Knock knock! 

A random fact check – did you know that 32% of customers who once loved your brand can stop supporting it after a single bad user experience*?

Yeah, that’s right!

Your high bounce rates, low conversions, and user complaints are serious issues that are most likely tied to one crucial factor – the poor UX design of your website. Nobody wants this to hurt their brand’s credibility.

However, do not fret. Mistakes in user experience (UX) design are pretty common. But the good news is that it’s up to you to make it right with the right approach.

In this blog, I’ll highlight the importance of delivering a seamless user experience, along with a list of a few common UX mistakes found these days. Additionally, I’ll share solutions and strategies to fix these issues and improve your user experience. 

So, if building a trustworthy brand is your goal, keep reading until the end of this blog to strategize for a powerful UX design.

Why UX matters for brand credibility

It’s all about that first impression that can either make it or break it for you.

A good UX design is much more than just looks. It takes in factors like how your users interact with your website, whether the navigation bar is easy to explore, if the service instructions are clear, if they find answers to their questions easily, etc.

Building a great UX isn’t about fulfilling a designer’s personal preferences. It’s about how the experience makes end users feel. After all, the one true goal is to build an intuitive, smooth, and enjoyable experience.

While we’re at it, let me clear a common confusion – UX and UI (user interface), although closely related, however, aren’t the same. UI designers play their role in creating an attractive visual style. On the contrary, UX designers make sure everything functions smoothly for the user. These two complementary components together ensure that users have a great experience they’ll continue to enjoy.

User experience attracts loyalty and conversions

When you build a good user experience, users might come. But if you build a poor UX design, chances are, your customers might never return.

User-Centered Design (UCD) focuses on the user from the initial point. More than focusing on aesthetics, the primary need is to understand what your users truly need and give them just what makes their life easier. When you check all these boxes, users feel like your services are tailor-made for them.

A well-planned UX strategy is the foundation of a successful project. It saves your time and resources and transforms your ideas into digital experiences, connecting you to your users. This, in turn, brings surpassing KPIs, and new revenue opportunities, and converts users into loyal customers.

How your content appears and makes your users feel can be the deal-maker, converting visitors into customers. A well-designed user interface offers a clean layout, easy navigation, eye-catching visuals, and clear CTA buttons. When done right, it can engage users and boost conversion rates across all traffic sources.

7 popular UX mistakes and their solutions

On encountering a negative experience, 13% of customers share that poor experience with at least 15 people. This can damage your brand’s credibility, and you can’t afford that to happen.

Although UX bummers are quite common, they aren’t unavoidable. However, if you make any, you need to be quick about fixing the issues to avoid further damage. I’ve gathered seven of the most popular UX mistakes and shared their remedies below.

1. Slow loading time

Not going to lie, but slow load times are a conversion killer!

Did you know that websites taking more than three seconds’ loading time lead to 40% of visitors abandoning the site? It’s true.

Slow load times are not only frustrating for users, but they can be a deal-breaker for you here. In a rapidly moving digital space, users prefer websites to load in the blink of an eye. Even a slight delay can result in lost sales and opportunities.

Optimizing site speed is important to improve conversion rates. Here’s how you can achieve that:

  • Optimize images: Switch to WebP format to compress images to shrink their file size while the quality remains unchanged.
  • Use caching wisely: Make sure to enable browser caching to save key elements, thus, speeding up further visits.
  • Keeping CDNs in place: You can also use a content delivery network (CDN) to speed things up for your users.
  • Cut down on HTTP requests: Ensure to refine your web pages by reducing irrelevant elements like scripts and stylesheets.

2. Poor navigation

When your main navigation isn’t clear and kept fixed on the page – whether it’s on desktop or mobile – users struggle to move across your site. It can get especially frustrating when skimming through long pages or lists, as users have to go all the way back up to view the menu. This issue can be even more striking on the limited screen space of mobile devices.

