5 Essential UX Tips to Increase Your Conversion Rates

Understanding UX tips is important, especially because the number of people shopping online has increased.

It has become harder for businesses to attract and retain regular customers. If you want high conversion rates, you will need to pay close attention to user experience, as visitors who are happy with your website are not only more likely to buy from you, but also to return to your site in the future.

But if your website offers a poor user experience, you can expect visitors to quickly leave and go elsewhere, causing a rising bounce rate. To prevent that, here are some UX tips to increase your conversion rate.

Optimize Your “Above the Fold” Content

When users arrive at a web page, they make a split-second decision as to whether they’re going to stay based on their first impression of it. This is what makes above the fold space the most valuable piece of real estate on any web page. Your visitors will scroll down to see the content below the fold only if what is above is interesting and compelling enough. To encourage them to stay on your page, put your most essential content above the fold.

Here are some UX tips you can use to optimize your “above the fold” content:

• Make sure your content is compelling, that it introduces your product in a strong way.
• Put subtle visual cues, such as arrows pointing down, which remind the visitor that there is more content to be seen by scrolling down.
• Consider keeping the content of the page changing through animation. Doing so helps keep the visitor’s attention and makes it more likely that they’ll scroll down to see the rest of your page.
• Emphasize your most important message through the use of visual hierarchy. The content that supports your conversion goals the most should be displayed more prominent when compared to the surrounding text.

Here is one example of great “above the fold” content from clarkmcdowall.com

Keep it Clean and Simple

When people arrive at your website, it is often the very first impression that they’ll get about your business. This makes it essential to ensure that they have an excellent experience, as they’re unlikely to want to do business with you if they didn’t like what they saw when they opened your site.

The first impression that users get will depend on more than just your website’s content.

The first impression that users get will depend on more than just your website’s content. The site’s page load times, color scheme, content structure, spacing, fonts and other visual elements all play an important role.

One commonly accepted principle of user experience optimization is that too many elements on a web page create clutter, which leads to a poor user experience overall. When designing your web pages, keep clarity and ease of use in mind. A simple design helps users focus on what you want them to do, such as clicking a button, reading a blog post or buying a product.

Some best practices and UX tips include:

• Link your company’s logo to your homepage. This makes it easier for a user to return to the main page after they’ve looked at other pages on your site.
• Make smart use of colors. Some colors are particularly good at drawing attention to specific areas of a page.
• Say more with less words. Be concise when creating content and writing your main marketing message. This increases the chance that your visitors will pay attention to what you’re saying.
• Ensure your website is easy to navigate. Make sure that your pages all link to the homepage to make it easier for a user to return to it.

Build with Responsive Design in Mind

Mobile Internet use is growing each and every day. Billions of people around the world now use mobile devices like smartphones and tablets to use the Internet at home, in the office or during a commute. This is why you should keep responsive design in mind when creating your website.

Not having a responsive website is likely to make you lose valuable customers.

In today’s world, a growing number of businesses are using responsive design on their websites to ensure that they’re fully usable on all devices, regardless of screen size. If a visitor on a mobile device can’t see your website, it’s unlikely that they’ll remember to look it up on a PC later on. Therefore, not having a responsive website is likely to make you lose valuable customers.

Finally, don’t forget about improving your page load times. 53 percent of mobile visitors are likely to leave a web page if it takes longer than three seconds to load.

Create a Powerful CTA

When it comes to improving your conversion rates, nothing beats having a powerful call to action. A CTA is what tells your website visitors how to get what they came for by visiting your website. Not having a strong CTA can result in visitors getting distracted and leaving, as they couldn’t really figure out what you expect from them.

Here are a few UX tips to improve your CTA:

• Choose a color for your CTA buttons that compliments the rest of the design, rather than clashing with it.
• Mind the text that you use in your CTA. Avoid using generic words like “continue” or “next.” Instead, tell your customers specifically what they’ll be getting when they click through to the next page by including that information on the button.
• The placement of your CTA buttons also matters. It’s generally better to place them above the fold, as this means visitors will notice them right away when they arrive on your page.

A/B Test Everything You Do

Improving your user experience does come with some trial and error. Therefore, you can implement the ideas presented here through AB testing. Remember that user experience improvement is all about testing, monitoring, interpreting the results, redesigning and testing again.

As you make changes to the content and design of your website, you’re likely to notice that each variation has an impact on your bounce rate. As you keep testing and making adjustments, you’ll start learning what resonates the most with your company’s specific target audience.

Final Thoughts

If you want your online business to not only survive, but also thrive and grow, providing a high-quality user experience is a must. A positive user experience on your website is what makes visitors more likely to turn into paying customers who not only buy something from you today, but will also return to do business with you again in the future.

Eric Gordon is a business-focused marketing professional based in Houston. His mission in life is to help his clients get quality and consistent leads using the latest online marketing and SEO strategies. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf and watching sports. Follow him on Twitter @ericdavidgordon