While effective UX benefits the user, it also has direct benefits for the business side of your company.
1. UX properly addressed early on saves time and money in the long run
User experience research and testing at the design and prototyping stages brings usability issues to your attention when they’re easier and cheaper to fix. Addressing these issues during the development stage will require you to redesign and build new prototypes to test again. The good news is that 85% of usability problems can be identified with only 5 users during UX testing.
2. UX (including reduced site load time!) can increase your conversion rate
The ultimate goal of improved UX design is to turn your ecommerce site visitors into customers. The key is not only to make the purchasing process easier and prompt action steps in the right place at the right time, but also to keep users engaged long enough to explore other products and make a connection.
Credibility, loyalty, and strategic user engagement (e.g., via CTA buttons and other interactive elements) each play a role in getting visitors to invest in what you’re selling. However, the mere existence of a variety of CTA buttons on your site will not improve conversion rates as much as CTA buttons that clearly communicate the actual step the user is taking in the purchase process. Site load time also plays a significant role in conversion rates; sites that load in less than 1 second may yield a 32% conversion rate, while a 1-second load time drops the conversion rate to 20%.
3. UX can improve your SEO
The purpose in being highly ranked by Google is to increase online visibility so that users will find your site quickly, if not first, in their search for the most relevant information. If your product or service has been perfected but it’s not findable by users, what good will it do? UX elements determine how Google ranks your site, and SEO leads users to it. Once they are there, UX will influence whether they stay and if their experience was memorable enough to bring them back.
4. UX helps set you apart from competitors
To distinguish yourself from your competitors, see what they’re doing, then do it better. In addition, your product or service should provide something your competitors don’t. Sharing customer success stories helps potential customers better understand how your unique value proposition sets you apart.
5. UX can increase referrals and attract new audiences
Giving users the option to view your ecommerce site in their native language is one way to expand the accessibility of your site to attract new audiences, perhaps globally, and increase word-of-mouth referrals. Digital referrals spread broadly and rapidly through personal interactions and social media, which drives awareness through social networks. People trust recommendations by those in their social networks, as well as product reviews by those who have first-hand experience with the product. In fact, online reviews may carry more weight than word-of-mouth recommendations in consumer decision making.
The reasons behind the importance of UX are interrelated. User-focused benefits, such as improved usability and engagement, influence business-focused benefits, like increased conversion rates, loyalty, and improved SEO.