Here’s what you can do to avoid this from happening:

  • Keep the main menu straightforward: Users rely on the main menu to explore a site. Make sure it’s easy to find and offers quick access to the relevant sections.
  • Provide relevant links: Having additional navigation options allows your users to discover related content without even making an effort.
  • Use a sticky menu: Keep the main navigation intact even when users scroll. Doing so boosts user engagement, increases clicks, and speeds up access to key pages.

3. Non-responsive mobile design

Designing only for desktop users while leaving out mobile optimization is going to cost you heavily in this mobile-first world.

When a website isn’t mobile-friendly, users deal with awkward zooming, misaligned website elements, and a negative user experience. This can easily lead to high bounce rates, poor engagement, and missed sales opportunities. 

How to fix it?

  • Go mobile-first: Implement mobile-friendly layouts, employ touch-friendly buttons, and create concise content.
  • Test on real devices: Emulators are helpful. However, hands-on testing ensures a smooth experience across all devices.
  • Use responsive design: Use adaptable design layouts that seamlessly adjust with any screen size.
  • Boost speed: Make sure to optimize the images and scripts to boost site speed. Slow sites never perform well!

4. Accessibility Barriers

One of the most common and biggest UX missteps is ignoring accessibility. When user interfaces don’t consider users with disabilities or diverse needs, a large chunk of your audience is unintentionally cut off from fully experiencing what you offer.

Accessibility isn’t limited to following rules and guidelines. It’s about making your services available to everyone. Non-inclusivity can limit your audience, hamper your brand’s reputation, and reduce overall user engagement. Even the smallest of changes can make a huge difference. 

Here are a few ways to top that:

  • Follow WCAG guidelines: Make sure to implement a design following accessibility standards for greater usability.
  • Use Alt text: Ensure to describe your images for visually impaired users and boost SEO.
  • Ensure high contrast: See that the text is readable for vision-impaired users.
  • Test with assistive tools: Apply screen readers and keyboard navigation to identify issues.
  • Support keyboard navigation: Make sure all interactive elements are functional without a mouse.

5. Content overload

Product experts tend to get excited and share every detail with their users. However, too much information can overwhelm and confuse your customers.

The interface is the first thing users encounter on their visit to your website or app. It needs to be simple and clear. Cluttered elements can lead to customers leaving without exploring your site. The goal is to keep your content focused and user-friendly for an optimized experience. 

Here’s how you can keep it simple:

  • Start with the essentials: Share only the most crucial information. Avoid overwhelming your customers with irrelevant information right from the start.
  • Limit information overload: Strategize your content presentation to keep it digestible. Users like to take a quick look at key points without feeling bombarded.
  • Build an intuitive design: Focus on delivering a seamless experience where users get what they need right at the forefront. An intuitive design helps them feel at ease and powerful decision-makers.

6. Excessive pop-ups

Nothing more frustrating than a site that bombards users with multiple pop-ups right when they land on the homepage. Instead of finding what they need, they’re stuck closing windows, trying to navigate amidst interruptions, before even starting to explore the main site.

Although not all pop-ups are bad, poorly positioned, intrusive, or stubborn pop-ups can be problematic. In fact, well-designed pop-ups serve a purpose without troubling your users. 

Here’s how you can address this concern:

  • Limit the number of pop-ups: Maybe just one pop-up per page, and your users won’t get overwhelmed.
  • Timing is key: Look into the timing these pop-ups appear. They shouldn’t disrupt the browsing experience.
  • Build non-intrusive designs: Don’t go for full-screen pop-ups. They’re best as easy to dismiss and interact with.
  • Focus on relevance: Ensure the pop-ups don’t interrupt a user’s journey, are useful to them, and aren’t annoying.

7. Overlooking the importance of forms

There’s almost no one who enjoys filling up forms. They just lie there, waiting for an inconvenience to occur so they can do their job.

Here’s where we overlook their importance. The idea is to ask only for the essentials through these forms. You don’t want to overwhelm your users!

Forms can be dull, but they’re necessary. So, keep them simple and user-friendly. 

