How to optimize your website user experience in 3 steps

Whether it’s driving prospects to your site, holding their attention once they get there, or turning them into sales, your user experience should always be delivering what your customers want right now—not what they wanted three months ago.

When it comes to achieving that, an optimized website is key. After all, the online space moves fast, which means that you need to move faster. Here are three strategic steps to keep on top of the game with an optimized user experience.

1. Understand your customer

According to FATbit technologies, “68% of visitors leave a site because of poor user-centered design.”  That’s 68% of prospects lost, just because you didn’t invest time and resources in getting to know your customer. So how do you get inside their heads, and figure out what they really want? 

One answer is in future-proofing your CMS. A flexible content management system will let you add integrations, such as a marketplace, allowing you to cater to your customers’ every want and need.

Want to go even further? Invest in analytics tools, UX tests and surveys that help you work out the turn-ons and turn-offs in your digital experiences and digital projects.

After all, knowledge is power.

Discover what you have to consider when choosing a new CMS:

2. Cross-channel marketing is a given

With 54.4% of global internet traffic coming from mobile, it’s clear that the way we’re accessing digital content is changing. And fast. That means cross-channel marketing is a must, not a nice-to-have.

So what does this mean in the real world? Think about CTAs. The size of these buttons might seem like a tiny detail, but it can be make or break when it comes to sales. That’s why an optimized user experience will always include smart CTAs—calls to action that are tailored to the unique user and the device they’re using.

Not only do these small touches show people that you’re making a real effort, but they help create a user experience that is seamless across all channels—whether that’s your website, booking platform, mobile app, social media, or bricks and mortar shop.

Read more: What do solution partners say about Enonic?

3. Content is your currency

Whether it’s a video, blog post, tweet or landing page, each piece of content is a building block of your user experience. And the way you fit all those bricks together is seriously important.

Considering that “you have about three seconds for a user to find what they want on your web page before they leave”, how you create and manage your content has a huge impact on your overall user experience.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to manage your content and the user’s journey through it. First up, you need a CMS that lets you bring your perfect user experience to life, without any compromises. That means being able to organize existing and future content via tags, naming conventions, and archives, while also creating engaging formats that your audience will love interacting with. Use your CMS wisely, and you can increase the value of your content currency, and your brand.

An optimized user experience isn’t difficult to achieve. It just relies on your company’s willingness to listen to your customers’ evolving wants and needs. Once you’ve made a commitment to keep on top of the game, the rest is easy—just trust that your CMS will hand you all the tools you need.

First published 18 June 2018, updated 1 July 2022.