User experience impacts all areas of your business. Think about it: If someone has a bad experience with you, will they ever work with you? Not likely. Your website user experience is one of the first impressions potential clients have of your business, which is why it’s so important.

Believe it or not, sometimes an amazing website experience can be a differentiator! Not everyone has a good website experience.

I’m going to share a few ways you can improve your website user experience to attract more clients and boost engagement.

Make Navigation Simple and Intuitive

How annoying is it when something isn’t where it’s supposed to be and you can’t find what you’re looking for? Don’t frustrate your audience before they’ve even had a chance to get to know you!

The key here is making your website navigation easy. The first way to do that is to reduce menu clutter. You don’t need every single page on your website in your navigation menu. Just the most important pages, such as:

• About
• Services
• Blog
• Shop
• Course
• Contact

That’s it! You don’t want anything that distracts from the main goal of getting people to inquire about your services.

The labels in the navigation bar also need to be clear. I love a clever, cutesy name as much as the next person, but save it for the actual webpage, not the navigation menu. 

Boost Your Page Speed

No one likes a website that takes forever to load (AKA more than 2 seconds). Website speed actually impacts user experience and search rankings. 

Slow websites tend to get higher bounce rates, which signals to Google that people aren’t finding what they need on your site. It’s going to start sending users to another website that will help people find what they need.

You can check how fast your website loads on PageSpeed Insights. Be sure to check the mobile and desktop speed of your website. Normally, they are different! 

Sometimes the suggestions on PageSpeed Insights can be a little technical. Here are a few simple things you can do to improve your website speed:

• Compress images
• Reduce/disable plugins
• Enable caching

You might need to hire a developer for deeper technical issues.

Optimize for Mobile Visitors

I often work with web design clients who are on the second iteration of their website. The first hardly ever has an optimized mobile version. And that is absolutely key to website user experience. 

Most people nowadays are searching on mobile devices. Your website could look beautiful on a desktop, but you might be missing out on thousands of potential customers by not having an intuitive mobile experience.

Responsive design improves engagement and overall time spent on your website, both of which signal to Google that you have value to share!

Here are a few quick tips to make sure your website is optimized for mobile. I do this for all my web design clients!

• Make buttons clickable with a finger
• Make the text big enough to read
• Navigation is easy to find and use
• Image scaled to a smaller screen size

I know it sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many websites skip this important step.

Use Clear, Scannable Content

This tip is especially important with AI at play. People want quick, short answers they can skim. And AI wants the same. 

When you format your content with short paragraphs (I’m talkin’ like 1-2 sentences), specific headers, and bullet points, you increase the chances of AI using your content in answers. Imagine the visibility that could bring you!

You can also add visuals and other creative elements to break up text. I’ve loved playing with movement in my web design lately to keep readers engaged!

Improve Your Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

Similar to your website navigation, CTAs should be clear, not clever. Readers should know exactly where to go next. This is part of the client journey—making it obvious the step you want them to take next.

On a services page, you probably want them to inquire. On a blog post, you might want them to download a freebie.

Every page should have a CTA. Think about the next intuitive step in the client journey.

Add Search Functionality

And if someone can’t find what they need, add a search bar. Some business owners choose to have one that searches their entire site, and others only put one on their blog page. I tend to lean toward the latter unless you have a massive website.

Prioritize Accessibility

Accessibility is so important. We don’t want to accidentally leave someone out! For people with visual impairments, accessibility elements ensure they can use your site as well as anyone else.

This looks like:

• Effective contrast between text and background colors
• Text size is large enough to read
• Alt text on images
• Keyboard navigation

Making your website accessible to anyone increases your audience size AND improves your SEO. Google loves it when websites are accessible, and it even uses some of those features to crawl your website and discover information.

Improve Your Website User Experience Today

These improvements might take a little time to implement, but they make a huge difference in your overall website user experience and SEO. Pick one or two to work on this week and watch how your metrics change.

And if you need help making these website updates, let’s chat! As a Showit designer, I have a lot of experience in website design and SEO. I can improve your audience’s experience on your website.

FAQs About Website User Experience (UX) 

Does UX require coding?

Not necessarily. Sometimes it’s as simple as understanding how something works, not how it’s built. If you understand the client journey on your website, you can improve it.

How can I tell if my website has a UX problem?

Signs such as high bounce rates, low conversion rates, slow load times, navigation issues, broken buttons, or poor mobile formatting indicate problems with the website’s user experience. It’s important to address these areas right away to prevent further loss of leads.

Does user experience affect SEO?

Absolutely! User experience and SEO work hand-in-hand. Google considers behavioral and usability signals, including page speed, mobile-friendliness, clear site architecture, and low bounce rates.