User experience matters in the success of a website. It affects SEO, but that’s not all.
People are more likely to continue browsing your website if their user experience is smooth and fast. A responsive web design means a platform that works well on all browsers and devices.
If your website isn’t correctly working on certain platforms, then here are a few mistakes that you might be making.
1. Lack Of UX Testing
How would you know what your website’s problems are if you don’t test for them?
UX testing is about checking how well your website performs on various platforms. You can do it on your own, but it would be wise to have third-party conduct the transparency test. It consists of 4 common steps.
- Find Users Within Your Target – The test should be conducted by the market you cater to. This will let you simulate the user experience more accurately.
- Let Them Perform Tasks They’ll Actually Do – This includes finding products on the page, locating specific pages, and checking out the website on various platforms.
- Observe – Check if they were able to see your website properly. Also check if they’re able to use the menus easily.
- Summarize And Apply – Take note of the results and look for ways to improve it.
UX testing should be done everytime you make major changes to your website. That way, you can see if the overall design is still responsive.
2. Forgetting To Create A Mobile Version
Most of the users that will be visiting your website will be doing so from the comfort of their smartphone or tablet.
Not all desktop websites are compatible with mobile devices. The best way to do this is to create a separate mobile version of your website instead. This guarantees that all users browsing on mobile devices are getting the best experience possible.
Some designers opt to start building a website through a desktop version first. The idea is that it would be easy to scale down the website for mobile devices.
In truth, however, scaling down to mobile devices is more complex. By first building, a mobile website, web designers can also create a streamlined user experience on desktops.
3. Ignoring Touch Controls
Again on the topic of mobile usage.
As most of your visitors are going to be on mobile devices, you need to make the experience smoother with touch controls.
Adding functionalities like swiping the screen to change slides, pinching the screen to zoom in, and others are all important. The goal here is to give your mobile web visitors more options on how they can enjoy your website.
4. Using Too Many Images And Videos
It used to be that websites need a lot of visuals to look great. However, this can significantly affect page performance and navigation.
Now, people only want to see what’s essential on your website. This could be pictures of the product, people using the product, or your business’ location. Images and videos take resources to load. If you put too much on your website, it’s going to affect load speed heavily.
As for videos, unless it’s necessary, avoid putting them in. If you have to, embed videos instead of uploading them.
5. Linking To Non-Mobile Friendly Websites
Aside from the mobile-friendliness of your website, you should worry about others, too, especially if you’re linking to them.
Avoid doing this as it affects the responsiveness of your website too. Before you link to a URL, open it on a mobile device to check if it’s optimized.
These common responsive web design mistakes will cost you time and money. Once you sort out these problems, you can then focus on building a website suited for the best user experience.
People value their time and effort when browsing online. Giving them a means to browse the internet without worries is a significant advantage for your brand.