Life is an ongoing balancing act; one does not want to indulge in too much of one thing while neglecting another. A common saying is: Everything in moderation, including moderation. Great websites are also a balancing act. Among many others, one of these balances comes with the usability and originality of a website. Here, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each of these qualities.
Usability and User Experience: Having a great user experience on a website is going to encourage the website user to stay on the site longer and click into more pages. This will in-turn lead to a higher percentage of conversions. The better the user feels about your website and the knowledge it provides, the more likely they will be to buy whatever it is you are selling. Giving a user an experience that they are comfortable and familiar with is going to minimize the possibility that they will get frustrated and leave your site in search for one easier to use. Though you want the user to be familiar with the experience, you don’t want to seem like everyone else on the block. This is where moderation comes in. Many sites these days use website templates, which can create a monotonous experience for the user. Most website templates are very similar and boxy.
Original or Innovative User Experience: Creating a unique user experience can have an amazing effect if done properly. The idea is to surprise and excite the user so much that they pick up the phone to call almost immediately. Websites are almost limitless with what they can do, the biggest limit is the designer’s/developer’s imagination. Some people who are paying for a custom website to be built want the most original and amazing design that the internet has ever seen, scrolled, or clicked. This same person who wants such an original idea for their website most likely has an unrealistic idea of what a website can do for their company.
Some people with extreme expectations believe that a new website is the magic pill and that it will bring them a huge boost in sales. This false misconception has realistic roots; having a great looking and working site can definitely boost sales, but a company should also have a great pricing structure, a quality product, impactful and consistent branding across the board, and great SEO to drive users to their website. An entirely unique user experience can be difficult to navigate since the user has no experience using it. It could be like introducing someone who has only used push or pull doors to door knobs. Moderation in how crazy/unique the experience is always a good exercise.
The perfect website is one that gets the intended message across to the user, while simultaneously impressing and informing the user as fast as possible. The website should be easy to navigate with familiar structure and buttons they can use to gain the knowledge they are looking for. It should also wow the user with graphics and original user experience that impresses the user enough for them to want to choose your company over another. The worst thing to happen is for a user to want to buy a product but can’t figure out how to find a phone number or how to buy the product you are trying to sell; then exclaiming “Shut up and take my money!” while navigating to a competitors site who used a simple template.
