5 Easy Ways to Make Your Website More User Friendly

Having a user-friendly website is extremely important, but can be easy to overlook. Thankfully, there are a number of easy ways to make your website more user-friendly!

How user-friendly your website is impacts the traffic to your website, how long users spend on your website, and even how users feel about your brand. There are a lot of factors that go into having the optimal user experience, some being more complex than others. We've compiled a list of five easy ways to make your website more user-friendly  : 

1. Search Bar & Simple Navigation 
2. Skimmable Content
3. FAQ Page
4. Contact Page 
5. Clickable CTAs

1. Search Bar & Navigation 

One of the easiest ways to help a user find what they are looking for is to have a search bar. If a user has something specific in mind when looking at your website, it can be frustrating to sift through page after page. A search bar not only makes it easy for users to find what they are looking for by searching a keyword but it can also direct them to related content on your website that they could be interested in but may not have found otherwise. A simple navigation menu is also crucial to helping users find what they want without having to dig. Avoid having too many menu options and sub-menu options in your navigation. List content like products, services, etc in only one place to avoid overcrowding your website. If you want to have items in more than one spot, take advantage of internal linking! Not only should your navigation be easy to skim, but all page content should be as well.

2. Skimmable Content 

Two similar (and important) website analytics to track are your website's bounce rate and time spent on the page. A bounce rate is the percentage of users who enter a given page on your website and then quickly exit without interacting in any way on the page, such as clicking links or scrolling. A high bounce rate percentage can be a clue that there is something wrong with your website, be it your website design or the content itself. Time spent on the page is affected by the bounce rate but is not the same, though it can be an indication of similar issues on your website. A simple way to improve these analytics is to make your page content skimmable. There are several simple ways to make your content easier, and more engaging to read:

• Break up long paragraphs into multiple, concise paragraphs 
• Break up sections of information with short, clear headings and sub-headings
• Have a color scheme that contrasts well with the text, which should be in an easy to read font 
• Utilize formatting options like italics, bolding, underlining, and highlighting. 

Dense content without formatting can be daunting for readers and scare them off the page before they even find what they were initially looking for. Making your content skimmable makes it easier for a user to find what they are looking for and stay on the page. It can also help the reader identify key information!

3. Include an FAQ Page 

No matter what industry you are in or what type of website you have, an FAQ page is extremely valuable to have. An FAQ page not only makes a website more user-friendly, but it can also add SEO value as well as help drive more traffic to other pages throughout your website. An FAQ page is a great spot to work in relevant keywords as well as incorporate internal linking to drive traffic to different pages that may not get as much traffic as you would like. From a user standpoint, an FAQ page can do wonders for a user's experience. People hate having to dig for information, or even worse, having to call or email to get a simple question answered. So, make it easy for them by putting frequently asked questions and their answers all in one convenient spot! In the case that the user has a question that is not answered on the FAQ page, have an optimized and straightforward contact page. 

4. Contact Page 

Your contact page should be easy to find and listed in multiple spots. The website header, footer, navigation menu, and even in-page content are all great spots to include hyperlinks or clickable buttons that lead to your 'Contact Us' page. Once you have made your contact page easy to find, make it easy for the user to contact you by having multiple contact options. This can include:

• A phone number
• An email
• A live chat option
• A question/quote/comment submission form 
• A location for brick and mortar businesses

Giving multiple options for contact allows users to choose the option most favorable to them, making them more likely to actually get in touch instead of just giving up and leaving the site. Your 'Contact Us' page is also a great opportunity to include other content such as an option to subscribe to your email/newsletter, request a free quote, or sign up for any rewards programs or coupons you may offer. 

5. Clickable Calls to Action (CTAs)

Calls to action are as important to have on a website as they are on social media. Clear, eye-catching, clickable calls to action encourage users to engage with the page and stay on your website longer. Include calls to action all across your website, but be sure to switch them up and use several different CTAs. Clickable CTAs can also be a great performance tracking metric to help guide future design and strategy. Seeing what specific calls to action get clicked on most and what pages they are on can be very informative as to what is working and what is not. 

Looking to Optimize Your Website's User Experience?

Global Reach has a team of expert web and graphic designers, developers, writers, and digital marketers to optimize every aspect of your website. See what Global Reach can do for your website with a free website analysis and consultation!

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