5 small web design features that make a big difference
It only takes a few adjustments to level up your website’s user experience.
Poor website experience is bad for business. In fact, 53% of users refuse to wait longer than three seconds for a website to load, 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a poor user experience, and it’s even been reported that every dollar invested in UX design brings in a return of $100.
But good UX doesn’t always mean a full website rebuild. Sure, that’s an option, but there are some small changes you can make today that'll make a big difference in the long run.
Better buttons
You may think buttons aren't worth losing sleep over, but get them right, and they can pack a punch. As the primary means of letting a visitor know where and how they should take action, buttons are vital for keeping visitors engaged.
To get them right, you want to make sure they actually look like buttons. Make them clear, use colour effectively, add the right words, and have enough padding or whitespace so they can breathe within the page’s larger hierarchy. There are also micro-animations or visual feedback you can assign to buttons to elevate them further, like colour changes when hovering over them (like we do on our site) or clicking.
Estimating read time
You’ve probably seen blogs or news outlets add an estimated reading time tab at the start of an article or a progress tracker that stays at the top of the page. Their addition is more than a nice-to-have.
By adding read time, you’re making content more user-friendly by offering transparency that encourages engagement. There’s also a psychological part at play, with progress bars tapping into our sense of accomplishment, visually representing and almost gamifying progress, which makes the commitment to reading a feature easier by taking away uncertainty.
Lighter images
With fast sites up to three times more likely to convert than slow ones, and almost half of users less likely to purchase from a website when web page speed doesn’t meet expectations, speed matters. While more of a behind-the-scenes update, the way you optimize images has a significant impact on your site's speed.
That happens by choosing the right format, resizing images to the dimensions they’re going to be displayed at, or using a content delivery network (CDN), which can make the visiting experience faster by distributing content from servers closer to the user, as opposed to the website’s origin server.
Custom cursors
You can’t click around without a cursor. As the main way someone connects to your website, it makes sense that cursors are somewhat customizable. From highly personalized pointers to something more simple, custom cursors can help your business stand out from the crowd and, if done right, help with accessibility.
However, tread carefully. While custom cursors can add a pop of personality, there is the possibility of too much, and in some cases the wrong treatment could make your site look overwhelming or dated.
Sticky elements
Ever scrolled through a website and noticed some parts — like a navigation bar, search bar, or contact button — stay in the same spot, no matter how far or fast you scroll? Those are sticky elements, aptly named because they’re literally stuck to a given position on the screen.
Sticky elements are a useful UX addition for a few reasons. First, they help with engagement by ensuring a visitor can find what they need when they need it. Second, they’re useful for mobile navigation, keeping things accessible on a smaller screen. They’re also great at building better branding by keeping your logo visible at all times.
Life’s too short for bad websites
Your website is one of the most important parts of your business. Reach out to our team to see if it’s working as hard as it should, and if it isn’t, how you can improve it.