DevOps has been an essential software culture that web developers are urged to adopt to build sites with stellar user experiences (UX). However, as comprehensive as DevOps training courses are, some of them are quite lacking when it comes to the aspect of web development.
Below, we cover five tips you won’t learn in your DevOps course that are crucial to improving your site-building process and the quality of your output.
1. Make your clients’ web pages accessible.
Fifteen percent of the global population have some form of disability. Some struggle with using the internet because a good number of the sites lack accessibility features. Accessibility is crucial, but developers often find its integration labor-intensive because of the heavy coding and technical needs.
Since developers don’t usually stay long with a single company or client, chances are, you can’t keep up with the continuous content modification processes, rendering newer parts of the site inaccessible. Instead of manual, tedious coding, here’s a practical alternative: Suggest to your client to use a third-party tool that automates accessibility once you finish building a website. One such tool is accessiBe, an industry-leading, automated website accessibility solution driven by artificial intelligence (AI). After initial download, accessiBe displays the accessibility interface immediately and fills in any accessibility gaps within 48 hours.
On your end, this lessens the manual coding and aria text labels you need to perform and add to your clients’ websites. With an efficient accessibility solution like accessiBe, you enable more people to benefit from online services and remarkably simplify your workload.
2. Include calls-to-action.
For all e-commerce websites, including calls-to-action is crucial. Directing users to CTA’s strategically directs them to conversion-friendly spots.Tip: Put calls-to-action (CTAs) on your navigation’s top right, at the bottom of the site pages, or below specific sections requiring customers to act.
You must also place the right CTAs according to where visitors are in their user journeys. You can tell this by the page they’re on. If they landed on the blog section reading your Dropshipping 101 guide, chances are the visitors are still trying to learn and understand the industry and its problems.
Instead of slapping them with a “Buy Now” type of CTA, invite them to read other related resources first, such as “X Common Dropshipping Mistakes to Avoid,” “X Newbie Dropshipper Tips,” etc. If you address their current concerns, they’re more likely to say “yes” to your CTAs because they believe you’re offering valuable solutions.You also capture their trust, boost the site’s reputation, and can better work on building productive customer relationships.
3. Guide website visitors with straightforward website navigation.
Navigation acts like a map that shows the main places visitors can go to. It’s also how users can plunge deeply into on-site information, such as the product page, blog section, etc. Clean, orderly navigations tell website surfers you want a seamless visiting experience for them and that you have nothing to hide. When that happens, online surfers are bound to go to more pages in a single session, skyrocketing their visit’s duration on the site.
Conversely, a confusing, cluttered navigation interface — plus terrible design practices (e.g., overcrowded navigation, incoherent elements, ambiguous hyperlink texts) — makes it difficult for visitors to decide where to go. If visitors can’t find what they’re searching for, they’ll have no reason to linger on the site, so they leave and move to a rival site with a smoother UX.
When enhancing the site’s navigation, help users quickly find what they’re searching through proper navigation hierarchy, responsive designs, streamlined site content, and other usability design techniques for better UX.
4. Include social share and follow buttons.
Adding social share and follow buttons can increase brand visibility, content exposure, and widen networks. However, poorly designed social buttons can ruin the site’s UX and repel visitors from staying longer.
To ensure these social share and follow buttons help reach website goals without disrupting UX, place them on prominent areas according to your marketing objective. They can be at the top, as is typical for some blog content; at the bottom, which is typical for ecommerce sites and e-newsletters; in line with posts, or on floating bars. You can also choose between using texts (e.g., “Follow us on Twitter,” “Share on Facebook,” etc.) or icons. Additionally, make them visually appealing. However you display the social share and follow buttons, the key is being purposeful, so you know how best to design them. You must also avoid overstuffing the site with these elements.
Finally, surround the social share and follow buttons with sufficient negative space to make them more noticeable on the site. Used brilliantly, these elements can enhance site performance and even your client’s interactive marketing and social media integration strategies.
5. Build self-selection features.
Harness self-selection tools to empower visitors to decide on the best products, services, and other options for them even without roaming around your site or chatting with on-site sales reps. Do that by inviting them to answer quizzes, rate and like (or dislike) presented options, etc., and giving them personalized results. We see that example on Netflix, which lets you hit the thumbs-up or -down buttons and then recommends shows according to your preferences.
You can also display icons on your survey-type quizzes for a visual self-selection experience. Whatever the set-up, it should streamline users’ navigation, enhance the UX, and hasten their product search.
A few ending thoughts
Implement these techniques alongside your DevOps course inputs to help you simplify site activities, elevate website performance, and satisfy your clients. Ultimately, the purpose boils down to excellent output quality and user experience. Always remember that, and you’re bound to achieve win-win situations for site visitors and your clients.
Cover Photo by Tim van der Kuip on Unsplash