OCTOBER 3, 2023

In order to achieve success in marketing, consumer acquisition, and sustained brand loyalty, it is imperative to develop exceptional user-centric experiences.

While your organisation presumably possesses knowledge regarding consumer personas and audience targeting, the term ‘user-centric’ might be foreign to you. In what ways can one ensure that their website prioritises user experience over sales and other organisational objectives?

This article defines user-centric experiences, describes how they function, and explains how you can implement them to increase the credibility and trustworthiness of your website.

User-centric experiences are what?

Branded experiences that prioritise user satisfaction, intuitiveness (ease of use), and overall positive user outcomes are considered user-centric. Examples of user-centric experiences include:

When a user visits your website, a geolocation filter detects their precise location in order to provide them with pertinent content.

A customer initiates communication with customer support via a conspicuous icon displayed on your website and promptly receives the assistance needed to resolve a technical problem.

A visitor to your website who can locate beneficial, fast-loading content without exerting excessive effort.

Each of these experiences shares the common characteristic of providing the user with a pleasant and effortless interaction with your brand. A excellent user experience is typically imperceptible to the user; the actions necessary to fulfil a need are nearly effortless, to the extent that they do not give the website any thought.

What is User-Centric UX Design?

Centrifugal on users UX design, alternatively referred to as user-centric design (UCD), is a cyclical web development methodology that emphasises the creation and modification of websites with a primary focus on ensuring visitor satisfaction and creating user-centric experiences.

Understanding UCD requires an examination of its four main phases:

Recognising your website’s visitors – divide them into secondary and principal audiences based on shared pain points.

Determining the actions that a user must perform on your website (or in relation to a specific component, such as a page or form).

Developing solutions to significantly improve the usability and enjoyment of your website or the intended interaction. After comparing the outcomes to the specifications, the process is repeated iteratively.

For instance, one could design a minimalist website featuring a visually appealing homepage and an orderly nested menu situated on the left-hand aspect of the interface. However, numerous users have expressed dissatisfaction with the clarity of the left-hand navigation menu or its inaccessibility on mobile devices.

Implementing a user-centric approach entails the comprehensive redesign and rebuilding of the site’s navigation to ensure unambiguous accessibility from all pages. Subsequently, a subset of the intended audience would be engaged in testing the updated website.

What was the result? By making your website more user-friendly and straightforward to navigate, you increase the number of conversions. Consider user-centric UX design to be a development and design philosophy for the web that prioritises the needs and desires of the end users. This can ultimately be advantageous for your brand!

Establishing Brand Authority and Trustworthiness on Your Website

Seeking concrete strategies to integrate user-centric design into your website while simultaneously establishing credibility and trustworthiness? There are numerous methods by which immediate advantages can be obtained by utilising UCD.

1. Develop a website layout that promotes the discovery of authoritative content.

It is likely that your brand is already generating authoritative content such as blog posts, white papers, and tutorials. However, this does not benefit you unless your intended audience, who arrive at the site through other pages, are able to locate and view your blog content.

Implement or revise your website with an emphasis on content relationships – subtly nudges in the direction of relevant, potentially engaging content, strategically positioned at logical junctures where a user might contemplate concluding their visit. This facilitates your audience’s rapid and effortless discovery of authoritative content, thereby extending their presence on your website.

For example, a carousel could be implemented to showcase case studies or blog posts pertinent to a particular service page, thereby showcasing your expertise in that domain. The inclusion of internal links that assist Google and other search engines in crawling and gaining context for a website is an additional advantage of related content.

Regardless, consumers will subconsciously develop a greater regard for your brand and its assertions concerning products and services the more easily they can locate your authoritative content.

2. Put Social Proof Front and Center

Social proof is an absolute necessity in the modern era. A significant proportion of online consumers will not proceed with a purchase or even initiate a conversion process unless a substantial number of recent, positive testimonials attest to the brand in question.

Include any social proof you possess, such as testimonial videos or positive reviews, on your website. This enhancement to the user experience is designed to promptly address any remaining concerns or apprehensions that a consumer might have. Implementing social proof in close proximity to conversion points, such as call-to-action icons or sign-up forms, can significantly enhance the rate of successful completions.

Furthermore, it is possible to incorporate descriptions of the products or services that are referenced in these user testimonials or social proof videos. This would enable prospective visitors to promptly discern which products garnered the most favourable feedback from your past clients.

3. Implement Immediate Pain Point Solutions (or Demonstrate Capability)

You should already be aware of the common pain points experienced by your customers and prospective visitors, based on research or feedback. It is in your best interest to demonstrate that you can promptly alleviate those pain points.

While “show, don’t tell” is more important when it comes to social proof, it is still acceptable to specify how you will address the user’s problem. Integrate your unique selling proposition into your brand’s narrative.

This constitutes a fundamental component of user-centric design and should be executed promptly. For example, design your homepage to articulate a fictitious challenge that a novel visitor encounters, followed by the integration of an icon that directs the user to the corresponding resolution.

4. Ensure Mobile Accessibility

Lastly, ensure that your website is not only accessible to mobile users but also highly navigable on mobile devices through its design and maintenance.

Given that mobile devices account for over 50% of total Internet traffic, it is imperative for your brand to proactively anticipate that a significant portion of its visitors will be utilising smartphones and tablets to access your content, menus, and other navigational elements.

To that degree:

Ensure that any additional visual elements or video files that appear on your website are compressed or minimised.

It is advisable to prevent mobile users from being prompted to install multiple videos or animated elements prior to commencing interaction with your content.

If required, use a tool to convert HEIC images to JPG images in order to improve the visual allure of the content without affecting load times.

Attempt to minimise HTTP requests whenever feasible.

Develop a button layout that enables effortless tapping with a finger or thumb, in addition to clicking functionality via the mouse cursor.

Implementing these minor adjustments will significantly accelerate the process of establishing brand confidence among your clientele.

“Keep these tips in mind when revamping and revitalizing your brand website, and reach out if you want to get expert help! ”