Do you think the user experience and your conversion rate have nothing to do with it?
When users enters our website, they expect its design, functionality and flow to guide them clearly and intuitively.
If our user experience runs smoothly, then we will be able to incite and convince users to make conversions and therefore we can say that UX is key to CRO.
As users interact with our website, their experience begins to influence their opinion of our site.
- Can I surf without problems?
- Can I easily access the information I am looking for?
- Does the content and user experience of this landing page align with the offer?
By using the right UX design and running tests to collect visual data-based information, we have the ability to get people to do what we want, when we want, which in most cases means conversion.
This is why both, UX and CRO must work together, not only to provide users with what they are looking for, but also to deliver it in an enjoyable way that achieves their business goals.
To help with this alliance, here are some ways that implementing the right UX can help in our conversion rate optimization (CRO) efforts.
1. Get information on user behavior
Before we start making improvements to a website, we must identify why we believe our website needs them. Without this information, we cannot know what our ultimate goal is, or in which direction we are supposed to go.
We can also access analytics data to understand what is happening on the web and what is not working, finding out why it is not working as we expect requires an analysis of our users’ behaviours.
To properly address any redesign process, we need to take the time to investigate why our users are behaving the way they do.
For example, perhaps 85% of users only navigate one third of the way to a specific page before the number drops to 22%.
Analyzing everything that happens until that point can help us understand what is causing users to lose (disorganized content, poor descriptions, inconsistent design, too long a page) and why.
This analysis can come from data collected from software such as Hotjar and Crazyegg, or we can also use other tools such as Usertesting or Whatusersdo.
When it comes to optimizing the conversion rate, the data collected can be used to develop and test various changes to our website.
Once we understand why users are not converting, trying to generate a solution becomes a much easier task, and so we don’t have to guess.
2. Show what users think of your forms
Users don’t like to fill out forms, that’s not a surprise, but getting people to fill them out and become potential customers is often one of the main goals of many companies’ marketing efforts.
This means that optimizing web contact forms is a key point of why UX is key for CRO since if we approach them well we will generate more conversions.
Despite the dreaded form, users will choose to make an offer if they feel that the information they receive matches or exceeds the work they need to do to perform the conversion.
So, if the product we offer is desirable enough, and we are asking for the right type and amount of information, generating an acceptable amount of quality leads should come naturally.
To understand what is happening with the forms, we need to analyze the heat maps to see how far the users are going, see the type of leads we are getting from them, and review the overall design and location of the forms.
You may find that in your 10 field ebook download form, users tend to be half way through before choosing to stop. This may be due to the length of the forms, the complexity of the questions asked, or even a possible development error that prevents users from completing the form.
Since it can be difficult to understand exactly where the problems exist in our forms, we have to formulate a hypothesis and A/B tests with the previous or original version before implementing a change.
Once we see how users react to the changes, we can start creating new hypotheses to generate continuous improvements.
3. Helps optimize designs across devices
Many computers are still in the habit of thinking about how to optimize their website for desktop conversions, but the reality is that most website users now come from mobile devices (this data often varies by industry and business model).
Taking the time to think about mobile devices first, rather than forcing desktop designs to be adapted to a mobile format, will allow us to make more effective UX decisions.
To achieve this, we must first adopt a content approach, where we will prepare all the information to be displayed on the page before creating any structure or design. To do this, it is very useful to propose wireframes where only the different sections of content that we will need are shown.
Once we have the content, we can start setting priorities based on what is needed to achieve the objective of the website.
Organize these priorities in an orderly list that we can refer to during the design process. It will help us understand the design problems we want to solve and where we want to direct users.
As the size of the page increases, we can start incorporating other elements that may be necessary to capture the user’s attention on a larger screen, or add elements that will create a unique experience that could not be incorporated into the mobile.
Using this approach will prevent us from wasting time and resources. Providing a dynamic experience that is optimized for each device will help us get people to do what we want them to do, more effectively, no matter what device they are on. This is one of the factors that determine why UX is key to CRO.
4. Aligns design with business objectives
Designers should ensure that their UX strategy focuses on business objectives, especially conversion rates, when determining what is implemented on a brand’s website.
This includes everything from wireframing, content and image relationships, location of the conversion point, colors, branding, etc.
This strategy starts with understanding what the purpose of the project is and what the user should get out of it.
Once we can understand those points, we must ask the question: Where do we want to direct the user? Downloading an offer, signing up for a demonstration or scheduling a consultation?
After answering those questions, we can now begin to design in a way that we can create solutions that align with the business objectives.
The bottom line is that if design and user experience are not aligned or do not result in any kind of return on investment or ROI, it means we have designed our digital asset badly.
Developing a good end-to-end UX strategy for each conversion-focused project will greatly benefit the achievement of our goals, as well as an increase in revenue for the company. Therefore we can say that UX is key for CRO.
