring guides alongside the products, and integrated a RAL colour chart into every product page to help with colour choice.
Cross-promotion features and alternative product suggestions further improved the user experience.
We used A/B testing on product enquiry forms to track and measure user conversions. The data gathered showed that one form converted significantly more than the other, giving our client the confidence to know which enquiry form to utilise throughout their site to maximise conversions.
The whole enquiry process was streamlined and optimised for an intuitive user experience.
The much-improved user experience we created means that the company now receives multiple enquiries daily, their sales have doubled, and they’re now looking to recruit more fitters to handle the workload.
The Directors have now asked us to help improve other websites they own across multiple businesses.
Your website’s UX design drives sales and nurtures customer relationships. A well-designed website engages users, guides them towards conversions, and creates trust in your brand.
Remember, UX design isn’t static; it’s an ongoing optimisation process. By understanding your audience, implementing best practices, and continuously testing and iterating, you can harness the full potential of UX design for sales growth.
Ultimately, the art and science of UX design offer a compelling pathway to unlocking your website’s sales potential, fueling business success. Through thoughtful design decisions and a user-centric approach, you can create a web presence that converts visitors into loyal customers, propelling your business to new heights.