How does the site make you feel? Is it enjoyable to navigate? Does it feel seamless and fun? Does it just work?
These are just some of the many things that go into user experience. This is an archive of the best stuff on CXL on user experience and persuasive design.
Messaging determines 80% of your conversion rate. It helps you grab your target audience’s attention, hit their pain points and aspirations, and build interest in what you’re selling.
Yet, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to building the perfect messaging strategy.
One of my favorite UX quotes comes from Chikezie Ejiasi, Head of Studio and Design Systems at Google.
He wrote: “Life is conversational. Web design should be the same way. On the web, you’re talking to someone you’ve probably never met—so it’s important to be clear and precise. Thus, well-structured navigation and content organization goes hand in hand with having a good conversation.”
Netflix began in 1997 as a competitor to Blockbuster. Now, it has as many users as the entire population of Canada, UK, and Japan combined.
Last year, 10 out of the top 15 most streamed programs in the world were produced by Netflix. It’s is still the king of streaming.
If you’re not following form design best practices, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table.
While forms aren’t the sexiest part of conversion optimization, they tend to be the closest to the money—the macro-conversions. Spending a little time optimizing forms can be some of the most important optimization work you can do.
Of course, best practices don’t work the same on all sites. It’s contextual. But generally, implementing form design tactics that work more often than not is a good way to get started.
You put tons of time into creating your product, experimenting with acquisition channels, and honing your messaging.
Yet here I am, about to tell you that consumers are often swayed by such subtle nudges as the order in which you present your products, or the “serial position effect.”
The easier your website is to use, the more people use it. An essential part of “easy to use” is intuitiveness. Intuitive design means that when a user sees it, they know exactly what to do.
Your website design is more important for conversions than you think. You can implement every conversion-boosting tactic in the world, but if your web design looks like crap, it won’t do you much good.
I’m sure you’ve come across dozens, if not hundreds, of image carousels or sliders (also called “rotating offers”). You might even like them. But the truth is that they’re conversion killers.
A study by Google had two key findings:
Moreover, “highly prototypical” sites—those with layouts commonly associated with sites of their category—that also had a simple website design were rated the most beautiful.
In other words, the study found that the simpler the design, the better.
Back in 1984, Dr. Robert B. Cialdini wrote a book called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Since then, it’s been widely hailed as a seminal book on marketing—something everyone in conversion optimization should read.