Whether this is your first build of a website for your business, or you built one only to realise that things aren’t working the way they should, or perhaps your business is changing direction, it’s always a good idea to review that the customer, or user experience (UX in techie terms) ticks a few boxes.

Our team at Dilate have pulled together this handy guide to help your prospective customers enjoy finding and dealing with you digitally.

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We’ve all been on a website that wasn’t a great experience and often the issue comes down to poor design. When a web designer fails to think about how it would feel to be in our position using the website, there are going to be issues. 

All websites should be designed with the user in mind because the end goal of any design should be an excellent user experience. Granted, achieving a positive user experience isn’t always easy. But it sure is worth it.

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Not all website improvements are created equal though, some things are more critical to get right than others so this blog post is for you if you’re just getting started and want to know the absolute most-important tips to improve your web design and improve your conversion rate.

Before we begin you first need to answer these questions though:

• Can your visitors discover what your company does within the first five seconds of landing on your website?
• Can your visitors easily navigate to the contact page and blog if they desire?
• Is your pricing easy to discover and even easier to understand?
• Is your navigation obvious and easy for people to use?
• Is your bounce rate low and your pages per session healthy and high?

If you answered no to any of the above questions then it is fair to conclude that perhaps your web design is sub-par (at best) and could do with a little (lot) of tweaking. But don’t feel bad, many of us get web design wrong, and I can guarantee yours is not the worst! Plus, the first step to improvement is awareness, and now that you know there’s room for improvement, finally you can do something about it.

So now that we know there’s work to be done, what shall you do first to improve your web design? Here are our top 12 web design tips.

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Frank Chimero once said that “people ignore design that ignores people”, and your website is the perfect example of this. It needs to have user experience at the forefront of design. Don’t get me wrong, you need to consider aesthetics, but you also need to consider form, function and psychology too.

For all the folks out there who’ve already spent the big bucks on their website, don’t despair - there are small tweaks you can make below to drastically increase your user experience. If you haven’t yet embarked on the joyous journey of web design for your business, buckle up - we’re about to go for a fun ride into the human mind.

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1. Discovery

Dilate Digital start at the very beginning we have this process we go through called the discovery phase where we get to know you but more importantly we get to know your customers because really, it is about them we're trying to build something for them, not for you. (We have to get to that guy.) We're are a team of creatives and marketers and we bring it together to give you the outcome you're after. A beautifully designed and developed website that performs well. We build your website kinda reverse engineered. We start with the search engine and we build backwards. We let your customer inform us what website should be built and how it should be architected.

2. Design UI & UX

So once we have done all the research and the marketing team has come back with their findings we get down to the next process which is designing the website which is our favourite part because it involves a lot of UI and UX. We nerd out over that stuff. UI and UX sound like complicated terms but all it is about is putting the right stuff in the right spots so that your user knows exactly what you want them to do.

3. Collaboration & Feedback

Working with a designer can be a little hard, there is a lot of back and forth involved, you have to articulate exactly what you want. So we've taken the annoying sh#t out and we have built this tool where you can work with the designer and they can actually upload their designs in real-time and you can comment back and forth and help steer the ship so you know that you're getting exactly what you want.

4. Development

After the design phase is done and you and the designer have created exactly what you want your website to look like you can just sit back and chill that's when our developers will go to work making sure your website is fast and mobile responsive and most importantly exactly what you signed up for in the design phase.

5. Launch & Training

Once we have reached that exciting day and we have launched your website and it's online and everybody can see it we bring you in and train you on how to use it because ultimately this is your rocket ship, you're the pilot and you're in control. Its just one small step in what could be a very giant leap for your business. Take the first step

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The truth is that content readability is just as crucial as the branding and web design itself. Because there’s no point investing in a web design service with all the latest and greatest web design features if the readability isn’t there.

In simple terms, it doesn’t matter how good the actual content is if the readability sucks. So let’s help you to make sure that your readability is just as good as your copy and your web design with our top 8 readability hacks to keep customers on your page and engaged!

The post 8 Key Web Design Strategies to Improve User Readability appeared first on Dilate Digital.

Simple, attractive design

A lot of eCommerce websites are functional enough but, some aren't that attractive. People are visual and if they arrive at a clunky looking website, they’re likely to click away to find something that looks a little bit more appealing – especially if you face a lot of online competition. Although the practicalities of your online store are essential, you also need to take the time to create an aesthetic which draws customers in and showcases your product or service. In most cases, businesses turn to professional graphic designers for help.

Invest in quality videos

Videos are becoming increasingly popular on eCommerce websites and are an easy way to drive traffic to your online shop. Not only does video offer you a unique opportunity to showcase your product, but it can also provide instructions, tips, reviews, and troubleshooting to increase buyer confidence. To really boost your website, try and include video testimonials.

Focus on customer service

With the use of eCommerce stores on the rise, users expect a high level of customer service and this can be worked into your website in a number of ways. Develop an easy returns policy or money back guarantee and have this displayed prominently on the website. After a purchase, don’t just give a receipt number – have an engaging message thanking them for their purchase. These small touches make all the difference to the user experience.

Minimal steps to purchase

With an eCommerce store, the name of the game is getting users to an online sale. To that end, you want to make it easy as possible for someone to complete a purchase after placing an item in the shopping cart. Put yourself in a potential customer’s shoes when going through the purchase process to ensure there are no unnecessary hold-ups. The least amount of clicks, the better, like giving customers the option of checking out as a guest rather than making everyone create an account.

Keep up with payment methods

As new payment methods come on board, make sure you include these options in your website design. These days, it’s unusual for eCommerce stores not to have PayPal as an option and payment methods such as AfterPay are also becoming increasingly common. Offering multiple payment methods, other than traditional credit card details, offers flexibility for customers and means they can choose the option they feel most comfortable with.

For an eCommerce store which is functional, attractive and secure, speak to the design gurus at Dilate Digital. We use the most user-friendly eCommerce platforms available, and our affordability makes us perfect for medium-sized businesses and start-ups.

For eCommerce providers, contact the team at Dilate Digital today on .

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