Before we start designing the ‘look and feel’ of a website, we will develop a site plan and wireframes.
A key part of designing an effective website is focusing on the online customer journey or User Experience (UX) – get this right and you can create a very ‘sticky’ website that users find compelling and will then keep revisiting time and again.
To start developing an effective UX it’s important to have a deep understanding of the whole cross section of users, so that you know what they are looking for, what they value and their abilities and limitations so you have a clear outline of their online user habits.
While developing the UX it is always important to keep front of mind the business goals and objectives of the web design project so that you can make the best informed decisions. An effective UX improves the quality of the user’s interaction of the website and enhances perception of the product or service that you are marketing.
When we develop a website design we always spend lots of time on creating compelling content. It is very important this is creative and original so that it fulfils user's needs. We will consider typical user journeys throughout the site and produce wireframe schematics to illustrate how the user can navigate from page to page, outlining how they will encounter typical content on their journey. This approach also includes thoughts on how navigation menus will work and how the site will appear on both desktop and mobile devices.
During the design process we will continually test and research different user journeys. We focus on understanding user behaviours and their needs and motivations. Our observation techniques include task analysis and reviewing feedback from users on a range of different devices. We continually evaluate usability, focusing on how users learn and interact with the interface, to help us to anticipate what users need and to ensure that the website design is easy to access, comprehend and that the quality content can be easily shared. As we develop the final web design we focus on ensuring that design ‘look and feel’ enhances the user experience and strongly reflects the brand’s values and positioning.
Once the website is live we then use powerful web analytics to collect data on user visits, habits and behaviours. This then gives us the opportunity to develop and enhance the UX, resulting in a very effective online marketing tool which helps our clients achieve their commercial goals.
We work with a wide range of companies and organisations, helping them to develop impactful communications strategies online. If you would like to talk to one of the expert team here at Westgate about helping you to develop a creative approach to your online marketing needs, to deliver greater commercial impact for your business, please email shaun@westgatecomms.com. We would love to hear from you!.