Enhancing Your Website User Experience

Brett Johnson [: 00:00:00

Welcome to the Circle Sessions featuring the Circle of Experts. The Circle of Experts are Yasmine Robles from Robles Designs, Tanisha English Amamoo of TJE Communications, and Don The Idea Guy. I'm Brett Johnson from Circle 270 Media Podcast Consultants. Each week, one of the Circle of Experts joins me to talk about critical aspects of growing your podcast. We focus on marketing, social media, monetization, and website design, and the implementation of all these together. This week, Yasmine is here from the Circle of Experts. She works alongside clients to design a website that's driven by strategy, looks amazing and that you can actually use to grow your podcast and then in turn your business as well. Yasmine, thanks for joining me again.

Yasmine [: 00:00:41

Yeah. Thank you for having me again here.

Brett Johnson [: 00:00:44

User experience. We I think we don't know much about and and and and and the acronym of that is UX. When you see that UX, that means user experience when you read articles and such, but I I think we are so used to really good websites with really good user experience. We don't even know what's going on, and we don't even think about how we can replicate that on our own website, simple design, whatever it might be. So, you know, what exactly is user experience design? Why is this so crucial in today's digital landscape?

Yasmine [: 00:01:15

Yeah. So I I will give the caveat that this is We're gonna go over a very high level view of UX. So if anybody has any deeper questions, they can contact me. But UX is really about creating products, in our case, websites, but really any product that provides meaningful and really enjoyable experiences for users. And it's really crucial because It directly impacts how users perceive and interact with the website influencing factors like usability, accessibility, and really overall satisfaction. And we can hearken back to lots of episodes where we have talked about keeping your target market in mind and really creating that unique experience and immersing them in that experience in your website, and and, yeah, just getting them excited about what you do.

Brett Johnson [: 00:02:02

Yeah. Now the, experience in my mind also equals engagement. I mean, that's key, and it starts with that, as you say, user friendly interface. How can, working with your designer or yourself when you if you're putting it together yourself, ensure that a website's easy to navigate and understand.

Yasmine [: 00:02:19

Yeah. So designing for ease of use involves clear navigation, intuitive layouts, and consistent design elements. Users should be able to easily find what they're looking for without necessarily any causing any friction, and this really ensures a positive and efficient and user journey. So user journey, if if you don't know, is the path that a user takes as soon as they land on your site. The user It could be they land and then they leave because they think that it's the wrong place for them. It could be that they go to your, feed page for your podcast. They could go to the about page, your merch page. And so tracking that user journey and making sure that it is as seamless as possible.

Yasmine [: 00:03:00

If you're selling merch, You probably want that user experience to or that user journey to be as seamless as possible to get that money in your wallet. So getting them to put that T shirt or whatever is that it is that you're selling into their cart and checking out. So with the the least amount of clicks as possible.

Brett Johnson [: 00:03:18

Yeah. Well and I think it's an important part to talk about because a lot of, you know, our listeners as a podcaster may not have a business tied to this podcast, but they do wanna make some money, and really the easiest way is merch. So it's that, okay, how do you get them there to take a look at that coffee mug, That T shirt or or whatever you're trying to sell, you don't want any friction there.

Yasmine [: 00:03:41

Yeah. Yeah. You don't want anything At all stopping people from getting to their goals. As an example, about a year ago, I wanted a larger, water bottle. And my one of my friends, She was an affiliate for this start up company who was selling these really cool looking water bottles. They were a whole gallon that I would have to carry around. And The only reason I actually ended up checking out was because, it was through my friend because the pop up itself would pop up And on every single page, and I hadn't even been on that page for 3 seconds, and it would pop up. And it got to the point where I was so annoyed that I was ready to just Give up and not purchase.

Yasmine [: 00:04:22

Now if I hadn't had that personal connection to my friend who was an affiliate for them, I probably wouldn't have purchased. So that's just a very simple, way that there was some friction in there. I was getting frustrated, and I did eventually order, but, again, only because I knew the person who was the affiliate.

Brett Johnson [: 00:04:40

Right. Well, beyond the aesthetics, what role do emotions play in that user experience, and how can working with a designer or, you know, again, designing yourself, evoke positive emotions through that design?

Yasmine [: 00:04:53

Yeah. So emotions are central to the user experience. The the designers can evoke positive emotions by considering really the visual appeal, the tone of the content and overall atmosphere of the website and really a positive emotional experience enhances that engagement and leaves a lasting impression. So Think about it it just at the very basics. I know none of us are all, like, scientific UX masters. We we are Creating podcasts and creating small businesses. But if you think of what eventually do I want my user to do and what emotion do I want them to get out of this? If you are running events, obviously, you want them to purchase a ticket. But what kind of event is it? Is it an energetic event about personal development? You want them to get excited? Or do you want them to just be bored and have to buy a ticket because they need that continuing education credit, but they don't really wanna be there? So what Is the overall emotion you wanna get out of it.

