A lot of websites suck. They fail to combine a story with good design, creating an experience that’s at best forgettable and at worst unpleasant (“I want to be forgettable,” said no website ever.)
The opposite is true of websites that use the winning formula of compelling storytelling with UX design.
When websites tell a brand story, they inspire users to stay on a site and learn more about a company beyond the homepage. Good design paves the way for deeper engagement.
It’s a formula that can transform a website from sucky to stellar and convert users to customers.
Why You Need a Well-Designed Website
You only have a few seconds to hook and hold a user’s attention, so make a good first impression with a well-designed website.
A website riddled with confusing navigation or littered with walls of text will overwhelm users. Why stay on the website equivalent of a big headache when there are others to click on?
In contrast, a website with a professional presence establishes credibility and invites users to stay. Good design shows you value solving problems without wasting time, influencing how users perceive your brand.
Whether or not you gain loyalty and convert a user depends on the impression you make with your website. It’s worth investing your time in.
Design for Good User Flow & Good User Feelings
Users who visit a website follow a certain path as they click through it. This click-path is called user flow.
UX design, which is the experience of using a website, defines the feel of user flow. Are pages easy to navigate? Is information easy to find? Is it so simple that someone from another planet could use it? Design choices make the difference between a happy customer and a frustrated one.
While the look and feel of websites can vary, these common UX design elements are essential to every site:
The interface. The connection between the user and your website is important for conversion. It should be easy – as in very easy – for users to do what you want them to do on your site. Don’t worry about impressing the CEO or having a “wow factor.” Worry about the experience of your users. It’s their opinion that defines success.
This needs to be intuitive and straightforward. If you want your customers to contact you, make it simple for them to do so without any assistance. Users should never feel lost or confused about what to do next. Storytelling for web design mirrors a choose-your-own-adventure book or set one clear path forward.
When users interact with elements of your site, like filling out a form or processing a payment, everything should work without a hitch. Users should seamlessly move from one step to the next. Fewer roadblocks lead to better conversion.
To determine if your website keeps users engaged, know your bounce rate.
Avoid a “Bouncy” Website
Have you ever spent an entire evening watching the first few seconds of TV shows, waiting to be hooked enough to stick around for a whole episode?
People look for experiences that reward their time with something engaging and valuable and want that to happen quickly. The same is true for websites.
Bounce happens when someone clicks on your website and then navigates away or closes the window.
You’ve likely opened many websites that you immediately clicked away from. Next time this happens, consider what design elements motivated you to bounce. Studying your reactions as a user can help you avoid mistakes on your website.
The goal is to have a low bounce rate. Your bounce rate compares the number of users who bounce to those who continue to click on the site and stay engaged. If a site has a low bounce rate, search engine algorithms will see that as an indication the website offers quality content.
Check your bounce rate using Google Analytics or determine the rate by dividing the number of bounces by the number of visitors. Staying below 40% is a good guideline for a bounce rate.
Tell a Story Worth Staying For
To combat a high bounce rate, your website should be easy to navigate and tell a good story.
Storytelling is how we connect as humans. We use it to share relatable experiences with family and friends and as a way to market our ideas and products. Facts alone won’t be as compelling as facts combined with narrative. Stories help people understand the impact of facts and information on their lives.
Stories create meaning and shared emotional connections between customers and a company. The sooner that connection exists, the more likely users will stay on a website.
Three common elements make a brand story successful no matter the specifics of the story.
Empathize
A good brand story empathizes with the user. Consider what you’d like to hear if you were in their shoes.
You might be solving a problem they wish they didn’t have. Rather than focus on your company’s greatness, focus on relating to your customers. For instance, if you’re a plumber, talk about how quickly you respond to unwanted problems and how fast your customers can return to their lives before that huge pipe burst. Users will feel understood and valued.
Educate
Helping first brands produce content that offers a straightforward solution to a clear problem. Users will be eager to hear a story that ends with their problems solved.
Don’t just explain your product or service. Address the real-world situations of your customers, like the plumber who understands that a burst pipe is an unexpected disruption that needs a fast fix.
One tip: Don’t shy away from offering information for free to show your value. Generosity leads to loyalty, and that converts.
Engage
Keep your customers immersed in your website and your brand story with engaging content.
Offer clear information, use relevant images, post videos, share your knowledge, offer a free download, post customer reviews, and suggest what users can do next to engage with your story, whether calling a number, learning more about your services, or visiting a different page.
Enhance Your Story with UX Design
The story you tell will inform user flow and UX design. This story should start as soon as users click on your site.
Your user should never pause and ask, “Now what?” Instead, good design should invite them to be immersed in your brand story.
A good story has a clear introduction and conclusion, and a good website design starts with the home page and ends with a desired action. It creates a transparent and seamless user flow through the whole experience.
An engaging headline on the homepage can clarify your story and what you stand for. A suggestion for what to do next can help users engage with that story further. You might have a button directing them to click to know more, a link to a portfolio, or an invitation to download a free resource.
Every part of your website should tie into your brand story and provide a clear roadmap for moving through each “chapter.” Keep it simple. Users will get confused – and bouncy – if you try to tell multiple stories or offer too many options.
Storytelling and UX design merge when the story is compelling without being complicated.
What About SEO?
You may wonder how storytelling and website design affect your SEO rankings. Some companies sacrifice a quality story for quantity content to achieve high SEO rankings. Those tactics backfire, especially if they ignore the user experience.
Good stories lower bounce rate. They convert clicks to customers. They offer authentic value. If your website combines story and design, it’s already optimized for SEO.
And it won’t be another website that sucks.
Read more:
Using Brand Storytelling in UX Design