Having audited websites for front-end user experience extensively, I’ve encountered everything from exemplary sites to ones needing significant improvement. Regardless of where they fall on that spectrum, every site has room to enhance user experience—a task that’s more crucial than ever.
The typical user decides whether they are going to spend minutes on your site within the first 10-20 seconds. That gives you ten seconds, including load time, to effectively communicate your value proposition. A quarter of all websites aren’t even loading in this time frame. So they’re failing before they even get up to the plate and may not even know it. And it’s not like users will give sites another chance if they’ve had a bad experience. Two out of three users won’t visit a poor-performing website ever again.
It doesn’t stop there. It takes one twentieth of a second for a user to form an opinion about your website’s design. So you have to clearly and effectively communicate visually, giving an immediate wow-factor to draw users in. And it needs to be visually appealing to resonate with three in five users.
The critical importance of delivering desired content promptly and clearly can’t be understated. When auditing a website, I prioritize these ten critical areas:
- Loading Speed: Ensure swift loading times for all elements prevent user frustration and give users the opportunity to make a decision on your site.
- Responsive Design: Confirm the website’s usability across all devices and browsers, maintaining consistent functionality and appearance.
- Visualization: Emphasize visual communication over excessive text to enhance user understanding and engagement.
- Desired Content: Ensure the website provides the information users seek, presented clearly and accessibly.
- Voice and Tone: Verify if the website’s language and messaging resonate with the target audience, reflecting the appropriate tone.
- Intuitiveness: Evaluate if the website’s structure and navigation guide users effectively, minimizing confusion.
- Engagement Points: Assess the effectiveness of calls to action (CTAs) in encouraging user interaction and conversion.
- Branding Consistency: Maintain uniformity in fonts, colors, and imagery throughout the website to reinforce brand identity.
- Form and CTA Functionality: Validate the functionality of forms and buttons to ensure they operate correctly and lead users to intended destinations.
- Analytics Insights: Utilize analytics tools to identify user behavior patterns, pinpoint pain points, and optimize high-exit pages for improved user retention.
Improvements in these areas can significantly enhance your website’s performance, leading to greater user satisfaction and engagement. By focusing on these aspects, you align your site more closely with user expectations and behaviors, ultimately driving better results.
Aaron Edwards 