When you design or create a website you need to think about one main thing- what is the aim of a website? It is to garner views and visits that result in a purchase or buy. That means the website is aimed at one person- the end user, the person who visits the website. In a short span of time- some studies put it at less than 9 seconds- you need to explain who you are and what you do. You need to convince them of the value in your offering and what it means for them.
There are many elements that go into user experience. For instance:
- Their emotional response to a product or service
- The behavior of the audience
- Their attitude towards what is being offered to them
With every single click, the customer has to feel a connection, a connection that is established based on how comfortable their computer, online experience is. Analyzing information and giving importance to audience experience is the first step to creating a winning product, service or system.
This can be done in many ways.
- Surveys
Often the first step in any research, a survey involves using a set of questions and answers to garner information about something. It can be used in the case of applications and websites too. This is a quick and quantifiable method to get details that may be of use to the work.
- Stakeholder Interviews
Just like a survey tells you what the user thinks, the stakeholder interview tells you what the client has in mind. The client here is the person you are to design the website for. In the course of conversation, you will be able to better understand what is needed, what your problem areas may be and how to build a website that works for everyone.
- Analysis of the Competition
Now that you know what your client and the customer need, think about the other c-competition. It’s always good to know what’s out there and what you need to compare your own work to. This kind of process makes it easy for you to understand where you stand and what areas you need to improve upon. This helps you gear up to deal with serious competition because you know what makes the others tick.
- Wireframing
When you get down to brass-tacks, your website needs to do all the work. Wireframe design is the blueprint that works as a prototype. It is the basic framework of a website where you can experiment, make mistakes, learn and re-learn. On the wireframe you’ll see how your work presents itself in look and feel and this will be something you can share with the client too.
- Customer Journey Mapping
With this diagram, you get to see the step by step progress of a customer through the website. This will aid you to look at each step and rectify issues along the way.
- User Experience Expert Review
The simple processes of sign up/sign in, check out etc all get looked at here. Is it possible to do something using the guidelines given- that’s what this step is all about.
These are some of the steps in enhancing user experience to make things better and more viable for your business and you.
