Website Design & Development

How to Improve the Website Usability of Your Shopify Site

January 23, 2023

Did you know that, in 2021, an estimated 2.14 billion people shopped digitally? This is over 27% of the world’s population.  Are you looking to improve website usability on your Shopify site? If so, you’ve come to the right place.  This article covers everything you need to know about the user experience, so you can create the best website possible. You’ll learn how to implement SEO, utilize headers, increase loading times, and more.  Let’s begin!

Improve Page Loading Times

You don’t want to detract visitors from your site before they even load your page in its entirety. Part of the user experience is a website with a fast loading time, especially a Shopify website. You can test website performance by using things such as Google’s performance tool. You can also perform an audit using Google’s PageSpeed Insights.  If your site is slow to load, you may lose your visitors to competitor sites. To reduce page loading times, you can optimize images. Once you reduce the file size and scale them to the appropriate size before re-uploading them to your site, you’ll find that they load faster, along with the rest of your pages.  You can also optimize CSS files along and cache your browser to assist with page speed. 

Focus On Your Call to Action

Your call to action (CTA) is an integral part of SEO. It tells your customers to take action and helps show them what content is the most important. When you have clear action words, your visitors can navigate your page easier so they know how to get what they want, faster.  You can use buttons to aid in your CTA, but remember to use words that encourage your visitors to take the next step forward with their purchase. Aim for words with emotional tethers. Your words should be bold, stand out, and be time-sensitive so they know to take action immediately to take advantage of savings, a sale, a promotion, etc.  “Sign Up Today” and “Get Started” are great CTA words to use. 

Create a Uniform Website

You want your website to have a sense of consistency and uniformity. This is a vital factor and crucial for your website’s usability. When each page has a similarity to it, your visitors become more easily acquainted with your brand and product.  Stick to similar fonts and colors to keep a sense of cohesion from page to page.

Use Bullet Points

Bullet points are essential for any type of ecommerce UX. They help your visitors understand the key benefits of your product, how you can solve their problems, and key features. Bullet points help them determine this in a short amount of time. Don’t bombard your visitors with walls of text— make everything scannable and easy for them to read and quickly navigate.  There’s no shortage of neat icons available to use, so you can get creative when using bullet points and integrate your brand into them. You can also use images so your reader can visualize each bullet point (more on that shortly).  A mix of bullet points and scannable text sets your website apart from the competition. 

Incorporate Images

Images (in moderation) are your friend. You can even add alt tags to your images to help your website rank higher in Google Images. Plus, alt tags are a great way to help the visually impaired navigate your website, and if your images fail to load, your alt tags will keep visitors engaged.  When looking for images, avoid stock photos when possible. Use pictures of your product or services to help build trust with prospective customers. This isn’t to say that stock images don’t have a time and place. But it’s still a great idea to showcase your work whenever possible.  You can even create infographics to help visitors better understand your products and services. 

Use a Simple Layout

To avoid confusion on your website, it’s best to stick to a recognizable layout. Site visitors rely on a conventional navigation bar to help them toggle across your site. You should include links to your most important pages using simple terms. In short, make everything as user-friendly as possible and utilize a familiar layout so visitors feel comfortable when accessing your site. 

Utilize Headers and Subheaders

Headers and subheaders are key. As previously mentioned, walls of text might send visitors running to a competitor’s site.  On average, human beings have an attention span of 8.25 seconds. Break your text up into scannable paragraphs and use headers and subheaders to help your visitors navigate your site easier. Instead of forcing visitors to read walls of text, make it easy for them to locate the information they’re seeking. You can even create (and hyperlink to) a table of contents so they can easily click on the information they’re searching for.  Even better, headers and subheaders help with your SEO, as they help Google to better understand your website’s content. 

Highlight Important Features and Services

You should always incorporate a section that highlights all of your business’s products, services, and benefits. This is a quick, easy way for visitors to gather all the information they need. You can even use icons so your most important features stand out amongst the rest, along with images to illustrate your product’s benefits. 

The Best Tools for Website Usability

Now that you know how to improve website usability, you can implement the tips and tricks in this article to help you get the most out of your Shopify site.  Forge can help. We’ll work with you to create the best digital strategy for your business’s needs. Contact us today to get started.  

 

Tags: conversion rate optimization, cro, shopify, website development