Brett Johnson [: 00:05:48

No. That makes sense. Yeah. So, you know, your next question, it goes right into my mind. Of course, I'm thinking user experience, laptop, big screen. We haven't even talked about the phone, the mobile centric world. So how can designers create a seamless experience across different devices?

Yasmine [: 00:06:06

Yeah. So designing for mobile responsiveness really involves a flexible layout, really prioritizing what Content you want people to see and ensuring that the user experience really remains consistent across various screen sizes, and this is really vital for reaching users that are using their phones the most. And this really depends on what analytics you're tracking to. Right? So if you have Google Analytics or any of the other analytic tools installed, Check to see how many people are coming to your site from mobile or from tablet or desktop. And and then that way you have an understanding of how they're getting to you, But then ensure that that content is being prioritized, which means that if you have paragraphs and paragraphs are text, It might be helpful because it's for SEO purposes, and you're explaining things on your site. But what does that look like on mobile? Does that look like I'm going to be Scrolling really rapidly, go try with my finger trying to get to the base of your content on that page. Is there a way that on mobile, you can optimize it to hide That's, like, ex, hide some of that content in expandable boxes. Is there a way to really reorganize the content on mobile so that the People on that device are not frustrated with the, it's not the the for the content that they might be frustrated at.

Yasmine [: 00:07:24

It's really the layout. So is there a way To optimize for

Brett Johnson [: 00:07:27

them. Gotcha. So the engagement offer often involves interactive elements. First of all, I wanted you to explain interactive elements, but then look at how designers incorporate them without overwhelming the user experience. What do you mean by interactive elements?

Yasmine [: 00:07:43

So these can be as simple as well, a button. Right? A button that people interact with. I've seen sites that are beautiful to look at, but there's just way too much going on. Like, things that people interact with are everywhere. But at the very base, An interactive element is is about people something that people can touch or not touch, I guess, because it's digital.

Brett Johnson [: 00:08:05

But Something to click on

Yasmine [: 00:08:06

or to Click on

Brett Johnson [: 00:08:07

or download. Or as a distraction possibly.

Yasmine [: 00:08:10

Yeah. Yeah. And and and yeah. And I there there's been somewhere there's way too much of that going on. And it's beautiful as a static page when you're just looking at it, but when When you try to get the information, you can't find the information, and it's very, very annoying. Or it just I've seen some sites that are beautiful, but they took, like, 1 whole minute to load. And 1 whole minute might not sound like a lot, but 1 whole minute to load. The only reason I stayed there was because I knew it was going because I wanted some site inspiration.

Yasmine [: 00:08:39

But at the end of the day, it's just way too long for a site to load. So really balancing the inter interactivity is key. Designers should really consider the purpose of their interactive elements And really ensure that those elements enhance the user experience rather than detract from it. So if you have a one of the sites that we built, we took a part part, the graphics on the logo, and we created these small spinning Circles that spins slowly, so it adds a little bit of an element. They are somewhat hidden behind the corners of images, And that's an element with purpose. It's part of their brand. It spins a little bit. It does not distract.

Yasmine [: 00:09:21

And that's That's something that the user can it's like a happy something happy that can be on the site, something that delights, but it doesn't distract. And really thoughtful use of these animations and transitions and other interactive features can elevate the engagement. If you wanna think of it as a metaphor, If you have a taco, you can get have your base taco. Right? You got the tortilla and the meat, but that element of delight could be a specific salsa you put on It could be something pickled onion, something an element of delight that goes into that dish that just makes the whole thing beautiful, but you don't want to overstuff it with Salsa and all of these other condiments. Right? It's still at the base of top of

Brett Johnson [: 00:10:03

Yeah. No. That makes sense because it because if the the moving elements are too moving too fast or they're too prominent, you think that your eye's catching it going, oh, I need to pay attention because there must be something going on to click For more information, whatever, other than this, just a a nice feel.

Yasmine [: 00:10:19

Yeah. Well, that and and think about your user your target market. So And we say this I think I say this in almost every single episode. But if your target market is, for example, 55, 65, and older or more, right, And you are talking about, let's say let let's save senior homes and you're adding all of these crazy elements in, The target market might not be able to navigate that website. But if you're targeting Gen z or alphas, They might really understand that interactivity, and that might be fine for them. So really understanding who you're who is the main person that's going to come to the site And how can you make it a beautiful, delightful experience for them?

Brett Johnson [: 00:11:03

Yeah. I was gonna say if you're putting together a website that is, promoting this simple life, Then you have a website that's not simple. It's kinda counterproductive. Exactly. Exactly. So, how about the, the feedback in user experience design? How can designers provide feedback to users, and how does it, contribute to that positive experience?

