Enough is Enough: Typical Website Experience in 2022

So far into 2022, we believe most of us have had a smooth start. However, would you say you also have had smooth experiences when visiting websites? How is your website visiting experience in general? Inspired by Andy Budd’s tweet about a typical website visit in 2022, we as a UX agency thought we would go into the user journey in depth, discussing the issues raised and providing directions for improvement.

Cookies Anyone?

“Our website uses cookies to deliver the best experience. By clicking accept, you agree to our use of cookies.” The moment you land on a website page, you are offered free cookies generously by a message often at the bottom of the screen. If you have been surfing the net a lot, you might be able to decline the offer with a deft touch, or at least only accept the essential ones. If you do not live on the Internet as much, the message might come to your notice when it eventually blocks your view as you continue reading. This is when you click accept, or dubiously click preference and return to accept after being frustrated by the long description.

Hi There, Need a Hand?

“Hello welcome, how can I help you?” In addition to proffering cookies, the website may also offer to lend a hand. The support widget with a message icon is jittering and beaming on the right bottom corner, calling for attention. Sometimes, the chat window unfolds without you meaning it to. There is no denying that the widget can be helpful in that visitors’ questions will be answered in real time by either chatbots or the customer support team, and that users do not need to leave their current page for the contact us page. Nonetheless, most of the time users don’t need the help and only ignore or look to close it as it distracts them from the content or is blocking the view, again like cookies.

Fancy an Auto-Play Video?

Just as you think you can focus on the content without any other disturbance, something gets in the way — you hear an unknown voice talking. It is not because you press Accept to a call by accident. Rather, it comes from the auto-play video embedded in the page you are browsing. This might not be too much of a problem when you are alone or if you tend to keep the phone volume low, although scrolling up and down to locate the video player and stop it disrupts your reading by all means (if you would bother to). Yet it can cause you embarrassment when, for example you are in a quiet cafe and the video decides that it’s time for it to speak to the whole room.

Allow Notifications?

“.com wants to show notifications.” Yes there are more boxes coming up. After declining cookies and the support widget from the website, you now receive questions from the browser. Your browser sends you alerts because it detects that the website intends to send you push notifications.

Mind Sharing Your Location?

“.com wants to know your location.” Another question from the browser is whether you would like to let the website know where you are. Some websites collect location in addition to IP addresses in order to obtain detailed demographic information and in turn understand website traffic better. Sometimes visitors’ location is asked so that they can be targeted more precisely with ads. Location is handy for geo-targeting advertising. Nonetheless from the users’ point of view, the pop-up is truly bothersome.

Download Our App?

“Get Our App On the App Store.” Upon refusing to share the location, you note that the banner is calling on you to download the app, if you are on a mobile device. At this moment, you are more than tired of all the pestering. And what’s worse, it just dawns on you that for the whole time you are reading the page with the banner occupying the upper part of your screen, leaving you with a even smaller display area than it already has.

Subscribe Please?

“Join our newsletter! Enter your email and subscribe for exclusive bonuses, free tips and news.” Now you are near the end of the article, about to finish the last few paragraphs, the window pops up right at the middle of the screen asking you to subscribe. You are desperate to close the pop-up window to be able to continue. Luck is on your side if you are with your computer because with a phone, the X button can be too tiny for any human finger. You would be grateful if the website allows you to close it by clicking outside the box.

Rate Us Will You?

“We would love your feedback! How likely is it that you would recommend us to your friends and colleagues?” You are about to click to go back but the website catches you right in time. It is keen to know how your overall experience is, and more importantly, whether you would be a detractor, a passive or a promoter of the website. It is predictable that you probably won’t give a score higher than 6, extrapolated from the fact that you have been constantly interrupted.

How to Come Back?

Our UX consultant Samantha is aware of the bumpy experience of this typical website visit in 2022. From her observations, one of the main causes is that users are not placed at the centre of the design. Visitors visit websites with a certain purpose, most of the time for the content, whereas all the elements here only seem to prevent them from reaching it, which is not user-friendly. It is essential to keep in mind that pop-ups compete against other messages for users’ attention and potentially become a burden to users’ mental load. They stop users from completing the tasks they set their minds on. It is certainly the last thing companies would like to see if visitors who are reading their services or contact form are distracted and left. Companies need to rethink what the purpose of each pop-up is and which of them really need to be included on the websites. When the websites become way more intrusive than they should, users not only feel distracted but also feel that the websites are only pushing for the benefits of companies, which further triggers ethical concerns for users. Transparency mitigates those negative feelings like ethical concerns but it is important to strike a balance between being transparent and bothering users with too much information. Therefore usability tests are vital. They provide feedback from the users’ perspective, based on which the websites can be streamlined.

Over 30 years into the era of The Web, the website experience today is supposed to be beyond excellence. However, the advancement of technology also complicates things. For instance, being able to track the location of users and to send notifications are tempting but might not be necessary. To create a better website experience, we must always put users at heart.

UX Connections, the UX agency with UX/UI consultants to help your digital product succeed.

👉🏻Here to find us https://linktr.ee/uxconnections