Earlier this year Forrester published a report after a 12-year study of 1500 websites regarding their user experience design. The author of the report said websites are falling into the same old trap that they did ten years ago. They just aren’t thinking about usability. Only 3% of the 1500 sites received a passing score. That’s just 45 sites out of 1500 over 12 years. Poor user experience can be avoided by customer focused web design. Things like making the fonts easy to read, customer task flow problems and thinking more about the creative design than the customer using the site.
By themselves these problems may seem insignificant. However, if a site is done right the customers stay around and finish their task/purchase making the site more enjoyable and user-friendly. A site that makes the visitor feel satisfied has a much higher chance of success and a greater chance of being recommended socially.
The author sites three main areas of confusion in the 1500 sites reviewed. The first has to do with the legibility of the words on the site. The best font recommendation is a 10 to 12 point dark Sans Seraph font on a light background.
The second area of confusion is the method that people interact with the website. Mainly this has to do with the navigation of the site. Companies try to hard to be unique vs. using words that have a consistent meaning. Usability has to do with how easy it is for people to move around your site. Using words they understand plays a key role in their maneuverability.
The third area of confusion has to do with the site content and functionality. It’s very important to understand your customers and what they want to know before they purchase your product/service over your competitors. Just creating a cool website doesn’t cut it as most find out. You need to speak with the sales team, your customer service team and above all your customers to understand their purchase decision.
It’s one thing to have a poor customer experience on a website but it’s another on a mobile website. You have to think about what’s important to a mobile user. They don’t need a lot of creative marketing pictures they need to know who you are, what you’re selling and why they should choose you over your competitors.