The Secret to Stronger, Faster Sales with UX Audits

A look at UX audits and a path to more sales, brought to you by WANDR, an award-winning product strategy, and UX design firm. If you’re looking for  UX audit services — it’s our specialty! (check our e-book)! Ask about our services.

Did you know that it takes a web user less than a single second to form an impression of your website? That means you have less than a second to make a good impression on your potential customers. The problem is that many business owners with a digital footprint fail to understand just how crucial the user experience is. Where do they lose potential customers? This is where a usability audit (UX audits) can be helpful.

An Example of the User Experience Audit

So, what is a UX audit? Before answering that, here’s a situation in which UX audits can be very useful.

Imagine a small business concern with a website. It has integrated e-commerce and all the appropriate links. The problem is that visitors are going to the site and many are just leaving to go elsewhere after a few seconds. Some of those that stay are going to the shopping area, clicking a few things, closing the tab, and leaving the website.

This would be a problem for any business owner because it means they are losing customers. They may spend time updating their product descriptions and media on the site only to discover that it isn’t making a difference. Potential customers are still not staying long enough on the site to purchase anything, so they never get a chance to sell their products.

In this scenario, the business owner is frustrated because they don’t understand why customers are not spending time on their site. This is where it’s invaluable to have a usability audit done. But what is a usability Audit? How can UX Audits be helpful for a business owner? Can UX Audits help to improve sales?

What is a UX Audit? In short, it’s a great way for your business to improve its digital presence.

What is a Usability Audit?

A User Experience Audit (UX audit) is a detailed look at the areas of a website or application where users are having problems. It includes the structure of the site or software application, the media, and the overall user experience. In the above example, a User Experience Audit (UX audit) would pinpoint areas of the website that customers are finding unappealing or difficult to use.

What do UX Audits Entail?

When a usability audit is being conducted, it follows a very strict procedure that typically includes the following:

1. Review of Business Goals and User Goals

It’s crucial to understand what the business goals are when it comes to conducting a usability audit on a site or application. What goals does the business have in mind? How do they want customers to use their site? The disparity between these goals and what users are actually doing forms the basis of UX audits.

2. Web Traffic and Sales Figures

It’s also important for the usability audit to include data on how many users are visiting the site and how many products are being sold and to whom. This information will help to shape the analysis and provides a baseline for comparison.

3. Usability

The small details that constitute how a user interacts with an interface drive usability. There is a standard set of criteria that governs the most effective ways that users can interact with a site or application. This process will examine every last detail of how a user interacts, including where they are placing their mouse cursor and for how long.

Usability, in an objective context, entails a set of well-understood interface standards. These standards are recognized as being important in designing websites and software interfaces that users find easy to use and navigate. This is the real heart of the User Experience Audit (UX audit) and forms the basis for all UX audits.

4. UX Compliance Issues

How well does the site or application in its current form comply with current UX standards? The goal during this part of the User Experience Audit (UX audit) is to determine how far away the current interface design is from a set of well-understood and agreed-upon user experience standards. This also includes current UX best practices.

5. Modeling

How can the current site or application be remodeled into a more effective design to improve user engagement, traffic, and sales? This part of the UX Audit process also involves mental modeling as well as prototyping, wire-framing, and user testing.

How does all of this Impact Sales?

The brutal fact is that the way that your potential customers engage with your site determines your sales and your market reputation. A site or application that is tricky to use, difficult to navigate, and aesthetically unappealing will lose sales and will cost you the bottom line.

If you’re wondering why your potential customers are not converting and not engaging with your online presence, you need a UX audit. Once you understand where your customers are falling off, you can make positive changes.

Getting inside the Head of your Users

The goal of UX audits is to get inside the head of the user. How do they experience the site or application? How will they best engage with it? This understanding of the user experience drives the remodeling of websites and applications. WANDR works to make them more appealing, easier to use, easier to navigate and utilize. UX Audits are all about the end-user experience through standards of design and usability.

Examples of Great UX Websites

Here are a few examples of great UX websites where the user experience is not just well understood and respected but actively engaged. These websites have all undergone UX Audits and have been designed to be easy to use, easy to navigate, and easy on the eyes.

1. Zara

One of the basic principles of great UX design is to provide clear information to the user. When users understand how to navigate a site, they can use it more effectively and find what they want. The problem is when too much information is presented. No matter how clearly the information is presented, too many choices can cause a pain point for the end-user and paralyze their decision-making.

For example, Zara uses clear navigation links. The design of the landing page is strong and bold. The colors are monochromatic and the navigation is clear and easy to find. Hick’s Law dictates that navigation information on websites is restricted and this eliminates the agony of choice. In this sense, Zara provides one of the best examples of great UX websites.

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2. Apple

Apple is a trillion-dollar company, and its website UX reflects the company’s values. The Apple team has mastered design and marketing. The Apple website is an exercise in communicating the most information in the simplest of ways. The visual design flows from top to bottom and from side to side. There is plenty of space, appealing media and colors, and top navigation. It uses Hick’s law and minimalist design to draw the eye. It is an example to all professionals interested in conducting UX Audits.

Apple has truly designed one of the best examples of great UX websites, and it has likely inspired many others. If your team is looking for inspiration, Apple’s site is one of the best examples of great UX websites.

Read the 10 Best UX Websites of 2022 for more examples.

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It’s all about Smart Design

If you have a digital presence, you cannot afford for your potential customers to leave because they don’t like the look or the feel of your site. If you’re confused as to why your customers are not buying from your website, why you have a high bounce rate, and why they are going elsewhere, professional UX audits can help you reach your goals and business objectives.

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