Yasmine [: 00:11:26

Yeah. So feedback is really crucial for user guidance and and reassurance. Whether it's feedback through subtle Animations, error messages, or confirmation prompts, really providing feedback to keep the users informed About their actions can really contributing to smoother and more confident user experience. So an example of this is if there is a A form. It's the simplest example. There is a form. I fill it out. And when I hit send, it says, thank you for your form has been submitted.

Yasmine [: 00:11:55

That is The most simple form of feedback that there is, or you can say, hey. You this 1 field is required. There are other ways that you can Create this these subtle animations for and and really excite people when they receive that sort of feedback. It doesn't have to be that they filled something out wrong. It could be a positive feedback, etcetera. So then there's the other side of feedback. Right? You wanna get feedback from your users. And the way I typically do this is really speaking to the people who are coming to the site and having them navigate.

Yasmine [: 00:12:30

There's a couple tools out there off the top of my head. You can reach out to me. At the top of my head, I can't remember them. But there are some tools where people can go on to your and give you feedback on what they think, and these people are you don't know them, so you can record and see what they're doing. There's also a tool called Hot jar, and it records things that are on your site. And you can see what are people doing on my site. Where did they get lost? Where did they leave off? You can't tell who it is, but you can tell what what they were doing and maybe guess at why they didn't complete their steps. Just asking people, send out surveys about if you have a membership site, for example, send out a survey or sit down with 1 of the members and say, what about this website is causing friction for you, and how can we make it better? So you you can give feedback digitally through those forms, through animations, but you can also receive feedback From, from the user through analytics and through speaking with them.

Brett Johnson [: 00:13:24

Yeah. I had 1 client that was going through a lot of animation, not animation, but the the iterations of his, website, and it and it didn't slow down when he wanted to, to to get the episodes going, but, he was utilizing his Circle of of friends and business associates and such like, try this out, try this out, but, you know, sign up for this, sign up for this, and you really wanna get all the bugs out of it. And it was well worth the time. It maybe delayed him 2 or 3 days become but could but luckily he got all the people he was working with on board to do it pretty quickly because he was driving a membership piece to it at the very, on the back end of this podcast, and he wanted to get everything out of the way so there are no hiccups, no loss of, you know, of that frustration of I wanna be a member, but I I don't see the confirmation. I I you know, you're not seeing my name on it, so I think it's well worth the time to to research it out Depending on what you're trying to do with the website, that makes a lot of sense. Yeah. What advice do you have for aspiring UX designers or, you know, business owners that are looking to enhance their website's user experience.

Yasmine [: 00:14:32

So for aspiring UX designers, really con keeping continually learning About the user ex the user behavior and staying updated on the design trends and, really, most importantly, empathize empathize empathizing with the users. So what that really means is, basically, you love what you do. You're a you are you are aspiring UX designer or website designer. Stay on top of the trends that are coming in and really try to under understand the users that are coming to websites and what their goals are And understanding them and where they are emotionally, what kind of site you're building will really help create that wonderful user experience that you're Trying to achieve. And then for business owners, really investing in that UX design as it directly impacts customer satisfaction and loyalty, Ultimately driving business success. So what that can mean if you are working with a website designer or DIY ing it is really looking at the analytics, seeing what people are doing. Look at those heat maps. Look at those recordings.

Yasmine [: 00:15:35

And there are some free tools out there that you can use and really try and understand. Again, put yourself in the in the feet, in the position of the user, understand where they are emotionally, and really try to see what experience am I providing for them, where am I pro creating friction, and how can I smooth that out and simplify the process?

Brett Johnson [: 00:15:56

That makes a lot of sense, and that's a really good point of putting yourself into the user of the website, the listener of the podcast, whatever it might be, Go through that journey in that mindset or maybe sit sitting beside somebody while they're journeying through your website kind of going, what are they looking at? What what do I when do I hear a Exhale, you know, and when they're frustrated, if nothing else, that's worth $1,000,000 right there, to to give some do through something like that. Exactly. So, as you mentioned, this is a really high level look at user experience. If they if, listener has any questions, wanna get a hold of you, how do they do that?

Yasmine [: 00:16:29

They can always get ahold of me on my website, Robles Designs .com. I'm super happy to just answer any questions that you might have. We do website audits, so you can let me know if you would like one of those. And at the very basics, you can download the Site, checklist, and that is Robles designs.com/checklist. But just contact me or message me on Instagram, and and I will get back to you.

Brett Johnson [: 00:16:53

Yeah. Great. And if you're looking for, an audit for your podcast, which probably will include a website, audit will get you a hold of Yasmine as well beyond that, Get a hold of me, Circle 270media.com. There is a podcast audit button. Let's get the journey going and, making Sure that everything's in line with what you wanna do for your podcast, which in turn is gonna increase your business too. So, again, thanks, Yasmine, for joining me, and, thank you, listener, and and we'll talk to you next time on Circle Sessions. Cool. Alright.

Brett Johnson [: 00:17:22