Even online business owners are customers at some point. You might head onto an online marketplace like Amazon to look for a few essentials or hit up the online counterpart of your favorite clothing store. And one expectation is certain: for the experience to be smooth sailing, from browsing to checking out. If it’s not, it’s more than likely you’ll decide to abandon your half-full cart and look for a better alternative.
That’s exactly how easy it is for your customers to jump ship, too. While deals, a shiny new product, and clever marketing are all big draws to an online site, the user experience (UX) design is the make-or-break of whether those customers stick around and come back.
The Psychology Behind Design
In general, design is built around how humans feel and think. While some design choices might involve branding, the other component hinges on psychological principles. For example, cool tones like blue and purple might evoke calm, while warm colors like orange and red evoke urgency or passion. The same premise can be used for other design elements like shapes, layout, spacing, and visual hierarchy.
For UX design, every element associated with a digital product must be relevant and meaningful. It’s not enough to say something looks attractive—the element should add to the user journey and align with their goals and pain points. How the interface looks and functions can determine a visitor’s entire impression of your brand. This page on New Zealand online casinos, with its prominent CTA buttons and chunked formatting, is a great example of how to retain users.
How UX Design Differs Across Industries
UX design has solid core principles, but users in different industries will have unique needs and expectations. A healthcare platform will prioritize trust and accessibility features more than an online gaming platform simply because the stakes are higher, as personal medical information is involved.
In banking, users expect a seamless experience almost mimicking what they would receive in person. For example, the UX design should feature an easy sign-in process, simple dashboards, and trust signals so users feel confident accessing their financial data online.
The priorities are different when it comes to e-commerce, as there’s a much longer and more robust user journey that involves a lot of navigation and searching, as well as a process to purchase. UX designers might include abundant filters to browse for products, high-quality product images, and an easy-to-edit cart.
Then, there’s the healthcare industry, where accessibility is the name of the game. Since medical information can be complicated, these platforms need to be easy to grasp for a wide audience—even those with limited tech knowledge. People should know where to look for their medical records and be able to schedule appointments effortlessly. Stripped-down interfaces, easy navigation options, and user-friendly language are all important to fostering this experience.
What UX Elements Drive Retention?
Although each industry and business has its quirks, certain elements are important to consider across the board.
- Intuitive navigation: People should be able to find exactly what they’re looking for, even if it’s their first time on the platform. Intuitive navigation encompasses anything from strong information architecture to capable search functionality.
- Performance: UX design isn’t just about aesthetics and navigation but also about how your platform performs. Does it load quickly? Do the images show up? Are all the forms fillable?
- Clear CTAs: Calls to action act as a user’s tour guide of your app or website, giving them an obvious next step. These CTAs should be easy to spot and engage with, whether through contrasting colors or bold buttons.
- Personalization elements: Personalization is only getting more important, and you can provide this through AI-powered recommendations, personalized greetings by name, and customizable dashboards.
- Device compatibility: Having your app or site be accessible and optimized for tablet, mobile, and desktop is more crucial than you think. Your interface should adapt to device specifications and be easy to use.
- Consistent branding: Visual design and tone should be consistent across your website and products so that users become familiar with your brand. If your tone of voice is friendly and conversational and your color palette is black and white, you don’t want to suddenly write formally or introduce neon colors onto your website.
- Transparency: When interacting with any new company, users want to feel like they can trust you. After all, they’ll likely be handing over a variety of personal and financial information, so they don’t want to commit to a brand that is misleading about their products or lacks a privacy policy. Foster trust by displaying security badges and offering customizable privacy settings.
- Engaging features: Users need a reason to return. Is it because your offerings are reliable? Is it the high-quality blog posts you offer regularly? Are your tools useful to certain customers and businesses? While what’s engaging depends on your specific brand and industry, the common thread is value.
Time to Rethink Your UX
Without proper UX design, you might as well wave a final goodbye to your users yourself. First impressions matter, and if they aren’t good ones, they may never consider your brand again. When the user journey is simple rather than difficult, customer satisfaction goes up, and so does the likelihood of retention. Retention is built on consistency and positive experiences. Get both right, and you’ll earn loyal advocates and even drive powerful results, like increased sales and stronger engagement.