Web and mobile may seem somewhat self-explanatory at first look. You place all your relevant details and information in a digital interface, and a customer is able to make sense of the information simply, right? Actually, there are innumerable back-end pieces, and pre-thought-out design schemes, that account for an easy and intuitive user experience. Users are typically short on patience when it comes to confusing and convoluted sites and mobile layouts, and even the most interesting customer can miss out on key features of your business when design obscures necessary elements. When web and mobile design takes priority, your business becomes better able to appeal to potential customers. Here are several ways web and mobile design help you grow your business.
Everyone knows the feeling of a cluttered and claustrophobic site design, and how it bullies and bewilders the senses. Combat the impulse to simply load up as much information as possible, and offer as many products as possible, as the end result is a confusing and misleading user experience. In many aspects of contemporary design, simplicity is key. Look at Apple’s web design, for instance. Instead of a tidal wave of information, one sees sleekly laid out and minimalistic tableaus drawing the user's eye to key products, and expressing a confidence in the details of a single item at a time. Simple web design can also allow you to streamline the process of purchasing a particular item or talent. By making the steps of a customer’s acquisition of a particular good as easy and stress-free as possible, you will ensure more successful transactions, and a higher willingness for customers to purchase.
It is increasingly imperative to take into account how users are viewing data online. Namely, one must account for the prevalence of users viewing websites on their phone. Traditional, clunky websites fail miserably on mobile devices, if mobile viewing has not been taken into account beforehand. And, the already slim patience of a web viewer is tried and exhausted when attempting to find information obscured on a mobile device. Thinking through how to make one’s site responsive, and mobile-ready, ensures that users viewing your business online will be encouraged to stay and explore. More users viewing your material for longer periods of time ensures a stronger and more vibrant business ultimately.
Part of making a website responsive means consolidating information on one link, thereby ensuring higher SEO rankings. SEO is essentially the publicity, and advertising, for a website. In the Internet age, one’s ability to be findable through search engines is essentially commensurate with having prime, world-wide foot traffic. Being able to be more searchable, and findable, through boosted SEO rankings will inevitably pay off in higher traffic, more clicks, and an expanded business.
One should be concerned with not simply building an ad-hoc website that lasts for the moment, but something made to last. Putting time and effort into how designs will look on web and mobile ensures that one won’t have to invest in costly redesigns down the road, when one is already up and running. Similarly, through responsive design, one can anticipate the varying sizes of screens in the future, and build oneself the capable to expand to new devices without requiring a similar overhaul. Thinking ahead of time about design, and carefully taking both graphic and accessibility concerns into consideration, help to build a compelling site that will draw new users over a long period of time.
What design aspects have you utilized to provide a better user experience? What designs have you seen that have missed the mark? Tell us in the comments below!
