The importance of matching users’ expectations
Why content design is important, but shouldn’t be noticed
Making the experience noticeable isn’t always a good thing.
In my job as a content designer, if I do a good job, the people using the product or site I worked on probably wouldn’t notice. But that doesn’t mean my work doesn’t make a big difference.
Bad experiences with content design
Have you ever had an experience on a website that left you confused? You may have been misled by vague instructions. Or maybe you couldn’t figure out how to accomplish the goal you wanted to because the navigation wasn’t clear. You might even remember the frustrating words that were supposed to be helpful but weren’t.
Now, try to think of the words used the last time you had a great experience with a website. Harder, right? You might remember how you felt, but you may have not even noticed the words or page layout used.
Content designers’ jobs are to help — alongside UX designers, researchers, developers, and more — make the user experience seamless. You shouldn’t have to search and search to get to your desired goal. Information should be presented in a logical and clear way that doesn’t make you think twice. You’ll read the words, but they should align with your expectations so that you don’t even notice them.
Searching for shoes
Let’s say you want to go online shopping for new running shoes. You know exactly which pair of shoes you want, so you go to the brand’s website to buy them. They don’t seem to have a search option, so you browse through all of their running shoes, but there are hundreds of them. You want to filter to save some time, but your options to filter by are by:
- Season
- Shirt size
- Age
I bet you’d be confused and frustrated. These filters aren’t helpful in finding the shoes you want and now you’d have to go through the hundreds of shoes yourself to find them. You may even tell your friends and family about your experience because it was just so bad.
But what if you went to the brand’s website and you could search easily for the shoe you want or filter by relevant options, such as size, price, type of shoe, or gender. You would quickly find the shoe you want, buy them, and get on with the rest of your day. I bet you wouldn’t stop and think, “wow, the website’s navigation and filters were so clear and helpful.” Because that is your expectation already before even going onto the website.
As a content designer, you are behind the scenes anticipating the user’s needs and expectations.
The user should know exactly where they are going to go when they click a button. They should be able to find what they are looking for easily and information should be communicated clearly.
And if all of that does happen easily, they won’t even realize it. They will know they had an easy experience, but probably won’t pinpoint it to any word or design on the page. A bad design though? They’ll definitely notice.
That’s the ironic part of content design- the copy and strategy should be so good that the user doesn’t even notice it.
But why is content design important?
Not only does it give you a good experience, it builds trust. When brands are consistent, approachable, and confident, you’re more likely to want to engage with them.
Think just a couple of words won’t make a difference? Think again. Changing a simple button increased a site’s annual revenues by $300 million. Such as changing from “Register” to “Continue” during a checkout process. Sometimes people aren’t ready to commit. Making an account to check out can be daunting. But continuing the process you already started doesn’t seem so bad.
Increasing revenue isn’t the only outcome of content design (although, that does happen). We also work hard to include everyone, no matter their abilities. Part of UX is making the work accessible, such as including alternative text on pictures for screen readers or avoiding cultural-specific references for global users.
Yes, we write error messages, call to actions (CTAs), and buttons. But we do so much more than that. We use empathy to consider all of the users needs, advocate for the best user experience, use research to inform our decisions, and problem solve.
So, the next time you have a great experience with a brand or company, take a minute to stop and think, “wow, thank you content designer.”
Have a story of your own? Write with us! Our community thrives on diverse voices — let’s hear yours.
