Great UX. What is it and why do I need it?
What is UX?
In 2006, Aza Raskin was trying to find a way to improve user experience (UX) online by reducing the amount of clicks to get from page to page (known as pagination). He came up with a nifty idea that would revolutionise the way we consume digital media. An idea that would change the world.
How does UX impact me?
In 2006, Raskin realised that he could create a page that would never come to an end. Today we call it ‘the infinite scroll’. And even though it wasn’t that long ago, I bet you can’t remember life before it. It’s become so ingrained to our online experience that you probably didn’t even think about it until just now.
It’s just a simple trick
The Infinite scroll became so popular because it exploits not one, but two mental quirks that make it irresistible to us: unit bias and operant conditioning.
Unit bias is a basic human desire to complete a unit of something. We believe that whatever amount we’re given, is the ‘right’ amount, so we try to finish it to gain satisfaction. That’s why we feel compelled to finish a glass of water or watch all the reels in our Instagram feed.
Operant conditioning is the use of reward and punishment to reinforce certain behaviours. To reinforce addictive behaviour, surprisingly it’s not reward or punishment that has the most impact, but the element of unpredictability. If we win or lose too often, we get bored. But when there’s just the right amount of win/lose, it’s easy to get addicted. The psychology crowd call it ‘variable ratio reinforcement’. You keep scrolling through your feed because of the possibility, not the guarantee of seeing something you’ll like.
With power comes responsibility
Raskin publicly regretted inventing such an addictive design feature; one that not only improves the user experience, but one that also keeps them online for as long as possible. He has since founded the The Center for Humane Technology and spoken out about the responsibility we all have in building a healthier digital future.
The moral of this story is that UX – or User Experience – is a way of controlling user behaviour and it can be a very powerful tool. It can even change the world. However, for most of us, it’s just a thing that makes our website easy to use, or even better, a pleasure to use.
Ergonomics for the mind and body
Just like there’s ergonomics for our body there’s ergonomics for our mind and the way our brains store, organise and recall information. Both ergonomic factors come into play when we design any digital artefact, whether it’s an app, a platform, or a website. Anything from how we use our hand on the mouse, to navigational ease and how we make sense of the information most efficiently, all of it comes into play when we think about user experience.
A big idea
So, while UX isn’t a word, heck, it’s not even an acronym, it is a big idea. Intuitive UX can make a huge difference to the way you present your brand and connect with your audience.
Want to know more? Give us a call and we’ll chat about how we can change your world.
Let's start something
Want to talk to us about a project?
Just get in touch, we'd love to chat.
Send an email to hello@fluroltd.com
Ring on 01628 525 449
5 Tips on Creating Better Websites
Here at Fluro, we’ve been creating new websites. Lots of them. Lukcily, it’s something we love to do. We’re particularly proud of our latest work for Mindful Education, Sennheiser, Sagittarius IP, Winchmore Camps and Edgify.
As with any area of speciality, the more experience you have, the more best-practice dos-and-don’ts you pick up along the way. Here are our 5 top tips for creating better websites:
1. Clear simple navigation
Mat, our boss, has coined a saying about website navigation. “If your customer gets lost on the site, your customer gets lost full-stop.” As much as it pains me to say so, he’s right.
It’s tempting to tell everyone everything about your company. But in truth, people visit your site for their own benefit not yours. They won’t put up with being side-tracked without good reason.
To make navigation as intuitive as possible, draw out your site map before you start. Then, give it the overnight test. Then you’ll see through fresh eyes whether it can be simplified even further. Search engines track user behaviour on your site and poor engagement signals like bounces will damage your ranking.
2. Make sure your site gets found
Talking of search engines, understanding Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is vital. Having good SEO will mean your new website will be seen by as many customers and prospects as possible. But SEO can be a tough nut to crack. Just when you’ve worked out how to play the game, the search engines change the rules to stop people like you working out how to play the game. That means your SEO knowledge needs to be refreshed almost as often as the paper in the photocopier.
Having said that, this dark art isn’t as tricksy as it used to be. It now boils down to using focused, well-written copy, regularly refreshed content and strong links into and out of your site.
Don’t be tempted to go off-piste to pursue the endless possibilities you could rank for. Stay focused and pinpoint the keywords your core audience searches for the most.
In terms of regularly refreshed content, blog articles and videos are the kind of thing you can add to your site regularly and cost-effectively. Doing this proves to the search engine spiders that your website is a living, breathing entity, worthy of attention.
3. Mobile first
The figures are changing all the time but, at last count, more than 50% of website traffic is now generated by mobile phones. The figures might fluctuate, but they’re only ever heading in one direction and this time next year, the number will be even higher.
Only a few years ago, we were getting our heads around converting elegant laptop designs into something not much bigger than a postage stamp. But now, we fully embrace the benefits. Not just for end users, but for us too. The discipline of working within such a constricted space forces us and our clients to prioritise and simplify, simplify, simplify. The finished websites are better for it.
4. Support your website with a noisy launch campaign
While you’ll be convinced that the launch of your new website deserves a slot on the national news, your visitors aren’t going to be quite so excited. With most people’s natural resistance to change, they might be even be wishing you’d left things as they were.
What helps keep things positive from the start, is alerting people to the change in advance. This means that the first time they visit your new site, it’s not an unsettling shock. To this end, include a link to your new website on the email signature of everyone who works for your business.
You should also let your social media followers know that great things are about to happen. Highlight the improved user experience that lies ahead for them.
If you don’t have one already, this could be the perfect time to introduce an email newsletter. While the first edition will announce the new website, follow-ups could highlight updated content on the site, such as recently posted blogs.
Facebook Ads are another effective way to get the message out there. The beauty of Facebook is that you can aim your messaging directly at the people local to you, who are most likely to be interested in your offering.
5. Never launch a new website on a Friday
We’ve all been there. The client’s been telling the agency how important it is to get the new website up ASAP. Then, in a moment of weakness, the agency has made a rash promise that it will go live before the end of the week. After burning many cans of midnight oil, the new site goes live at 4.30pm on Friday afternoon.
However, even the best prepared websites have the odd teething problems. These can soon be ironed out, but only if somebody with the right know-how is aware of them. It could be issues with the cache, perhaps, or maybe the DNS is not directing properly. It’s no big deal except that, over the weekend, the right people aren’t around to fix those glitches and frustration might escalate.
Better to be patient and launch at the beginning of the next week. That way, teething problems can be addressed before anyone knows they’ve even happened.
If it’s time you updated and upgraded your website, please give one of the team a call on 01628 525449 and they will happily talk you through the possibilities.
Let's start something
Want to talk to us about a project?
Just get in touch, we'd love to chat.
Send an email to hello@fluroltd.com
Ring on 01628 525 449
