As technological solutions become more common as ways to solve business problems, more businesses will begin turning to them. The solutions these changes provide are becoming more essential to successfully running a company. As end-user audiences continue to change with new voices, thoughts, and ideas, website functionality will have to change as well. And companies will have to shift with their preferences. Web developers have been and will continue to be working hard to meet these changing goals. Companies will learn that they need to drive innovation hard in order to reap big rewards ahead of competitors.
These are some of the ideas behind digital transformation propelling user experience. As more businesses adopt technology-driven solutions to their business problems, the importance of user experience decisions will increase as well. Today, we will be taking a look at what this means in context.
Technology Optimizing for Mobile
One clear example of digital transformation and user experience: website and application optimization for mobile. According to a study by Statista, there are around 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide. This number will grow in 2021 and beyond.
The fact of the matter is, people enjoy consuming content while they are on the go. And web developers have taken notice. If it already hasn’t been, anything that may potentially be accessed by a smartphone should be closely vetted to ensure the best possible user experience is presented to the end user. Things like page and asset size relate directly to load times on mobile. Care should be taken to ensure that pages are not using large amounts of mobile data.
Key Takeaway: Is your website mobile-friendly? Do you look at each piece of content posted on a desktop as well as a smartphone? Don’t miss out on an opportunity to connect with the segment of your audience that prefers mobile-friendly content.
User Experience and Accessibility
Accessibility should play a large role in your website’s user experience. It should not just be a checkbox. Rather, it should be considered from the very beginning of a project. As good digital citizens, we have an ethical obligation to allow users to enjoy the full use of our websites. As more diverse audiences enter the digital space and technology continues to expand, web development best practices will follow suit. Making sure websites are available for every person to effectively use is an on-going effort that will continue to grow as time goes on.
Key Takeaway: Was usability and accessibility a central focus during your website’s creation? It’s a process that begins with step one. You don’t want to unintentionally exclude a segment of your audience.
Artificial Intelligence Technology versus User Experience
In some circles, artificial intelligence advocates are still battling with user experience professionals on whether or not technology like automated chatbots improve a site. However, as technology continues to improve, this is the sort of change that online users can expect. While features like chatbots may help customers arrive at answers faster, an argument could be made that effective site information architecture could provide the same benefit without the added frustrations that come when a customer doesn’t get an answer they were looking for. At the end of the day, it becomes a question about what is best for your users and their experiences.
Key Takeaway: Are you familiar with places to go to for trustworthy opinions on website best practices when it comes to implementing new technology?
As more and more companies begin the digital transformation to effect change across organizations, new best practices will emerge. By understanding where to go for advice, making sure your site is optimized for mobile users, and ensuring accessibility and user experience are in a good place and able to be re-addressed over time, you’ll know that your transformation efforts will make the most impact. You will be ready to adopt new future trends as they come.
Looking for a partner to help you enact this digital transformation, or prepare your public web presence for it? Contact us today for a free consultation.