Businesses that pay attention to their users, find time to understand what they want and need and their preferences. Doing so allows them to provide the kind of experience their customers are looking for. This is what user experience is about.
What is User Experience?
Although most people typically connect user experience or UX with desktop software, mobile apps, and websites, it actually involves any activity that requires interaction between devices or products and humans.
For example, when you’re test-driving a brand new car, you are the user, and the automobile is the device or product. Your user experience depends on how satisfied you are with the car’s overall performance. How fast can it go? Does it have a top-quality engine? What are the accessories that come with it? How are the tires? Was it a smooth ride? The answers to these questions will determine what your user experience was.
Another example is when you use your smartphone to view a website or page. You would want one that loads fast, is easy and convenient to use, and has all the information you need. And since you’re using a smaller screen, you would want one with a responsive web design.
User experience is not just about a good-looking, fast-loading website. It is about creating an entire experience starting from the research process, planning and conceptualizing, designing, and adding animation and other vital elements.
UX is also about creating an impressive first impression on users and then carrying this initial positive reaction throughout the experience.
So, basically, good UX allows companies to connect with their users to ensure that they are delivering what’s expected of them. The best way to do this is by creating a website (or product) that fulfills your users’ needs.
Why is User Experience Important?
User experience is a crucial success factor for any business, and especially for their websites and pages. An online address is your bridge to your customers, the first opportunity to interact with them. So, you have to give them the best experience that you can, one that will make them go back for a third, fourth, fifth, and many more visits.
Aside from connecting you with your users, there are several other reasons why you should care about it. Why Is Good UX Important?
1. User experience can help your business grow.
A user-centered business will have an easier time satisfying its customers. Your major decisions and actions depend on what your users want because their overall experience can make or break your business. If their feedback is positive, they can bring in more customers. If their first visit to your site were stressful or unfulfilling, they wouldn’t be going back for a second visit. And if they do tell others about their experience, they will most probably paint a bad picture of your product.
Focusing on creating a good user experience is focusing on fulfilling the needs of your customers.
2. Customers do most of their activities online, and a good user experience is necessary to attract, engage, and retain them.
Doing everything online is normal nowadays. People shop online, do their research online, and even make a living online. This is why businesses should prioritize their websites and ensure they offer users the experience they are looking for.
Most customers visit websites looking for information about the products they want or need. They prefer products with well-designed, user-friendly, and relevant sites and pages. If their experience is bad, they cross out both the product and website from their list. Also, most consumers nowadays prefer to read product features on blogs over ads.
The more positive their experience is on your website, the better for you and your company. Creating a good user experience helps attract, engage, and retain customers.
3. User experience allows you to understand your customers better and develop ways to improve your product and services.
As mentioned above, websites are bridges that connect you to your customers. Every time they visit, you can track their behavior and preferences (there are tools for this). This gives you opportunities to explore your options in improving your product to satisfy your customers better.
When you are committed to actions that help you serve your customers better, this will bring in more prospects and increased profit.
4. Well-crafted user experiences will create a positive impact on your brand.
Good user experience will reflect on your brand and boost its image to both customers and non-customers.
If your brand is still new, a good user experience will help people become more aware of it. It will help leverage your brand, push it to greater heights and success.
5. User experience can help increase your ROI.
Aside from turning prospects into customers, websites with a good user experience can also help you improve your ROI or return on investment. There are several ways for you to do this, the most popular being overhauling your website to ensure that it meets your customers’ needs.
For example, your website has not been attracting visitors, so you decide to make some improvements based on data you gathered from customer preferences. Your website is now simpler and easier to navigate, faster to load, clutter-free, responsive, and filled with relevant information about your business and product. Since these changes were made according to your users’ needs, visitors will increase, more prospects will turn to buyers, profit will increase, and you will get your ROI in a shorter period.
The only things you need to remember about user experience are these: focus on your customer, and success is inevitable; and happy, satisfied customers are returning customers.
