Many of us who manage websites, over the next few months, will have user experience on our minds. This comes as Google has announced its Page Experience algorithm update, set to be rolled out in May 2021. That’s why this month is host to our UX series, where we’ll be focusing on how you can improve your site’s user experience and prepare for the update, so stay tuned!
When we think about user experience (UX), many first consider the technical elements of a website, like its loading time, menu navigation, and so on. However, it’s often the content side of the things that can become overlooked and fall short. In this blog, we discuss how to improve user experience with the use of well-crafted content, including tips on how to achieve it.
First, know your voice
Before delving into the elements of user experience, it’s good to establish a compelling voice. Having a voice for your brand is a must when it comes to talking to your audience through content. Content with an abundance of character will give the feeling that your users are talking to a real person and not just a brand. Now’s the time to show your company’s personality, and have fun with it! Besides, the user experience will be much better if your readers are engaged with and entertained by what they are seeing and reading.
The tone of voice should be translated through all strands of your marketing, from across your website and blog posts, to your email marketing and social media. This will lead to two important things; authenticity and recognition. Not only do people love to see and value authenticity, but to be easily recognised is key in a sea full of other experts; a tone of voice sets you apart from the rest and helps you shine bright in the industry.
“60% of consumers feel more positive about a brand after consuming content from it”
impactplus.com
Whether you have a strong personality your brand lives by, or you like to throw in a quirky ‘on-brand’ word here and there, doing so in your content will make it less likely to be buried under distractions and the competition.
It’s all in the headline
We all recognise a headline as the attention-grabbing component of an article. After all, its purpose is to establish a connection with the audience. Your content needs to be what your potential customers are looking for and it’s up to the headline to show them just that. To do this, keep in mind your keywords for the benefit of your target audience and the search engines. Getting this correct can help your website rank well, therefore, helping the spotlight find your content in the crowd. Most importantly, headings guide the users through the website, making it easy for them to scan through and find what they’re looking for, or even take their unexpected interest.
Stay concise and to the point
When writing content it’s good to bear in mind how you would feel reading it yourself; is it giving you the answers you want clearly enough and in good time? This thought process is necessary if your content is going to work to its best ability in terms of user experience. When a user visits your website, they expect to find the information they need, and not have to go digging for it.. They’ll likely be on a particular mission rather than just browsing.
Keep things short and clearly worded; simplicity results in understanding which will encourage users to come back. Concise copy is key for user experience.
The magic of bullet points
Key information and bullet points are best friends. And just as a friend would, a bullet point supports and empowers its friend; key information, allowing the users to see it easily. The kinds of information that bonds well with a bullet point are usually tips, key features and problem-solving points. Bullet points will make your propositions more appealing and allow your readers to have all the information they need at their fingertips, in a short amount of time.
Improving your reader’s experience using this type of formatting can also allow you to get creative. Why not help them with images to represent your point further? This is a way of isolating the points you're trying to make without going too deeply into the specifics.
Top tip: Having white space around your bullet points allows readers to focus on each section, and take in your points quickly and with ease.
A picture is worth a thousand words
Our online world is growing, and fast. And users are wising up to what makes a website worth sticking around on; the decision making process is speeding up… but what gets noticed first and foremost when landing on a site? For most, the first few seconds are all about the visuals, with our minds quickly digesting images before copy. That said, the quality of your image is what will fly the flag for the rest of your site, and with the speed in which we view things in mind, many are now fairly wise to stock imagery. They may have seen that image before somewhere else and while it will do the job on the site, if overused, it has the potential to decrease trust and appear generic. That’s not to say don’t use them at all, it’s still important to keep things visual.
While there are some great stock imagery sites with high-quality images readily available, if a brand can display its own photography it becomes more trustworthy, unique and more likely to form a deeper connection with the user. Whichever images you choose, place them strategically on your website to support the content, and give readers an opportunity for a break from text, but most importantly, keep every image relevant.
And a video says even more…
While images play an important role when engaging users as we’ve just discussed, videos can keep their attention engaged even longer. People trust in what appears more realistic, and a video can show this well. For example, if you’re selling a product, while you can explain its features within your content, a video can quite literally show them everything within a matter of seconds.
“Video helps persuade 73% of people to buy a product or a service”
impactplus.com
Usually last but never least, the CTA
Whether your content focus is on a specific blog post or your website as a whole, a call to action is a must if you want users to do something. Your call to action must be available on every page of your website in order to add to the user experience and, of course, get a higher conversion. It’s also worth considering the positioning of the CTA; placing it above the fold will allow users to easily see the button and react.
On the topic of buttons, you can even think about colour and what role it plays in this process. In a Maxymiser study, clicks to the checkout page of Laura Ashley increased by 11%, after testing colour variations and action messaging. The psychology of colour is worth considering, as colours can evoke different messages. For example, red is most effective for impulse purchases which is ideal for e-commerce websites, and has also shown its effectiveness within B2B software. In fact, HubSpot A/B tested Performable’s CTA button’s colour, and red converted 21% higher than green.
Show your readers ‘related content’
After a user has finished reading a piece of content, where do they go next? Here’s an opportunity to show them more of your content and keep them hooked. The reader may want to carry on reading or learn more on a similar topic but searching for it is another thing, so why not hand it to them by featuring other related content in plain sight. This is where many other websites tend to miss a trick. Having links to other content pieces will make it more likely for your reader to read on. Now more content that they’d otherwise have to search for is only one click away.
Finally… consistency is key
With consistency, comes success, so creating a consistent structure for your website, making sure pages and content layouts match will be much more appealing to your audience. Keep in mind everything from your overall design elements and headlines to font styles and button choice. Having these elements running consistently and smoothly throughout your website is one step guaranteed to make you more favourable in terms of user experience.
To improve your user experience, keep in mind the points made above. Driving conversions may be your goal but an outstanding UX is extremely important if you want to stay ahead in any and every way.
Remember, you can find more tips and tricks from our experts on user experience on our blog and social channels as part of this month's UX series.
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