88% of Online Users Don't Return: Here's How to Up Your UX Game

There's plenty of evidence for why user experience (UX) is a key factor in your success as an online business.

• 88% of online shoppers say they wouldn't return to a website after having a bad experience
• 70% of web businesses that fail are let down by poor usability
• 53% of mobile users leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load
• 48% of website visitors are annoyed by bad mobile optimization

So what can you do to deliver the best possible user experience?

1. Keep things simple

Most website users are looking for a simple, straightforward browsing experience, with basic provisions like pages that load quickly and provide the information they need with minimum fuss and difficulty.

There are various techniques you can use to boost simplicity, such as including a lot of white space around the text and other key elements that make up your webpages. This makes your site feel clean, clear and streamlined, which fuels positive UX.

Keeping things simple can prove particularly important at key stages of the user journey, such as checkout. It's worth thinking about ways to optimize the checkout experience without sacrificing essentials like strong security.

2. Be mobile-friendly

Mobile browsing now makes up more than half of all global web traffic, so optimizing your website for mobile devices should be seen as an absolute necessity, rather than a 'nice to have'. Nothing is more likely to turn a mobile user away from your site than pages that don't display properly or are difficult to navigate on a handheld device.

Moreover, failure to make your pages mobile-friendly can impact your SEO, so you could have a lot to gain from auditing your site to check that it offers the best possible mobile experience.

3. Optimize your CTAs

Effective calls to action (CTAs) are crucial if you want to turn website visitors into leads and leads into customers. Well-designed, visually appealing CTAs can add to the user experience and help you optimize conversions and engagement.

Something as simple as testing out a range of colors for your CTA buttons could have a big impact, since different shades could prompt varying responses and actions in your audience.

The wording used in your CTAs is also significant. Starting with a verb can create a sense of urgency and activity that encourages users to take action, while words that have particular psychological associations can strengthen emotional connections.