Conversion Rate Optimisation for a Greater User Experience

This article was updated in April 2024

In the dynamic landscape of online businesses, success is not just measured by attracting visitors but also by converting them into customers. All potential customers that visit your website are interested in what you offer, otherwise, what would they be doing there?

The job of conversion rate optimisation (CRO) and user experience (UX) design is to help these customers make a purchase, by making their journey through your sales funnel as simple as possible.

In this article, we are going to look at how you can use CRO and UX to get your website higher conversion rates.

This article will cover the following:

  • What is User Experience Design?
  • What is Conversion Rate Optimisation?
  • The Role of UX Designers in CRO Strategy
  • Benefits of CRO UX
  • 5 Tips for using CRO to improve UX

What is User Experience Design?

UX design focuses on helping customers navigate a site. This includes suggesting related content, adding CTA buttons in specific places, simplifying the navigation of the site, and much more.

UX design can be summed up by the following categories:

  • User research helps UX designers gain insights into the target audience including their motivations and goals.
  • Information architecture makes sure that users can easily locate the content they need.
  • Interaction design defines how users interact with the interface and respond to different parts of the website.
  • Visual design focuses on how the site looks, including the layout, colour scheme, typography and any images or media.
  • Testing involves observing users as they interact with the interface to identify areas for improvement.
  • Accessibility is designing interfaces that are understandable and easy to use for all people, regardless of their physical or cognitive capabilities.

What is Conversion Rate Optimisation?

Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is the practice of enhancing the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design of digital products to increase conversion rates.

In other words, it’s the process of making sure that the website, app, or any other digital product is as user-friendly as possible, and that users can complete their desired actions without any hurdles.

It’s a crucial part of digital business strategy as profitability is directly linked to the number of leads that are acquired and the improvement of the conversion funnel.

The Role of UX Designers in CRO Strategy

As a UX/UI designer myself, I’m often asked what I do, and how my expertise can improve CRO. In a nutshell, UX and UI designers are essential in CRO strategy as they have a crucial role in identifying user pain points and enhancing the product design to overcome them. They can help increase the visibility and ease of use of the website or app, making it more intuitive and engaging for the user.

Design improvements are the key to increasing conversion rates. Through careful analysis of user behaviour and pain points, designers can identify the areas of the product that need attention and can create solutions to those issues. It’s important to ensure that the design is consistent, aesthetically pleasing, and provides an enjoyable experience for the user.

A 2% improvement in checkout for a million-pound business represents a very significant increase in sales, and that’s why design improvements can have a huge impact on a business’s profitability.

Benefits of CRO UX

Improved navigation and user experience can widen the conversion funnel, which can lead to more initial leads converting at the end of said funnel. The easier and more enjoyable it is to navigate the website or app, the more likely users are to stay and complete the desired action.

Through design improvements, users can be guided towards the desired action, and their pain points can be addressed, making them more likely to convert.

One of the primary benefits of CRO UX is that it helps to improve the user experience by making it easier and more intuitive for visitors to navigate and interact with a website.

By addressing pain points and optimising the user journey, you can create a more seamless and enjoyable experience for your visitors, which can ultimately lead to increased conversions and customer loyalty.

5 Tips for using CRO to improve UX

1. Use data to identify problem areas

Analyse your website data to identify areas of difficulty in the UX conversation optimisation process, this may be where users are dropping off or experiencing problems. This can be examining metrics such as bounce rates, exit pages, and user behaviour data.

2. Optimise your user journey

Once you have identified problem areas, work on optimising the user journey to make it more intuitive and user-friendly. Use CRO UX design to improve website conversions, this can involve making changes to navigation, content layout, and calls to action buttons (CTAs) to guide users towards conversion.

3. Make it easy for users to convert

Ensure that your CTAs are clear and prominent, and that the user conversion process is as streamlined as possible. Employ UX design techniques such as simplifying forms, reducing the number of steps required to complete a purchase, and optimising checkout flows.

4. A/B test your changes

Use A/B testing to evaluate the effectiveness of your CRO UX changes and to identify the most effective UX design and content variations. This enables you to gather valuable insights, refine your approach, and identify the most effective conversion rate optimisation UX strategies for your website.

5. Continuously monitor and improve

It’s important to recognise that UX conversion rate optimisation is an ongoing process, and it is important to continuously monitor and improve your website to ensure that it is providing the best possible user experience and maximising conversions. Try and regularly track key performance indicators (KPIs) and establish a framework for continuous improvement.

CRO is an essential part of digital business strategy, and UX and UI designers play a critical role in it. By identifying user pain points and creating solutions to them through design improvements, conversion rates can be significantly increased, and the business’s profitability can be improved.

The wider the conversion funnel, through improved navigation and user experience, the more initial leads convert at the end of said funnel, resulting in more sales and increased revenue for the business.

Read more about the UX Design Service here at One Beyond.