USER EXPERIENCE SERVICES
User Experience (UX) has become an increasingly important consideration for website developers in recent years, but what does it mean? In simple terms, it relates to how the person who is visiting your website feels about it, how they perceive it, and what impressions they are left with after engaging with your website. Do people who are visiting your website leave with a positive memory of what they have just experienced? Recent research has shown that around 80% of people who shop online would not buy again from a site that they found to be unsatisfactory. But what makes, say, a shopping experience unsatisfactory? It could be a poorly organised checkout system, confusing content, or key brand messages that are conveyed in a vague manner. You may have an issue with your website loading time because of poor coding. Again, recent research has shown that around a quarter of people who use the web will close the page if it fails to load within 5 seconds. These are just a few examples of the kind of things that can leave visitors to your website with a negative experience.
Mark Development takes user experience seriously, and strives to create websites that people want to engage with, and want to return to. Good user experience leads to increased traffic, more conversions, and, very importantly, customer loyalty. These can only be achieved by aiming for good web design, good programming, good marketing, research, and strategic thinking in liaison with the client. During initial consultation with clients we can talk about information architecture, or the design of the interface, but we will always focus on your audience or customer base. Outlining what the customer wants through a research process means that, together, we are better able to plot the customer’s online journey. This, in turn, means that you will be engaging with your customer base, rather than imposing on them. Putting the customer at the heart of the decision making process is imperative, but this can only be achieved with sound planning and excellent technical execution.
Forward thinking is important, but it is also good to be able to evaluate, and this is why we place a lot of emphasis on testing and analysis. You can embark on a project with the best will in the world, but invariably you will need to revise initial concepts and goals as your business or project develops. Having access to the right data analysis puts you in a commanding position, allowing you to tweak, focus, and fine-tune your website to the demands of your customer base. You may find that certain aspects of your website are performing really well, while others are not performing as well as you expected. The latter can be frustrating, but the most important thing is being able to react accordingly. Mark Development understands the importance of our clients being able to adapt to live developments, and we are fully versed in the latest analytical toolsets which allow our clients to respond to change as it happens.
