Web design vs. Website optimization
How they work together to create a better, more optimized website experience.
Website optimization is the process of creating a website and constantly improving it to increase user experience and satisfaction. A continuous website optimization ensures repeated visits and a higher conversion rate.
An optimized website experience contains 3 main important components:
- UX (user experience) is about a person’s perception and responses while using a product or service. In other words, it’s how that person is using your website. So, the process needs to be as simple as possible, to have utility and efficiency.
- UI (user interface) is how your website is laid out. All visual aspects of your website, like a toolbar, a button, colors, all of these things are the job of a user interface designer.
- Graphics and text of a website it is about how the information is displayed.
All these things work together to create a better-optimized experience for your visitors and to convince them to take action on your website: sign up, subscribe, purchase, or any other important conversion.
The difference between website optimization and SEO:
SEO is a technique that helps users find your website using certain keywords, and website optimization is the experience they have while they are using your website.
So the difference between website optimization and SEO is that website optimization is all about making the website easy to use and other things like how the content is laid out, the buttons they click on, the branding, color, images, etc.
On the other hand, SEO is more about finding ways for search engines to find and index your website. Search engines rank higher a website that is user-friendly, including the content, so that is why website optimization and SEO need to work together. Aspects like using relevant keywords, what content is in the titles or headers, is part of the SEO process.
The most important results from website optimization:
- Better user experience:
According to Trone Brand Energy, experiences with any brand touchpoint (including digital products) can either reinforce user perceptions of the brand or break them down. So the users will not only find the information they need, but they will also have a better impression of the company. A great website is an important part of a company’s reputation.
- Returning visitors
When visitors find out what they are looking for with ease, there are high chances they will use your website again in the future. A website that is easy to use will not only gain the user’s trust, but it will also increase the conversion rate. Studies show that 23% of users abandon their carts because a website is too hard to use.
- Increased user time on the website.
If users enjoy the experience they have with a website, either because they find immediate answers to their problem or a product they were looking for, they will spend more time on it. More time on your website means more chances for conversions.
- Increased e-commerce sales
A fast, easy to use website will increase the reputation of your brand, and happy users will share their experience with friends, family, and colleagues. Word of mouth is the most important and valuable source of marketing. It comes personally recommended by people, it’s free and lasts longer in time. The more people know about your brand, the more sales you will have.
Frequent website optimization problems:
- Confusing navigation
If a user doesn’t find the information he’s looking for in just a few seconds, he’s going to get frustrated and leave the website. People nowadays don’t want to waste any time, and they don’t have enough patience to deal with unclear navigation.
- Checkout process
When we are speaking about the checkout process, we want to find quick and easy ways to get people to finish their conversion. Try to get rid of unnecessary steps and information.
- Confusing information
It is clear for people why should they buy your products or services? Unclear or confusing information won’t close the deal. You must list the benefits of purchasing from you in a way that is easy to read and understand. Black text on a white background works best.
- Website speed
Make sure that all elements or content from your website are loading quickly on every device. There is nothing that gets people more annoyed than slow websites. So, if you are using a lot of animations, big size photos or elements that affect your website’s speed, it would be better to keep it simple.
What website metrics should we analyze?
Before we get into website metrics, we should discuss more about goals. How do you know how your website is performing if you did not implement a strategy that is transparent, time-bound, and measurable?
A common technique that you might hear of is SMART Goals. A SMART goal should have the following characteristics: S-specific, M-measurable, A-achievable, R-relevant, T-time-bound.
Some of the most recommended metrics to track for your website would be:
- Conversion rate: how many people converted from your overall traffic?
- Return rate: how many of your overall website visitors are coming back?
- Referral sources: how many “recommendations” do you have from other websites to your website?
- Cart abandonment rate: what is the percentage of users that leave without completing their purchase?
- Time on site: how long does a user spend on your website before leaving?
- Bounce rate: how many users leave a page after that page?
In conclusion, graphic design and website optimization work together to change the way a website is laid out, and how users can use the site and interact with the content.
Website optimization is an ongoing process that includes testing different components and attributes of the website, including conversion and engagement, and make changes to improve performance.
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