These days, you need a very user-friendly website. If visitors encounter any kind of obstacle, you will just go to one of the other websites that offer the same products you do. It’s hard enough to get people to your site; you don’t want to alienate them once they arrive. Besides making sure your website loads quickly and works on all devices regardless of screen size and browser, here are components to keep visitors on your website and make it user-friendly.
1. Clear Navigation
Intuitive navigation will help your visitors find what they want quickly. Put your primary categories on the top or in a sidebar. Keep it simple; let visitors hover over a main category and see the sub-pages, so the navigation bar isn’t crowded. Put other pages, like the About Us or Shipping Information page in the footer, which is where most visitors will look for them.
2. Easy Translation Options
If you sell internationally, make sure users have an easy way to choose their preferred language. Even if you only sell in the U.S., some customers need a Spanish version to be available. Don’t make your visitors download a browser extension to translate your pages.
3. Have an Accessible Website
Your website should be user-friendly for everyone, and this includes disabled individuals. Examples of what you should include are alt text for images, captions for videos, and labeling color options with text along with a color block. This will help your SEO too, as Google can’t view images for indexing or listen to videos.
4. Live Chat and Appointment Scheduling
Live chat agents can often help users get their questions answered quickly and easily. Website visitors can talk to a real person, which is preferable to most people as opposed to making a phone call or emailing a business. You can also use the chat feature to capture the visitor’s email address while scheduling an appointment for them. It can be a virtual appointment with a salesperson, an in-person appointment with a dentist, or any type of business that offers appointments.
5. Organize Your Content
Use a heading so visitors can find what they want to read quickly. No one wants to read a solid block of text that will take forever to get through. People prefer to skim text, so make it easy for them. Bullet points and numbered lists also make content more readable.
6. Check for 404 Errors
Visitors get frustrated when they click to reach a page and find it no longer exists. The occasional error is unavoidable, but a cute or funny image and message, depending on your industry, apologizing for the error helps visitors smile instead of getting upset. Also, give them links to get back to your other content.
Once you’re done implementing any changes you need to make, you should see a decrease in your bounce rate as visitors are happy to stay longer. If you can get your bounce rate at or under 50%, you are doing good and visitors are engaging with your user-friendly website.