How to Improve Website User Experience (UX)
September 28, 2024
Let me take you back 6 years, when I first started designing and developing websites.
Things were much simpler back then—people didn’t use their phones to browse the web, and a website was little more than a few lines of text and some basic images.
But even in those early days, I realized one thing: a good website is all about the user.
Now, after two decades of building websites and improving user experiences, I want to share the lessons I’ve learned in a way that’s easy to understand.
You see, creating a great website is like telling a story or building a house—it needs a strong foundation, attention to detail, and a focus on the people who will be using it.
So, let me walk you through some of the most important ways I’ve learned to improve website user experience.
And, trust me, these tips are not just technical jargon; they’re practical advice anyone can follow.
Lesson 1: Speed is Everything
I still remember one of the first websites I ever built.
It was a small project for a local bakery.
We worked hard on the design, adding beautiful pictures of cakes and pastries, and it all looked fantastic—until we launched it.
I started getting phone calls from the bakery owner saying people were complaining the site was too slow.
It would take several seconds just for the homepage to load, and by the time it did, visitors had already given up.
That’s when I learned that speed is the most important thing in web design.
People are impatient.
They want to get to your site, find what they need, and move on.
If your site takes too long to load, they’re gone.
Over the years, I’ve found that if a site doesn’t load in under three seconds, you’ll lose more than half your visitors.
How I Fixed It
To speed up the bakery’s website, I compressed the images.
At the time, I didn’t even know how big of an impact this would have, but it worked wonders.
Instead of using huge, high-quality images, I made the files smaller without losing much quality.
The site loaded faster, and the bakery started getting more visitors.
Fast forward to today, and there are so many tools that can help you speed up your site.
Things like compressing images, reducing the number of files that need to load, and using services like a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to make sure your site is fast no matter where your visitors are coming from.
Lesson 2: Keep Navigation Simple
Several years into my career, I was hired to redesign a website for a travel agency.
Their site was packed with information about all sorts of vacation packages, tours, and flights.
It was a mess!
People couldn’t find what they were looking for, and the website had dozens of confusing menus.
This is when I realized the importance of simple navigation.
Imagine walking into a store and seeing items scattered everywhere with no signs to tell you where to go.
You’d probably walk out, right? Well, that’s what was happening on the travel site.
My Approach to Navigation
I sat down with the team and asked them to tell me what their customers cared about the most.
We decided to focus on three main categories: vacation packages, flights, and tours.
Everything else was organized under these headings.
I also added a search bar so visitors could type in exactly what they wanted without getting lost.
The result?
Visitors started spending more time on the site, browsing more pages, and booking more trips.
Through this experience, I learned that the simpler your navigation, the easier it is for people to use your site.
Think of it like guiding someone through a museum: you want clear signs and pathways so people know where to go, not a confusing maze.
Lesson 3: The World Went Mobile—So Did Websites
I remember when smartphones first started becoming popular.
It was a game-changer.
Suddenly, people were using their phones to browse the internet everywhere they went.
And guess what?
A lot of websites didn’t work properly on these new devices, including some of my own!
One day, I got a call from a client whose website I had designed a few years earlier.
She was upset because none of her mobile customers could navigate her site.
The text was too small, images wouldn’t load properly, and buttons were impossible to tap.
The Shift to Mobile-Friendly Design
That was my wake-up call.
I needed to make my websites work just as well on phones as they did on computers.
This is called responsive design, and it’s now an absolute must for any website.
A responsive website automatically adjusts to fit the screen it’s being viewed on, whether that’s a desktop, a tablet, or a smartphone.
Nowadays, more than half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices.
If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re essentially ignoring a huge part of your audience.
So, what did I do for that client?
I rebuilt her site using a responsive theme and made sure everything looked good on a phone screen.
And just like that, the complaints stopped, and her traffic from mobile users shot up.
Lesson 4: Content is King
I’ve always believed that content is the heart of any website.
Sure, design and functionality are important, but what’s the point if there’s nothing valuable for your visitors to read or see?
A few years ago, I worked on a website for a non-profit organization.
They had a lot of great information, but their site was filled with long, dense paragraphs of text.
It was hard to read, and most people would leave after just a few seconds.
Creating Engaging Content
To fix this, I broke their content into shorter paragraphs and used headings and subheadings to make it easy to skim.
I also added bullet points, images, and videos to make the information more engaging.
The result?
People started spending more time on the site and donated more to the non-profit’s cause.
What I learned from this is that quality content isn’t just about writing a lot of text.
It’s about creating something that’s easy to read and visually appealing.
Use clear, simple language and break things up with visuals to keep your audience engaged.
Lesson 5: Calls-to-Action Drive Results
I remember a client coming to me with a question: “Why are people visiting my site, but not buying anything?”
This was a puzzle, because their products were great and the site was easy to navigate.
Then I realized—the site didn’t tell visitors what to do next.
This is where calls-to-action (CTAs) come into play.
A CTA is a prompt that encourages users to take a specific action, like “Buy Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Contact Us.”
It may seem obvious, but you need to tell people what you want them to do!
Making CTAs Stand Out
For this client, I added big, bright buttons that stood out on the page.
I used action-oriented language like “Get Yours Today” instead of just “Learn More.”
I placed these buttons in key areas, like at the top of the page and right after product descriptions.
The result was almost immediate—sales started to increase as people began clicking those buttons.
Over the years, I’ve found that a well-placed and clearly written CTA can make a huge difference.
Lesson 6: Testing, Testing, and More Testing
When I first started building websites, I thought once you launched a site, the job was done.
How wrong I was! In reality, a website is never truly finished.
The most successful sites are constantly being tested and improved.
A few years back, I launched a website for an online store.
The design was great, but after a few months, sales started to drop.
I didn’t know what was wrong, so I started doing A/B testing.
This means creating two versions of the same webpage with small differences, like a different headline or button color, and seeing which one performs better.
Continuous Improvement
By testing different elements, I discovered that a simple change, like making the “Buy Now” button more visible, could lead to a significant increase in conversions.
It taught me that you should always be looking for ways to improve your website based on real data, not just guesswork.
Lesson 7: Accessibility is Essential
Finally, let me tell you about one of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years—accessibility.
A good website should be usable by everyone, including people with disabilities.
This isn’t just a nice thing to do—it’s essential if you want to reach a wider audience.
One of my clients, a school for children with special needs, taught me the importance of accessibility.
I learned how to make websites that work for people with visual impairments by using alt text for images and creating high-contrast color schemes that are easier to read.
Conclusion
Improving website user experience has been a journey for me over the last 20 years, filled with lessons and insights.
Whether it’s speeding up your site, simplifying navigation, making it mobile-friendly, or creating great content, the goal is always the same.
Make things as easy and enjoyable as possible for your visitors.
I hope these stories from my experience help you understand the importance of user experience and give you practical ideas on how to improve your own website.
Remember, a great website isn’t just about how it looks—it’s about how it feels for the people who use it.
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