Here’s what you should keep in mind while designing forms:

  • Ask only what’s necessary: Keep the forms short and only ask for the essential details.
  • Provide instant feedback: Alerting users about errors as they occur is helpful.
  • Use simple labels and examples: Ensure the form fields are easy to understand with clear labels and examples.
  • Break into steps: Break down the steps with progress indicators for longer forms.

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Why Drupal is your UX best friend

User experience is about delivering smooth interactive experiences. It’s not just limited to design. Drupal helps businesses streamline content, ensuring easy navigation. Let’s explore how:

Modern themes offer a smooth user experience

Drupal’s Claro and Olivero are two of the latest themes that work together to offer flexibility, along with a modern, accessible design both for admins and end users. With Olivero as the front-end theme for users, you can play around with colors, fonts, and layouts for a visually vibrant website. The Claro admin theme provides seamless navigation and a high-contrast interface. Additionally, there’s the Gin admin theme, which is a contributed Drupal theme built on top of Claro. It offers innovative features for a fresh navigation system with dark mode, sticky controls, and extensive customization options to deliver a dynamic experience.

For a more customized and flexible user experience, we always recommend using a custom-built theme that Drupal agencies like Specbee specialize in.

It’s accessible and inclusive

Drupal prioritizes accessibility and practices inclusivity with a set of accessibility standards to create websites and digital assets usable for all. Drupal’s accessibility-friendly coding allows you to create navigable and readable content. 

It makes navigation smooth

With Drupal, modules like Sitemap, Superfish, Easy Breadcrumb, and Menu Block help deliver seamless navigation, making sure your visitors remain engaged. Additionally, Drupal themes like Progressive, JANGO, Kiamo, Lozin, etc., help build a smooth and responsive UX design that users can enjoy.

It caters to mobile-responsiveness

Drupal extends a mobile-first approach to ensure a seamless user experience across all devices. Its built-in responsive design automatically adapts to various screen sizes.

As mentioned earlier, themes like Olivero and Claro are extremely responsive. Additionally, modules like Breakpoints and Responsive Images streamline images and content based on the device. 

It optimizes your web performance

Drupal’s built-in caching mechanisms reduce server load time and speed up page loading. Its image optimization improves page load time. With lazy loading and a library of contributed modules, Drupal ensures easy performance tuning, effective functioning, and a smooth user experience.

Tips to improve UX to build credibility

Improving user experience is key to strengthening customer trust and building brand credibility. A well-planned UX strategy focuses on optimizing user interactions, making them smoother, more intuitive, and more reliable. Here are a few tips to help you achieve that goal:

  • Be transparent: Make sure to clearly put out your brand values, policies, and product details. Being transparent builds trust and lets your users feel confident making their decisions.
  • Gather feedback: Regular feedback from users via surveys or comments helps you understand their needs, identify their pain points, and streamline your offerings.
  • Establish social presence: Highlight customer testimonials, reviews, and case studies. Your social presence can be an indicator of your brand’s credibility and value.
  • Ease navigation: Build an intuitive, user-friendly navigation system that helps users find what they need easily, boosting user experience and engagement.
  • Optimize loading time: Optimizing your website loading time reduces bounce rates and improves customer satisfaction, leading to a better credible experience.
  • Conduct usability tests: Testing your site with real users regularly can help identify possible scopes of improvement and nurture an intuitive and functional design.

*Source for stats used in this article: https://baymard.com/learn/ux-statistics

Final thoughts

As I conclude, I want to reiterate the fact that poor UX can significantly hamper your brand’s image and credibility. It can drive users away, thus, eroding trust. You need a website that delivers a seamless, intuitive user experience that helps build lasting relationships with your audience. The first and the most crucial step to get in the right direction is researching your audience and what they need.

Planning a solid UX strategy to stay ahead of the curve, deliver smooth user experiences, and convert users into loyal customers.

Don’t wait too long to take a call – we might have just what you need! Book a consultation call to discuss our foolproof UI/UX design strategies with our Drupal experts.

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