Why Poor User Experience Is Costing You Business

According to the “Why Web Performance Matters” survey by The Gomez, 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad user experience.

Think about how that might be affecting your business – how many enquiries and sales could you be missing out on? User experience is not just a buzzword -- it really matters to your bottom line.

But many small business owners don’t even know what user experience is, let alone how to improve it. Don’t worry – we can fill you in! Read on to learn everything you need to know.

What is User Experience?

User experience, usually abbreviated to just “UX,” is all about how people feel when they are using a system, and how easy it is for them to do what they need to do with it.

Let me give you an example.

I recently moved into a flat with a little wall panel to set the timer on my boiler (I hate cold showers as much as you do). But with only four buttons on the panel, this wasn’t easy. It took an instruction manual, 15 minutes, and several frustrating attempts to get it done.

That’s a bad user experience!

If the panel linked to an app where I could just enter the times, click “Set,” and Bob’s your uncle,  that would have been a good user experience – easy to figure out and stress-free to use.

Online, People Get Frustrated Very Easily

The only reason I persisted with that blasted panel is because there was no other way I could heat up my water.

That’s not the case with your business.

You have competitors, and people will go to their website instead of yours if:

• They can’t find the information they are looking for
• They can’t complete the actions they want to complete
• Your website is frustrating to use in general

And online, people get frustrated very, very easily. We expect things to work, and we expect them to work well.

Your Website Represents Your Business

Have you ever had a bad experience with an employee of a business, maybe a pushy salesperson, or a rude customer service rep?

If you have, I imagine you lost a bit of goodwill towards that company. After a bad experience with one employee, it’s human nature to paint the whole company with the same brush. And just as your employees represent your business offline, your website represents your business online.

The good news is, this works both ways. If customers have a good experience with your site, they will leave feeling happy and this will build loyalty towards your brand.

To adapt the famous line from Field of Dreams -- if you build it well, they will come back. And they will spend!

What is Good UX?

This all begs the question -- how do you create a great user experience for your website visitors?

We appreciate that not everyone has enough time become a UX whiz – you have a business to run, after all!

That’s where we come in. Our team has decades of combined experience in web development, design, and UX. We know the principles that work, and we can help you put them into practice in your website and apps.

Contact us today for a no-obligation chat. We’d love to talk to you about your business and how we might be able to help you!