In a time of increasing competition, savvy marketers understand that enhancing the user experience doesn't just benefit the user - it benefits the business itself. And one of the best ways to create better user interaction is by improving your Web site's usability. In this two-part series, we'll give you ten tips and techniques for implementing user experience initiatives.

Today, we'll start with your top 5 - covering everything from mobile possibilities through the benefits of search term highlighting:

1. Create a Mobile–Friendly Site

There's no denying it - just glance around the next time you're walking down the street and you'll notice that many of the people you pass are interacting with the world via their cells phones. We're living in a mobile world, and the mobile revolution is here.

Is your site ready to be part of that revolution? Make sure you follow W3C standards and your site will render seamlessly on the iPhone or Smartphone with a compatible browser. Want to take your site's mobile-friendliness to the next level? You can implement a separate mobile CSS profile that renders your site with a small phone screen in mind. You can also add in a feature called "skip navigation" that allows users to avoid scrolling through long, vertical navigation when viewing your Web site on a mobile device.

2. Add a Slash Forward

When you're developing the copy for your next brochure, be sure to have a trailing slash on the end of URLs you're using throughout your marketing collateral--for example, our URL might look like http://www.lyrishq.com/specialoffer/. Not only does it look friendly - it's also easy for the user to type or copy.

Additionally, adding this trailing slash offers a bit of security by keeping the technology behind your Web site under wraps, and affords you some expandability - you can actually reuse the URL in the future in case you choose to switch content management systems or change other technology due to an IT directive.

3. Balance Information with the User Experience

When a visitor arrives at your site, what are their needs and goals? Depending on who they are, those desires can be radically different - for example, a first-time visitor might be looking for some in-depth product info while a repeat visitor may simply be doing a bit of window shopping.

Consider, for example, that you're expecting your first child and are shopping online for a baby stroller. You visit two sites (see screen shots below) to do a little research and consider your options. Which one are you more likely to choose? They both have attractive graphics, but our bet is that the average visitor stays longer on the PegPerego site because it does a better job of creating a sense of balance between information and visuals.

When it comes down to it, your site must meet the needs and goals of both types of visitors. You can't just provide pictures for window shoppers; you must also provide in-depth information for those who are in the product discovery phase of their shopping experience. People are doing increasingly more research online before they make a final purchase decision, so it's imperative that you provide enough information for the first time visitor to find what they’re looking for and get answers to their questions.

PegPerego Skate (click on image for larger view)

Mutsy Urban Rider (click on image for larger view) 

4. Instate a Friendly 404 Page

How many times have you typed in a URL or performed a search on a site only to have the generic 'This Page Cannot Be Found' error appear? It's happened to all of us. But savvy marketers understand that even a 404 error can be turned into an opportunity to have a positive interaction with a visitor.

A friendly 404 page should appear in the place of any error page or page that’s missing. You can customize and optimize the function of a 404 page to offer visitors a link to your site map and an on-site search box. Give this page a very simple look and feel that resembles your Web site so that visitors feel comfortable; even though they may have taken a wrong turn, it assures them that they're still in the right area.

Most importantly, treat this page as a visitor entry point - there's a good chance that it may be your visitor's first introduction to your site. Take the opportunity to create a strong call-to-action, links to promotional pages, and a link to your site's home page in order to give lost visitors prospective paths that might pique their interest.

Let's take a look at a couple of 404 page examples - one example that leaves much to be desired, and then one that does a better job:

Bad: Apache page "Not Found" (out of the box)

Good: Choice Hotels Ireland "Page Not Found" (click on image for larger view) 

5. Implement Search Term Highlighting (like Google's cached-page highlighting)

How can you improve your existing site search? By making use of a Google-style search term highlighting feature. This JavaScript-enabled feature 'color codes' the search terms that the visitor just performed a search for in their actual results.

This highlighting is extremely helpful because most Web users don’t read pages carefully - they scan text for what they’re looking for. This is why cached-page highlighting is so useful - it helps Web users scan pages to quickly find what they’re looking for.

Improving your user experience isn't necessarily expensive - it does, however, require an investment of time and attention to detail. Next time, we'll outline five additional techniques you can implement that will ensure your Web site is meeting all of your users' needs and goals.

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Related Resources:

• Subscribe to Inside Lyris HQ our monthly online-marketing newsletter.
• Download free online-marketing guides, tools and webinars in the Lyris Online-Marketing Resource Center.

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