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Mastering the Art of Data Driven Web Designing

The web traffic is constantly growing and designers struggle to create and maintain website which is optimized to reach the desired number of users with repeat visits and engaged audiences.  The designers long for better outcomes, better navigation and innovative features to powerpack their projects with all latest techniques in market. Despite this, at times the website is unable to serve the purpose and hit its mark. Let’s see how can the website be better developed and maintained with these quick tips.

THE DATA DRIVEN DESIGNING

The term ‘data driven design’ is all about numerical and non-numerical details that can be channelised to improve the online presence and results. It gets reflected in increased brand awareness, sales conversion and finally revenue generation.

A lot has been discussed and written about the UX / UI all with an intent to enhance experiences but designing with data in hand has by far opened a new dimension. Channelizing data helps designers identify areas/ sections of site which requires improvement by gauging:

• Site traffic
• Time spent on site
• Engagement
• Revisits
• Sign ups
• Conversions

EMPLOYING DATA UP FOR SUCCESS

Gathering data with a purpose and employing it with an intent calls for a planned approach. Here are some ways, as to how designers can optimize the site to fetch relatively better product and viewership:

Analytics

Designing beautiful websites with great navigations and features is one set of job. The task remains incomplete if you don’t maintain and monitor its performance. Failing to do so may result in creating less traction and maintaining low number of visitors on site. Google analytics comes in handy to do this for your website and analyze how your portal has been performing.

Employing SEO as a tool is a popular choice which helps to assess statistical details of visitors and let us map how portal stands and gets faired amongst internet population. Metrics like bounce rate, exit rate, revisits and traffic are all worth tracking to maintain a vigil.

The analytics also identifies the elements which generates the traffic through searches and what makes them hang on to it, revisit and turn away.

1.Bounce Rate: A higher bounce rate would mean that the website design is not compelling for users. While a lower one hints at favorable response with longer time spent on site with effective design and content.

2.Landing Page: A thorough analysis of landing pages too would similarly suggest how users are behaving, whether they are navigating deeper into the site and signing up or simply turning away in a short while. A short time interval here can be an alarming signal for you to ponder, how can things be improved for your site.

3.Content: Content too plays its role in donning this practice, providing apt content what users look for, keeps engagement and sharing at higher levels.

4.Site traffic: The entire set of portal related activities must be planned according to the traffic. On days when the site traffic is usually higher- product launches, promotions and deals can be planned and on days with lower number on site – maintenance can be planned.

Some factors to be considered periodically to maintain good health of site are:

-Average time on site
-Average pages per visit
-Conversion rate

A/B Test

Also known as split testing, it allows designer to create a better website and avoid pitfalls during website designing and redesigning. The practise involves creation of two versions of web page and analyse later in order to:

• Assess which option is better and why
• What prevents users to create login
• Is website just worth a visit or sign up as well
• What discourages or encourages users to sign up
• Are visitors willing to revisit the site

Some of the commonly tested elements in this test are

• The call to action option
• Headline or title
• Form fields and its length
• Images
• Text

The A/B test helps in increasing revenues, better traffic and attain client satisfaction. Thus making it a popular option amongst designers to figure key features that matters most in website design and henceforth in generating sales.

Eye tracking studies

There exists a good reason for implementing this methodology to design web pages. Web user depict a behavior while exploring the portal and its pages, analysing this behavior and then create pages leads to pleasing navigation generating more visitors and greater popularity.

Designing at least home page in ‘F’ shaped pattern which is followed by users can help create better designs and end results. Some of the key elements emphasised in eye tracking studies are:

• Headlines
• Approachable content
• Formatting
• Page design

It is interesting to note that average web user is more likely to see text than photographs in an infotainment, news related sites.  Employing such techniques which gets implemented in niche businesses, leads to more numbers of visitors.

Site Speed

Quite often the site speed gets overlooked in the entire process of website development. In an effort to maintain the audience, it is important to understand that site speed is equally important and helps generate revisits.

If a website takes longer than 4-5 seconds to load, it is very likely that the user may not revisit the site.  So make sure that such situation is averted.

ALL FOR BETTER DESIGNING

Each website development task brings with it – scope of enhancement and optimization. And to bag the most from it, is important to plan website development, monitor the site performance and know how to increase sales.

As a developer you may take these tips into consideration and plan development accordingly, while as a client, one  must realize that getting a project delivered from technology partner is not an end in itself. It is the beginning of new opportunities followed by maintenance, monitoring, assessment and improvement of website for better returns.

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