The goal of any web designer is to create a user friendly website. After all, it is the user who is actually going to access the site. You are building the site for ordinary web users who have to decide whether or not to continue browsing what your site has to offer. This means your website must be easy to access and navigate or else your target audience will seek services elsewhere, and this will eventually hurt your online presence.
Here are 5 proven tips you can use to make your site more user friendly and ultimately enhance your presence on the web.
Increase Your Website Speed
Slow-loading websites are simply a turnoff and many web users opt to divert their attention to faster sites. In case you didn’t know, a website that takes more than 3-5 seconds to load is too sluggish. This means you will certainly lose conversions if your website has slow loading times.
Optimizing your website for speed will help visitors find what they are looking for much faster for an enhanced user experience. You can increase your website speed by reducing the number of plugins, minimizing the use of JavaScript and CSS files, and optimizing the size of images on your pages.
You can also improve website speed by selecting the right host. For instance, if you are running your website on WordPress, you should choose a host that optimizes for WordPress.
Change the Layout of Your Website
The user-friendliness of your site depends on the layout you choose for your web design. You may want a fancy layout but this might only make it harder for your visitors to easily access what they want. Ideally, you should choose a layout that is simple with all links, menus, sign-up options, and contact addresses positioned strategically.
A website with a simple yet creative layout will captivate your visitors and make them want to stay longer on your site. It will also entice them into taking action, leading to more conversions. Whether you want your target audience to sign up for your newsletter or purchase a product, a good website layout will certainly do the trick.
Make Your Site Easy to Navigate
Aside from having a simple but unique layout, you should make sure that your site is easy to navigate. Many web designers and site owners tend to ignore this aspect, instead choosing elegance over navigation.
Your visitors should be able to jump from one page to the next quickly and easily without struggling. It can get really confusing if your visitors cannot find their way around your website. Your site should have proper linking so that users can jump to different sections and find the content they need much faster. The longer they stay on your website, the higher the chances that they will take action.
Increase Readability
Another way to make your site more user-friendly is by increasing readability. By readability, we are not focusing on text-only but also other elements such as images and icons. You should apply white space throughout your site by balancing the elements highlighted above to create a natural flow for your visitors.
Increasing readability by 20%, ensures that your site is more organized and less of a distraction for visitors. It gives your content space to breathe, allowing your visitors to find what they are looking for much faster.
Use the Right Colors
Colors and themes play a vital role in any web design. However, you should choose your colors wisely since they set the mood for your site and trigger various emotional responses from your visitors. The color you select should much the theme of your business and at the same time evoke an emotional response from your audience.
