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Web designers often use the same tools and trends when creating new websites. It’s easy to get caught up in new technology and forget one of the best ways to embrace an effective UX design strategy with simple, intuitive, timeless designs.
How can you embrace simplicity? Start by taking inventory of the design. Look at every touch point the user goes through and write out their journey. The more you understand the steps necessary to get to the goal of a page, the easier it becomes to tweak your design and improve user experience (UX). Here are some of the top things to look at when streamlining user-centered design.
1. Limit Options
One of the basic UX design principles is known as Hick's Law. The rule states every option offered to users means it takes longer to make a decision. If you want people to take action and move through your website smoothly, you must limit their choices.
Consider every actionable item on a page. What is the first one users see? Do you really need the others? Cut anything that doesn’t tie directly to the goal. Having multiple call-to-action (CTA) buttons on a page is OK, but it’s smart to have them all point to the same destination.
2. Choose Minimalism
Effective design strategies sometimes mean keeping up with newer technology. The problem is adding features can result in a site that is bulky and hard to navigate.
Enter minimalist web design as a solution to a streamlined site that moves users through their journey without causing them to stumble. How do you cut the clutter and create a simple but effective website?
Start by limiting your color palette to two or three hues. Next, consider if you need all the images on the page to convey your meaning. Sift through CTA buttons and remove any that show up as cold on heatmaps. Refine your design down to the mere necessities.
3. Allow Customers to Define Success
Talk to your clients about how your product or service fills their needs. Dig deeper to learn how the customer sees success versus how you do. Once you understand how the concepts mesh together, you have a customer success outcome you can focus on during your user experience design process.
Take the time to gather research from various databases and sources. Break down content silos to understand your users and their needs. Poll your site visitors, run A/B tests and take surveys to understand how to improve your designs. Combining various tools ensures you don’t miss any elements that might take your site from so-so to amazing.
4. Find Relevant Images
Effective design strategies look at every major and minor detail. Small businesses often need help finding excellent images that are highly relevant to the topic at hand. You might be unable to afford to hire models and hold a photo shoot. However, you can select the best stock images possible to meet your needs.
Consider each photo on a page. Does it add to the text or just repeat it? Ideally, your images will be highly relevant and add another level to what’s already on your site.
5. Improve User Flow
Nearly three-fourths of all consumers state that they make buying decisions based on UX design elements. The way people move through your site may have as much of an impact as your design aesthetics. When you focus on flow, you work to smooth the users’ process to browse products, add items to their carts, check out, and even follow up on the order.
Understand the different user-flow types — such as accomplishing tasks, onboarding, and navigation — to ensure you select the right UX design process and cut anything unnecessary. Spend time making minor changes for maximum impact and creating intuitive design that moves without hiccups.
6. Ensure User Experience Accessibility
One of the top requirements for a great user experience is everything functions as it should and is accessible to people of all abilities. Run your site through checkers to ensure someone with a visual impairment can use it.
Click on every link and form to make sure it works as expected. Fill things in and hit the “Submit” button. Make sure that documents and emails arrive as expected. If you sell physical goods on your site, go through the entire process and even ship yourself the item to make sure everything functions smoothly for UX accessibility.
7. Design for Mobile
Statista charted mobile internet usage between 2015 and 2023. They found more than half of traffic comes from people on mobile devices. When designing for smaller screens, it's crucial to remember the clutter that can result on mobile devices. Adopt a UX design strategy that prioritizes only essential elements.
Designing for mobile first forces you to cut clutter. It can be hard to cut things from the end design, but prioritizing what makes the site function will improve the experience for mobile device users. It pressures you to evaluate every feature and make tough choices.
Optimizing Effective Web Design Strategy
When you look at your UX design strategy through the lens of usability, you’ll find many ways to improve performance. For example, how fast your site loads can impact the audience’s impression of your site and company. Adding too many clickable elements might slow your site.
Every element of UX design impacts something larger on your site. Take the time to look at the big and small picture for the best design possible. Your customers will thank you, and you’ll wind up with an effective, streamlined, and beautiful design.
To learn more about UX web design and accessibility, visit https://code.pieces.app/blog/improve-website-accessibility.
