9 Best UX Design Practices for a Fantastic Website

site-ux-on-multiple-screens

Is your current website driving the results your business needs, or could it be doing more to engage and convert visitors? Whether you’re looking to revamp your online presence or build a new site from the ground up, focusing on the best UX design practices is key to creating a website that’s not only beautiful but functional. 

Your business website should serve as a powerful tool that guides users seamlessly through their journey, converting them from casual browsers into loyal customers. 

S, let’s walk you through the top UX practices that will help you create an exceptional website design to meet your business goals and delight your audience.

Why UX Matters More Than Ever

User experience (UX) is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity. With competition growing every day, a well-designed UX ensures that visitors can navigate your website effortlessly, find what they’re looking for, and leave with a positive impression. Poor UX, on the other hand, can frustrate users, leading to high bounce rates and lost business opportunities.

9 Best UX Design Practices for Business Websites

Now that we understand the importance of UX, let’s dive into the best UX design practices that can elevate your website to new heights.

1. Simplify Your Website’s Navigation

One of the best UX design practices is to simplify navigation and focus on minimalism. Visitors should be able to find what they need without any hassle. Cluttered or confusing menus can quickly deter users, so focus on clear and straightforward navigation.

  • Use clear labels: Ensure menu items and CTAs (call-to-action) are clearly labeled and intuitive.
  • Limit menu options: The fewer, the better. Too many options can overwhelm users.
  • Make your search function visible: A prominent search bar can improve accessibility and ease frustration.

By making your site easy to navigate, you create a more satisfying user experience, encouraging visitors to explore more and stay longer.

Our own homepage is a good example of what having a simple menu, clear labels, and a visible search icon looks like:

2. Prioritize Mobile-First Design

In a mobile-dominated world, ensuring your site is responsive and mobile-friendly is no longer optional. In fact, Google’s mobile-first indexing makes it crucial to optimize for mobile. Plus, almost 60% of web page views worldwide come from mobile devices in 2024.

  • Responsive design: Your website should adjust smoothly across all screen sizes.
  • Fast load times: Speed matters. Users will quickly abandon a site that takes more than a few seconds to load.
  • Tap-friendly buttons: Make sure buttons are large enough for mobile users to easily tap without accidental clicks.

Prioritizing a mobile-first design ensures that users, regardless of their device, have a seamless experience, boosting both engagement and search rankings.

3. Improve Website Accessibility

A truly fantastic website is one that everyone can use. That means making your site accessible to individuals with disabilities by adhering to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). 

After all, around 1.3 billion people worldwide have some form of disability. So, you must create a site accessible to everyone!

  • Alt text for images: Ensure all images have descriptive alt text to assist screen readers.
  • Keyboard-friendly navigation: Make sure users can navigate your site using a keyboard alone.
  • Color contrast: Use high-contrast color schemes to make text easy to read for everyone, including those with vision impairments.

Improving your site’s accessibility isn’t just good for UX—it’s good for business. It widens your audience and shows your brand’s commitment to inclusivity.

1% for the Planet does a great job with contrasting text and simple navigation for better accessibility:

4. Focus on Clear and Concise CTAs

Your CTAs are the driving force behind conversions, so they need to be prominent and persuasive.

  • Place CTAs strategically: Don’t make users hunt for them. Place your calls-to-action where they are naturally visible, like at the end of blog posts or in the navigation bar.
  • Use actionable language: Encourage users to take action with phrases like “Get Started” or “Learn More.”
  • Keep it simple: Avoid overwhelming users with too many CTAs. Focus on one or two key actions per page.

Clear and compelling CTAs create a seamless path to conversion, improving both user experience and your bottom line.

5. Enhance Page Load Speed

One of the quickest ways to lose visitors is with a slow-loading website. Page load speed is critical for both user experience and SEO.

  • Compress images: Large image files are often a major culprit of slow page speeds. Use image compression tools to reduce file size without sacrificing quality.
  • Minimize code: Eliminate unnecessary scripts, plugins, and code to streamline performance.
  • Use a CDN: Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) help distribute your content faster by serving it from servers closer to the user.

Fast load times can greatly enhance your site’s usability, especially on mobile devices, where every second counts.

6. Create a Consistent Design Across Pages

Consistency is key to building a cohesive user experience. If each page on your website looks and feels different, it can confuse users and harm your brand’s credibility.

  • Stick to a visual hierarchy: Use consistent fonts, colors, and layouts across all pages.
  • Align branding elements: Your logo, color scheme, and messaging should be uniform across the site.
  • Maintain predictable interactions: Users should be able to anticipate how your site works based on their experience on other pages.

By maintaining consistency, you help build trust with your audience and create a more intuitive navigation experience.

7. Leverage White Space Effectively

White space, or negative space, refers to the empty areas between elements on a webpage. While it might seem like wasted space, it’s actually a critical design element.

  • Improves readability: White space around text and elements makes your content easier to read and digest.
  • Enhances focus: It helps guide the user’s attention to what’s important, like CTAs or featured products.
  • Gives a clean, modern look: White space adds elegance and simplicity to your website’s design.

Using white space effectively can give your site a modern, clutter-free look while improving overall user engagement.

8. Utilize User Testing

No matter how well you think your design works, user testing is the only way to ensure it’s truly effective. Get real feedback from users to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.

  • Conduct A/B testing: Compare two versions of a page to see which performs better in terms of engagement and conversions.
  • Analyze heatmaps: Heatmaps show where users are clicking or spending the most time, providing insights into how they interact with your site.
  • Ask for feedback: Use surveys or feedback forms to directly ask users about their experience.

User testing is an ongoing process that can help you fine-tune your site for optimal performance and satisfaction.

9. Incorporate Visual Feedback for User Actions

A less-discussed but highly effective UX design practice is incorporating visual feedback when users interact with your site. Visual cues reassure users that their actions are recognized, creating a smoother, more engaging experience.

  • Button animations: Add subtle animations or color changes to buttons when they’re clicked or hovered over.
  • Loading indicators: When users submit forms or click on links, providing a loading indicator keeps them informed, reducing frustration during longer load times.
  • Error/success messages: Whether it’s a form submission or e-commerce checkout, clear error or success messages help users understand what’s happening and what actions they need to take next.

Visual feedback enhances the overall user experience by making interactions feel more intuitive and interactive.

Bonus Insights to Enhance UX

Beyond following general best UX design practices, businesses should keep a few things in mind to make their websites truly stand out:

  1. Contextual UX: Understand the context in which your audience is using your site. For example, a site aimed at B2B decision-makers may need to be more information-heavy, while an e-commerce site for millennials might prioritize speed and mobile usability.
  2. Emotional Design: Tap into emotional design elements by using colors, typography, and imagery that evoke the desired response from users. This doesn’t just make the site look nice—it can enhance conversions by creating the right mood or urgency.
  3. Custom Interactions: Standard templates often limit creativity. Custom interactions, like dynamic scrolling effects or personalized user journeys, make your site memorable and engaging.

By offering deeper insights like these, your website can transcend generic templates, providing an experience that resonates with users and sets your brand apart.

The Bottom Line

Implementing these best UX design practices will set your website apart, creating an experience that’s not only aesthetically pleasing but also practical and engaging for your visitors. Whether it’s simplifying navigation, prioritizing mobile responsiveness, or enhancing user feedback with visual cues, every detail adds to a more seamless experience that fosters engagement and drives conversions.

If you’re looking for expert help in revamping or building a functional, user-friendly website, look no further than 2020 Vision Digital. Our web design and development services are tailored to help you create a site that not only looks fantastic but also delivers outstanding results for your business. 

Book a free consultation with us today!