Understanding Your Audience: The Foundation of User Experience
You know that feeling when you walk into a shop and the sales assistant instantly gets you. You're there to browse, not chat. I Reckon but this person notices that you're gazing at the shirt section with a hint of longing, without any need for small talk. You sense they're rooting for you, like they've known all along the kind of shirt you'd pick out.
That right there is good user experience and in the world of business, it's gold. It's strange how we can overlook something so basic because we're often distracted by our own eagerness to communicate a brand's story in the cleverest way possible. Suddenly, the story becomes about us and not them - our audience.
But knowing what our audience wants is the crucial first step to any success in business. And it comes down to one thing: listening. I'm sure we've all met people who want to be understood but don't care much for understanding others.
Brands are often guilty of this too, and it's time we fix that. The first thing your audience wants is to be heard - this matters more than being entertained or having their shopping experience made easier with more digital tools or buy now pay later options. When you listen and get curious about their values, their taste, and what they're craving in life - your brand becomes their safe space.
It becomes their home away from home. There's nothing that can stop them from coming back once you've given them a place where they feel seen for who they really are.
Streamlining Navigation: Making It Easy for Buyers
Everyone’s been there - the search bar is clunky, the menu leads to never-ending trails, and before you know it, you’ve left the site. It’s painful to watch an interested buyer fizzle out due to poor navigation. I think most of us are somewhat impatient these days and even the tiniest inconvenience can set us off.
That’s why intuitive navigation is so important for online stores. Top brands know that a clear menu, easy-to-spot search bar, and filters need to be available at all times. As soon as a customer lands on your store, they want to start shopping.
So if it takes longer than usual for their page to load or if they can’t see what they came looking for - they’re quite likely to drop off. Sort of. A simple homepage with a clear value proposition followed by product categories makes it easier for users to get started. And once they get started, these categories will provide them with options without overwhelming them with too many products all at once.
It would seem like buyers don’t want too many choices but that’s not entirely true. It appears that buyers just want to see options based on their context. It also helps that users can navigate seamlessly between your store and apps without having to log in again and again or endlessly wait for images and reviews to load. If your navigation process is simple enough for users to instantly find what they want - you’re bound to attract more loyal customers who return because of convenience.
In fact, it is safe to assume that if navigation isn’t this seamless in 2024, you’re probably losing out on a lot of potential revenue.
Personalization: Tailoring Experiences to Individual Preferences
My favourite moment is when a search engine or fashion website gets me. Not in the “do you want to see plus sized women” sort of way, but that feeling of “oh this is something I’d like to wear”. Remember when Net-a-Porter and the Outnet first hit our screens.
Everytime I logged on, I’d get a rush of excitement because I knew that even though there was so much going on (why so many sales for warehouse stock. ), they showed me what would work for me. This feels like a fancy, curated catalogue where everything is set up to suit your style. I’ve spoken with tons of brands and website managers who say they’re looking to create an experience for their shoppers that makes them feel comfortable, trusted and motivated to spend.
We all want this, whether it’s “buy now, pay later” or quick “add to cart” options - but nobody actually asks us what we want to see. The worst websites are those that constantly send out emails and reminders showing nothing you’d buy or even care for in the first place. Seems like a bit of waste if you ask me.
But if you really think about it, some brands do get it right. And customers stay for a long, long time. The way I see it, this is because some personalisation goes beyond the simple a/b split test method of showing you visuals for stuff they think you might like.
There’s data science here, among other things. If you care about your audience, understanding their needs should be at the top of your list. Creating experiences just for them should go beyond picking stock models that look somewhat like them or slotting in colour options in t-shirt visuals.
Responsive Design: Ensuring Accessibility Across Devices
We all know the feeling. Trying to browse or buy on a website that feels like it was made for another planet. Buttons so tiny only an ant could press them, links squashed together, menus that refuse to appear unless you hit exactly the right pixel.
There’s nothing like a badly designed online experience to make you close the tab and take your money elsewhere. Sort of. Ensuring buyers are having a good time when they’re using your site is almost as important as what you’re selling.
