Big, traditional businesses have the benefit of data. Almost every single customer interaction and experience has been studied.
Think about grocery stores for a second: study after study has shown them exactly where to place each and every item, what to put on the kiosks, what colors to add to the end of the aisles, and where to place the sale markers.
There is research to support almost every single decision they could possibly make.
What about Digital Marketing and Web Design?
When it comes to online businesses, the internet is still relatively young, we’re still researching user behavior. We’re getting there, but the internet can change so fast that by the time the research is printed, something has already changed.
With all the debate around mobile apps and design techniques, there is a commonly overlooked aspect that everyone is forgetting: the actual user.
We are at an interesting crossroads when it comes to technology and design. We have more technical capabilities than ever, but many designers are entering the slippery slope of making fancy-looking sites that have zero substance.
What they tend to forget is that most of the people on websites aren’t designers. They want things simple and easy to understand without all the hoopla.
When people go to a site, their most common thoughts are:
- What is this?
- How does this help me?
- Why do I care?
- How do I buy/sign up?
They aren’t thinking about your server cache or asset optimization.
Create A Simple, Clear User Experience
When you confuse people and hide what they’re looking for, they are likely to click away and not return. If somebody visits your site on a mobile device, does it draw you through a simple strategy of what actions you should take next? Or does it simply look fancy but not in the slightest helpful in any way?
[Tweet “If your parents can’t easily navigate to all areas of your website, it’s too complicated.”]
Sure, responsive design and apps for both iOS and Android are incredibly important, but that doesn’t mean we should forget the goals of the customer.
The future is in mobile. Almost everyone will eventually have a smartphone and it is important for all business owners to stay one step ahead of the coming trend to make sure their site is simple, easy to use and does its job.
Pay Attention to the Leaders in Digital
Recently, Facebook has announced their new call to action buttons for pages.
The button will be right next to the “Like” option on a page and the options so far include:
- Book Now
- Contact us
- Use App
- Play game
- Shop now
- Sign up
- Watch video
Why should designers care?
Easy, because people are usually on a page to DO something. They are either shopping around, want to hear more from a business, or are looking to make an appointment. By making this process easy, it helps both the user AND the business.
It is such a simple design tweak, but it shows that they are listening to what the customer wants from them.
It would be great if we could all set up Facebook pages and call it a day, but businesses depend on clients, customers, sales, and e-mail subscribers.
When you give people the option to do those things with the simple click of a button, they are more likely to do it.
What is the Ultimate Goal?
Take a look at your own site or the sites you are designing for your clients.
This ties back to the overall goal of the business and most businesses don’t have the goal of a beautiful website.
An extravagant website should only enhance the business goals, not be the only goal.
Before you even begin, you need to understand the end goal of the business.
- Is it to be hired?
- To sell a product?
- To make a reservation?
- To create brand awareness?
- To become an industry leader?
It is your job as a designer to create the website that feeds the end goal of a business, not to make the whole site all flash and no substance.
A good designer will enhance a business’s goals instead of only creating a good design piece for their portfolio.
When you make your clients money, they will hire you again and recommend you to others.
It’s a simple equation: Determine the goal. Make the goal easy to accomplish. Win.
And remember:
[Tweet “When creating a website, design for USERS not devices”]
