First impression matters a lot, especially in today’s digital age, where attention span is fleeting, and choices are abundant. Imagine you came across a website to buy an item you really need. Unfortunately, the website is taking too much time to load, and you are waiting when you could be spending time doing something else or buying from someone else. If you are anything like me or most people on the internet, you will probably leave the website to find an alternative.
User experience (UX) has become essential for businesses to stand out. Poor UX can cost a company its customers, reputation, and sales. Let’s take a look at five ways bad UX can hurt your business and, more importantly, how to fix these issues.
Effects of Poor User Experience (UX)
According to a Forrester study, a great user experience can boost your conversion rate by up to 400%! This single statistic shows that investing in a well-designed UX can lead to a positive brand image and increase revenue. We know the importance of a great user experience, so let’s explore how bad UX can affect your business:
1. Lost Opportunities for Conversion
Imagine walking into a store where everything is cluttered, the products are disorganized, and the checkout line is long and tedious. Would you stick around making a purchase? Likely not.
Similarly, online users expect easy navigation when visiting a website. They want hassle-free scrolling and transactions. A poorly designed website or app can lead to website abandonment, where a visitor leaves your page before completing the desired action. When potential customers abandon your website, your business loses opportunities for conversion.
How to Fix
Know your users: Identifying your target audience is a secret tip to building a great website UX. Who are your users? What are their needs, behaviors, and pain points? Conduct user research and usability testing to identify pain points in your digital interface.
Invest in a responsive design: Streamline your audience’s journey by simplifying navigation, optimizing forms, and reducing friction in the checkout process. Also, ensure that your website design is responsive and offers a consistent and pleasant experience for users across all platforms.
2. Negative Brand Perception
As said at the beginning of this article, your website serves as a first impression of your business to potential customers. A poorly designed website or glitch-ridden app reflects poorly on your brand image and creates the wrong first impression. It tells visitors that you don’t care about details or, worse, disregard their needs and preferences. Potential customers will judge a business’s credibility based on the website design, and if they think you lack credibility, they will go straight into the arms of your competitors.
In addition, dissatisfied customers are likely to go on social media platforms to complain, tarnishing your brand’s reputation and dissuading others from patronizing your business.
How to Fix:
Adjust your UX to represent your brand image: Is your brand a thought leader, an NGO, or seeks to empower women? Make sure your UX communicates that to every visitor.
Invest in visual elements: Prioritize consistency in branding elements, such as color schemes, typography, and messaging, to convey professionalism and reliability.
Seek Feedback: Actively seek feedback from users and demonstrate a commitment to addressing their concerns promptly. By fostering transparency and accountability, you can rebuild trust and salvage your brand reputation.
3. Low Search Engine Rankings
SEO is essential for your visibility in the digital realm. The better your SEO, the more likely it is for potential customers to find you. One of the things that search engines consider when evaluating websites is your UX. Search engines want to know if your website is actually serving your users as it should.
If the interface is cluttered, slow to load, or confusing to navigate, visitors are more likely to leave and seek alternatives elsewhere. High bounce indicates to search engines that you have issues engaging potential customers and will reduce your search engine rankings.
How to Fix Low Search Rankings
Optimize site load speed: A website should load within 2 to 3 seconds to meet the standards of a good user experience. Also, a website page should not exceed 3 MB. Optimize your website or app for speed and performance by compressing images, minifying code, and leveraging caching techniques.
Include clear calls-to-action (CTAs): Carefully place CTAs within your content to help customers understand what to do next. CTAs help customers continue with a desired action, like signing up for updates, adding to a cart, or booking a consultation.
Provide relevant content: Your website should be full of relevant and strategically placed content to encourage users to explore further. Content should be straightforward, visually appealing, and relevant to the target audience.
Add keywords: Keyword research involves identifying and including popular keywords that people are likely to use to search for products or services you offer. Businesses with high-quality keywords are likely to rank better and reach your target audience.
4. Decreased Sales and Revenue Loss
Everyone is in business to make money, and a good UX design can push visitors to purchase from you or sign up for something that leads them back to your website. Bad UX, on the other hand, will discourage people from buying from you, causing them to abandon their carts or leave before they even add to the cart. In the long run, your business will lose out on a lot of potential sales.
How to Fix:
Simplify navigation: Your navigation structure should be simple enough for users to find what they need within seconds of scrolling or clicking. Incorporate dropdown menus and search bars to aid navigation.
Prioritize accessibility: Your website should be accessible to every user, so make sure you use colors, fonts, layouts, alt texts, and other features that make your product more interactive.
5. Increasing Customer Support Costs
Poorly designed websites will confuse visitors and often result in them requesting customer support to navigate your digital platform. Each request will not only strain your customer support team but also add to the costs associated with resolving issues and customer dissatisfaction. According to a study, reducing customer effort can save your business up to 37% in costs.
How to Fix:
Include self-serve support: Customers now expect websites to have online self-service support where they can get issues resolved. Luckily, there are opportunities to invest in chatbots and other AI-powered customer support solutions. Include an in-app messaging system for customers to seek support and empower them to navigate your digital platform seamlessly.
Also, implement self-service options, such as FAQs, tutorials, and knowledge bases, to address common queries and troubleshoot independently. This will help you streamline support processes, reduce the burden on your team, and minimize associated costs.
Conclusion
Poor UX can have negative effects on a business, like reducing search engine rankings, increasing bounce rates, and reducing sales. The key to fixing things is identifying what’s causing your poor UX and correcting it. Remember that your customers are the heart of your business, and their perception of your website can make or break your business.
