Imagine that you run an online shop. Thousands of users browse it every day, looking for the right product. They check out the available options, add their favourite items to the basket, proceed to checkout and then abandon the basket. You start to wonder - why? Is something missing or unclear? You don't know if the site needs fixing or redesigning. This is the challenge many site owners face when, sooner or later, they start thinking about conversion rate optimisation. The question is - how do you find out what needs to be optimised? What needs to be worked on? The answer can be found by carrying out an audit UX. Read what it is about and what it achieves.
User Experience - what is it and why is it growing in importance?
UX is a popular acronym in the online marketing world. Its extension is User Experience, translated into Polish as "user experience". User experience consists of the total experience experienced by users when interacting with a website or application.
Why is UX so important? Today, thousands of websites are created every day (exactly 547 200!). Therefore, when using the Internet and browsing, we expect the site to provide us with valuable content and at the same time to be user-friendly. When we come across a website and are discouraged after just a few seconds by its design, illegible content or unintuitive navigation, we turn to its competitors. This is why it is so important for website owners to care about the experience and convenience of their visitors. It is necessary to make the Internet user's experience only positive. It is therefore necessary to improve the product (website/shop/application) so that it is maximally usable and function-oriented.
UX audit - what is it and what does it test?
UX audit, also known as usability auditis the analysis of a website, online shop or mobile application. During this analysis, experts (UX researchers, designers) check whether the interface has been designed in such a way that users can use it effectively and comfortably. A UX audit is a useful tool for those who want to identify usability problems with their digital products. It also helps to detect problem areas that cause users to abandon the so-called customer journey.
Although a UX audit cannot directly solve all problems on a website or in an application, it provides answers to such fundamental questions as:
- Where do users encounter difficulties in understanding navigation or functionality?
- What does the data say about user behaviour and needs ?
- What could potentially be changed on the site or app to improve its business performance?
The usability audit should help to define the main problems in your product, the solution to which should be increase the conversion rate of the website/shop and improve its usability.
What do experts check during a UX audit?
The UX audit varies depending on the website being analysed and its size. It can even take several weeks! However, there are a few elements that are always analysed. Read about them below.
Homepage
5 seconds - on average, this is the amount of time it takes for a user to form an initial opinion of the website they are visiting. This is not much, but it is enough to accept or reject it. Therefore, you should get answers to the following questions about the homepage:
- Does the homepage clearly explain what the company does and what visitors can expect?
- Do the graphics and architecture of the site encourage users to explore it further?
- Is there a balance between content and white space?
Site navigation and information architecture
Navigation allows the user to move from one place to another within the site. It is one of the most important components of usability. When analysing navigation, UX specialists try to embody the average user of the site and explore potential paths. Elements that receive special attention are: menu categories and subcategories, crumbs (crumb navigation), footer, headers.
Basket
The study showed that 26% basket abandoners later purchase the same product in another shop. This is why it is so important that the shopping basket (checkout) is as intuitive as possible to make the purchase a success. What do you pay attention to when analysing the shopping basket? First and foremost, the number of steps to be taken, the location of the shopping basket on the website or the possibility to purchase without registering.
Contact forms
Forms on a website provide an opportunity to gain valuable information from users and allow you to create a relationship. However, if they are not designed properly, you may miss an opportunity to engage with your customers. Make sure that the form fields are clearly markedand users receive guidance on the values they enter. By improving the usability of your forms, you can expect more conversions.
Trust and reliability
The success of your website depends on how customers perceive their interactions with it. Above all, issues such as:
- Is the content free of errors?
- Is content is updated and supports the building of authority?
- Is the content written for people or is it overloaded with keywords?
Page layout and visualisations
Customers will make quick judgements about a website based largely on its visual appeal. Therefore, it is important to remember that:
- the layout of the site should help the user see what is most important on the page
- clickable elements should stand out from the rest
- the selected fonts should be used consistently throughout the site
Why conduct a UX audit?
The results of the UX audit are usually laid out for the client in a report that includes, among other things: a description of the project; the main objectives of the UX audit; the methodology; detailed test results highlighting the main problems and potential areas for improvement; recommendations and suggestions for improving usability and maximising ROI (return on investment). Of course, there is no universal format for a UX audit report, as its size and structure depend on the complexity of the activity.
If, after reading this article, you are still wondering whether it is worthwhile to carry out a website usability analysis or UX audit on your online shop, the following list of benefits will certainly convince you:
- is a step towards improving the functionality of the website and meeting the needs of users
- The aim of the UX audit is to make the owner aware of the shortcomings of the website, which he may not have noticed himself. Thanks to the analysis, problems that negatively affect the user experience can be identified and then eliminated.
- Improved functionality as a result of a usability audit increases customer satisfaction. From a business point of view, a satisfied customer means higher conversion rates and better sales (companies achieve on average 100$ ROI from 1$ invested in UX)
UX audits - discover the weaknesses of your website and improve its usability
Web users are becoming more impatient and demanding every day. Even minor inconveniences, can contribute to them choosing a competitor's website or shop. This is why a UX audit is not just a passing trend, but a tool whose importance will continue to grow in business. It is worth having it carried out by experts, even if you are satisfied with your sales results to date, in order to optimise your operations.
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