You know a good-looking website when you see one: they’re slick, easy to navigate, and the design makes you want to browse the site. The graphics are perfect, the stock photos are unique, and the layout looks appealing.

Naturally, beautiful websites get more attention, but they don’t always get more conversions. Many studies have concluded that plain websites – often called “ugly” websites – convert at a much higher rate. 

It’s not that pretty websites don’t convert, but rather, plain websites tend to be more user-friendly, and user-friendly websites convert best. Focusing too much on the aesthetics of a website can make it difficult to use.

Focus on usability for conversions

There are two things plain sites get right: speed and usability. Fancy designs tend to get in the way of both of these factors. If you want a high conversion rate, you’ll want to focus 80% of your attention on usability and 20% on aesthetics. When you’re not a website developer, this can be tough considering most DIY platforms place a heavy focus on visual design and you need technical knowledge to work with the functionality. However, there is a solution.

When you’re not familiar with code, working with an agency is the easiest way to get a website that supports higher conversions. Professionals with development and marketing experience will be able to create a beautiful website for you that will help you get sales, downloads, email signups, and any other conversion you’re after.

Usability makes a website effective

Everyone has goals they want their website to achieve. For example, if you’re running an ecommerce store, your goal will be to generate sales. If you’re trying to build your email list, your goal will be to generate subscribers. To meet your goals, your website will need to guide users to take your intended action. This is where usability comes into play.

The easier a site is to use, the more likely users are to take the specific actions you want them to take. For instance, if you want email signups, it should be easy to fill out and submit your web form. The most effective signup forms have minimal form fields and are presented to the user in a way that can’t be missed, like in a pop-up or directly on the page.

If your goal is to generate sales, the entire process of finding products, adding them to a cart, and checking out needs to be smooth and easy. For instance, don’t make people create an account to complete their purchase. According to statistics, 34% of people abandon their carts and buy from a competitor if they’re forced to create an account. Also, make sure users can see their shipping costs before they’re asked to enter their payment information.

4 steps to make sure your website has maximum usability

To maximize your website’s usability, here’s what you can do:

1. Simplify your navigation

The first thing you’ll want to do is simplify your navigation. User-friendly navigation is the foundation for usability. This requires using simple, short labels that are easy to understand. You can get a little creative, but avoid using industry jargon or acronyms for your menu labels. 

Never assume everyone visiting your website is already on the inside of your industry. Even if your website is aimed at insiders, you’ll attract potential leads who may not understand the jargon.

Another way to simplify your navigation is to avoid using JavaScript flyout menus, as they tend to get buggy on desktop and mobile. Instead, use pure CSS if you need to implement drop-down menus.

2. Ask other people to test your navigation

When you’re familiar with your website, it’s easy to miss problems with your navigation. To get objective feedback, ask other people to test your navigation and browse your site and let you know if they run into any problems. If those people report any issues, fix them immediately because they won’t be the only users to experience those issues.

You can also sign up for usability testing as a paid service through various websites. With this service, your website will be presented to users who will interact with your site and provide their feedback. You’ll pay on a per-user basis in most cases, and you’ll get some extremely valuable feedback.

3. Don’t link every web page in your main menu

One of the fastest ways to make a site hard to use is to link every page in the main navigation menu. Only link the pages that are most important, and link the rest through internal links in your content.

When users browse navigation menus, having an abundance of options will make it hard for them to choose where to click. If it’s not obvious where they should click, some users will just bounce.

It’s actually more effective to give users limited choices in your main menu. This way, you retain more control and can guide users to the pages you want them to visit.

4. Test your website on mobile devices

Mobile device usability is everything. Statistics show that 90% of internet users access the internet from a mobile device. Your site must be user-friendly for mobile users or you’ll lose most of your market. For this reason, it’s important to test your website on mobile devices to ensure usability

You can certainly use emulators online to see what your site looks like in different browsers and on different mobile devices, but nothing beats the real experience. You won’t get access to every possible mobile device, but test your site on whatever devices you can. Test it out on at least one Windows, iOS, and Android device and at least one smartphone and tablet.

Why simplicity equals usability

Simple websites convert better because they don’t create distractions, confuse users, or put barriers in the way. This is best accomplished with a minimal website design because there will be fewer elements on each page, which will eliminate clutter.

Although simplicity supports more conversions, simple sites aren’t necessarily plain. There are plenty of examples of minimalist designs that get the job done and look amazing at the same time. The key is to use plenty of white space, but draw attention to the main focus of the website.

User-friendly websites are often difficult to “DIY”

With all the DIY web platforms out there, it’s easy to gravitate toward building your own website with the belief that it won’t take much work. This is partially true. You can create your own website without much work, but even minimalist sites go through a rigorous process of planning the design. Planning is a necessary part of the development process and needs to be done by a professional if your goal is to generate conversions.

If you’re building a website, now you know why you’ll need to place more importance on usability over aesthetics. However, it’s equally important to hire a professional who can create that usability for your site. UX/UI is an area of expertise that takes experience and time to get right.

You’ll get better marketing results with a professionally-designed site

No matter how great you are at marketing, website design is a different area of expertise. If you’re not experienced in developing websites, you’ll get better results by hiring out the job. Once you have your beautiful, user-friendly website, then you can implement all of your marketing strategies.

To get the most conversions from your new site, hire a professional web developer with experience in UX/UI. When you do, you’ll get a beautiful, professional site that not only works well, but gets the conversions you deserve.