If not more so. Sort of. People aren’t always shopping on their laptops or tablets these days. Sometimes it’s a phone, sometimes it’s a watch, other times it could even be a voice command to something in their house.
It seems like that means you need to be accessible across devices, with a digital presence that’s flexible and easy to use no matter where your customer is coming from. It seems self explanatory but, it has to be said, accessibility and user experience need to be at the centre of any kind of online business plan in today’s world. Mobile traffic is nearly always said to have doubled every year since 2009, and in some countries actually makes up about three quarters of all internet usage overall. Your buyers are probably coming from mobile devices more often than not, so not catering to that is almost like actively making them hate you.
Things like mobile friendly images, buttons big enough to press with thumbs, easy navigation and quick loading times go a long way in terms of keeping your customers happy. I think accessibility shouldn’t be just about devices - it’s more than that. It needs to do what it can for people who might not have the same abilities or opportunities as everyone else, as well.
Meaning design features that cater to vision or hearing impairments, things that can pretty much make life easier for those with neurological difficulties or even just someone without regular access to a computer at home. This is probably an aspect of running a business or brand online that will only become more important with time. It matters now - maybe more than ever before.
Building Trust: Enhancing Security and Transparency
The way I see it, we all know the feeling of hovering over the checkout button, finger twitching, eyeing the total and those tiny lock icons, wondering if that new site is really as “secure” as it claims. I’ll admit, I’ve gone right back to Google and typed “is X legit” more times than I care to count. The truth is, for all our talk about trust online, most of us are pretty sceptical once real money’s at stake - and with good reason. Sort of.
So much rides on whether a business can give users enough confidence to spend. Security might seem technical, but it’s not just about encryption and little icons. If your users don’t feel like their details are safe or they sense any funny business with transparency, they’ll bounce without a second thought.
And no amount of flash will undo that first impression. Building trust starts with the basics: your checkout page needs clear security cues, privacy policies should be easy to read (not just a wall of text in legalese), and customers want to see payment methods they recognise. Transparency means being honest if something goes wrong - and it will, because nothing’s perfect.
Are you letting users know what’s happening. Are you upfront about where their data goes. It’s not only about ticking compliance boxes - people want plain language. They want updates if something feels off or slow.
This is typically where humans beat robots - a well-written update email does more for loyalty than any pop-up sale banner ever could. I think we sometimes forget how vulnerable shopping online makes people feel. They’re trusting us with their card numbers, home addresses, personal preferences - that’s big stuff. Sort of.
Trust isn’t won with clever marketing alone; it comes from reliability and openness day after day after day. That’s not always glamorous but it does keep shoppers coming back, even if you’re having an off week elsewhere in your business.
Gathering Feedback: Continuous Improvement Through User Insights
Imagine running a fashion business and being struck with a heavy blow from a potential buyer who didn’t like your design. The harsh truth is, no matter how amazing and creative you think your product is, there’s always something new to learn in this industry. The advantage is that feedback, whether positive or negative, can help shape your business for the better. What we have to realise, especially in the fashion industry, is that design trends change often, and it can be challenging to keep up with what’s new and innovative.
Sometimes we find ourselves holding onto creations we made years ago simply because they hold a special place in our hearts or cost us so much money to create. But if we’re going to sell more products, we need to focus on what customers want rather than what we think looks good. The way I see it, this is where asking for feedback comes into play. Sort of.
Try not to look at requesting feedback as opening yourself up to scrutiny - rather, see it as another step towards understanding your buyers and creating products people will love. When you ask for feedback, you build trust and foster strong relationships between yourself and your buyers. Plus, if you never ask for feedback in the first place, how can a bit you ever improve. Remember that gathering feedback isn’t just about asking for reviews on finished products; it also includes asking prospective buyers about their interests and needs during the design process.
This way, you’ll know exactly what buyers want in terms of fabrics, colour choices, and patterns so you know which elements to stick with in the future and which ones should be replaced or reimagined.