How UX/UI Design Impacts Website Performance: A Data Approach
In the contemporary world, a successful website can be typically described by its heuristic-aesthetic properties, in other words, the possibility of an Internet site’s usage by a specific user for specific purposes. A designed website captures and engages the visitors; this affects the KPI’s that are the bounce rate, conversion rate and the time taken to download a web page. In this article, the author’s purpose is to discuss, how and to what extent does UX/UI design matter to the websites if at all, that is possible only by using analytics.
Understanding UX and UI Design
UX is short for User Experience and specifically relates to the sum total impression anyone gets while using a website or an application. It refers to ease of use, availability to the disabled, and the level of satisfaction that a user gains while interactively using a product. Successful UX design aims at enabling the users to go through the website simply and access the information they want easily.
On the other hand User Interface design (UI) deals with the aesthetic aspect of a website. Part of designing, it encapsulates aesthetics (structure and design), and functionalities to enable user interaction. The UI improves the overall environment of the website and may drastically change a visitor’s opinion about the site.
Key Metrics Affected by UX/UI Design
- Load Time
This research has indicated that users are very particular with the load time. Google claims that any second’s delay can lead to conversion – an eye & a decline in conversion by 20%. Even with best practice UX/UI design can increase load time by using principles such as small images, fast servers, and efficient code. In turn/ more efficient web site reduces bounce rates as well as enhances user satisfaction. - Bounce Rate
Bounce rate in the simplest terms is the ability of a site to retain visitors, with a high bounce rate meaning most visitors leave the site immediately after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate always means that users are not finding what they are looking for. Good UX/UI design, as seen in effective web design company in Malaysia strategies, leads to a clear flow pattern that allows the user to move towards choosing different page layouts. Research shows that a well-defined navigation mechanism of a particular website can help lower bounce rates by 50%. - Conversion Rate
This is defined as the percentage of the visitors who actually go ahead and do an action typically providing their email address to receive a specified newsletter, or visting a store to make a purchase. It is important for UX/UI design to lead users to such actions. Your layout can inform your users what the next steps are through call-to-action buttons which can greatly improve your conversion rates. In practice, it has been found that proper optimization of the above-mentioned Call to Actions can increase the rate of conversions by a whopping 300%. - User Engagement
Active users are the consumers that linger on a particular site to enjoy the site’s content or features. CX UX UI design motivates engagement through the availability of good content and well-designed interactive units as a random, integrated appearance. According to insights, those who interact with the content are 3 to 4 times more likely to share it thereby increasing its share and visibility.
Case Study: E-Commerce Website Redesign
Background
There is an e-commerce firm known as Fashionista that deals with the sale of wears and accessories, all done through the internet. Though they had a large offering of products they lost over two-thirds of its traffic using the website (65%) and only 1.2% actually made a purchase. Being aware of the situation Fashionista decided to start a new indicated UX/UI redesign project.
Approach
The redesign project involved several key steps:
- User Research: In the course of this process, Fashionista engaged in surveys and user interviews to identify challenges regarding the existing experience on the website. One insight uncovered regarding the site was that people could not understand how to navigate around the site and another insight was the complaint that the checkout procedure was too complicated.
- A/B Testing: For the homepage design, the design group constructed two models that had different layout and navigation. They compared the two versions and opted for the one with a better click through rate using A/B testing.
- UI Enhancements: This was different from the old design and aimed at enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the homepage by using quality images and impressive call to action buttons and maintaining a minimalistic approach in the check out page.
Results
After implementing the redesign, Fashionista saw remarkable improvements:
- Bounce Rate: The bounce rate decreased to 35% which informs that users stayed engaged in the site for more than just the landing page of the site.
- Conversion Rate: The conversion rate rose to 2.8%, 133% of a gain corresponding to the enhanced and easy to follow checkout system as well as greatly improved products’ visibility.
- Load Time: The general time that it took to load the page was reduced from an average of 4.5 seconds to 2 seconds through image optimization and good coding.
- User Engagement: These statistics revealed that users were much more involved with the content and the time on the site rose on average by 50 seconds per visit.
The following case study is an excellent example of how a simple shift of focus to UX/UI design can help a business overhaul its website and see better results.
The Importance of Data in UX/UI Design
One of the fundamental determinations of an efficient website, especially in SEO company in malaysia, is the reconciliation of data within the decisions for patterns in UX/UI. Using such features as Google Analytics and heatmaps, one can see problems that he or she faces when interacting with a product. Key data points include:
- User Journey: Knowing how people use a site can help expose sites’ barriers to ease a user’s experience of it.
- A/B Testing: This approach enables designers to find out which of the two versions that incorporates the design techniques such as button color or page layout garners better results on the feedback from the users and conversions.
- User Feedback: Another reason to perform survey and usability tests is that users give feedback which can be focused on the aspects which should be fixed or improved.
Conclusion
The relationship between UX/UI design and hence the performance of the website is therefore evident. Proper design helps improve load time, decrease bounce rate, improve conversion, and provoke users to interact more. In this manner, the businesses can make the right decision making on aspects of design for the website depending on data. In this regard, it is well understood that fostering overall UX/UI design is going to become even more necessary as those overarching digital spaces remain in a perpetual state of transition.