Mastering User-Centric Website Design: 7 Effective Tips + 7 Great Examples

A user-centric website design doesn’t just look appealing. It provides users a seamless and enjoyable experience, effortlessly guiding them towards their goals. This is the essence of user-centric website design.

In this article, we’ll explore some user experience best practices and UX design tips for creating a website that truly connects with your audience.

1. Speak Your Audience’s Language

Your first step towards user-centric website design is understanding your target audience. 

Ask yourself the following questions:

Who are they? What are their needs, goals, and pain points? What kind of language do they use? What information do they search for? 

Without this knowledge, your website may not resonate with the people you’re trying to reach.

When you understand your audience, you can design a website that addresses their needs. Such a website will offer a more engaging experience, encourage visitors to explore your site, and, ultimately, convert into paying customers or subscribers.

Here’s what you should do to familiarize yourself with the needs of your potential customers:

• Conduct user research. Use surveys, interviews, and focus groups to learn about your audience’s demographics, behaviors, and preferences.
• Create user personas. Develop fictional representations of your ideal users to help you visualize and understand your target audience.
• Keep an eye on website analytics. Use tools like Google Analytics to track your site’s user behavior and identify areas for improvement.
• Tailor your content. Use language that resonates with your target audience and focus on the benefits of your products or services. The trick is to avoid using incomprehensible industry lingo and make it easier for your audience to understand what you’re talking about.
• Use visuals. Incorporate images, videos, and infographics to break up text and enhance engagement. Not all website visitors like reading, so make things easier on their eyes. 

Example

BloggerJet, a project by the Ahrefs marketing team, is a great example of how to design a website and create content that speaks directly to its target audience — SEO professionals and digital marketers. In addition to offering unbiased reviews of marketing tools, in-depth SEO studies, and clear and concise guidance on various digital marketing practices, the website showcases how the team practices the principles it discusses.

Source: BloggerJet 

2. Clear the Clutter: Embrace White Space

A cluttered website can be overwhelming and hard to navigate. White or negative space helps create a clean and visually appealing design.

By breaking up dense blocks of text and giving visitors visual breathing room, white space improves readability.

It also eliminates distractions, thus helping you highlight key elements on your website, such as calls to action and important information.

Here are some UX design tips to make the most of negative space: 

• Analyze your current design. Are your pages overcrowded with text and images? Identify areas where you can introduce more negative space.
• Increase margins and padding. Add more space around headings, paragraphs, images, and buttons.
• Use a grid system. A grid system can help you create a structured layout with consistent spacing.

Example

Classical Guitar Shed understands the power of visual serenity. Instead of flooding visitors with tons of information, they create a calming atmosphere with ample white space, clear headings, and a minimalist design. This allows visitors to focus on the essential elements: the inviting headline, the prominent call to action, and the captivating image of a classical guitar. 

Thanks to this, Classical Guitar Shed creates a visually appealing website conducive to learning and exploration. Visitors can easily navigate the site, absorb the information, and start their classical guitar journey with a sense of focus and tranquility.

Source: Classical Guitar Shed

3. Navigation That Feels Like Second Nature

Every user-friendly and high-converting website is intuitive and easy to use. Visitors should be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and without frustration.  

A clear navigation system can encourage users to explore different sections of your website and reduce the chance of them leaving prematurely. 

It also contributes to a positive user experience by making visitors feel comfortable and confident as they navigate your site. They should always know where they are and how to go back to the homepage without clicking back and forth.

Here are some user experience best practices to help you achieve this:

• Plan your site structure. Organize your content logically into categories and subcategories.
• Use clear and concise labels. Menu labels should be descriptive and easy to understand. You don’t want visitors to play a guessing game.
• Keep it consistent. Use the same navigation structure throughout your website.
• Implement a search bar. A search bar allows users to find specific information quickly, which can significantly speed up their customer journey and improve their overall experience with your brand.

Example

SoftwareHow provides various free software tools, and their website navigation makes it incredibly easy for users to find what they need. The main menu categorizes the tools into “Mac Apps,” “Chrome Extensions,” and “Online Tools,” allowing users to navigate to the relevant section quickly. Within each category, the tools are presented in a visually appealing and organized way, with clear descriptions and prominent download buttons. This straightforward and user-friendly approach ensures visitors can easily explore the different software and access the necessary tools without any confusion or frustration. 

Source: SoftwareHow

4. Mobile-First Is No Longer Optional

As over 60% of internet traffic now comes from mobile devices, user-centric website design entails optimizing for mobile. Your website should be displayed properly on different screen sizes and load quickly on mobile devices.

A poor mobile experience can lead to frustration and lost visitors. Fat-finger errors, for example, can be pretty annoying. 

Google also prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in its search results, so neglecting mobile optimization can harm your website’s visibility.

Here’s what you should pay attention to:

• Use responsive design. Ensure your website adapts to different screen sizes. Don’t force your visitors to pinch, zoom, or type in tiny search boxes.
• Optimize images. Compress images to improve loading times on mobile devices. Not everyone has the same bandwidth, and images can significantly slow down loading speed.
• Simplify navigation. Use a mobile-friendly menu, such as a hamburger menu.
• Test on different devices. Regularly test your website on smartphones and tablets to ensure a consistent experience.

Example

Rosie’s responsive design adapts seamlessly to mobile devices. Its mobile site features a streamlined layout, clear calls to action, and easy-to-tap buttons. So, when visitors land on the site, they can scroll and perform a search quickly and easily. Prioritizing mobile user experience makes the brand’s website accessible to anyone, and this kind of optimization contributes to better search rankings and increased visibility. 

Source: HeyRosie

5. Visual Hierarchy: Guiding the Eye

Visual hierarchy uses design elements to guide the user’s eye and prioritize information. It helps users understand the structure and importance of content on a page.

By strategically using headings, font sizes, and color contrast, you can draw users’ attention to key elements and guide them through your website logically and engagingly.

Here’s how: 

• Use headings and subheadings. Organize your content with a clear heading structure (H1, H2, etc.), making it easier for visitors and search engine bots to access and make sense of it.
• Vary font sizes and weights. Use larger and bolder fonts to emphasize important information and help your audience quickly scan your content and find what they want.
• Utilize color and contrast. Contrasting colors will help you highlight key elements and calls to action.
• Create visual breaks. Use images, videos, and white space to break up large blocks of text. We’ve already mentioned that walls of text are a big no-no for readability and overall user experience, so remember to diversify your approach. 

Example

Stripe’s homepage is a great example of visual hierarchy. The brand leverages headings, subheadings, and concise paragraphs to make complex topics digestible. Website visitors can easily follow the flow of information, understand the key features and benefits, and ultimately decide if Stripe is the right solution for them. 

Source: Stripe

6. Social Proof Builds Trust

Social proof, such as customer testimonials, reviews, and social media mentions, can help you build credibility and demonstrate the value of your products or services.

When potential customers see positive feedback from others, they are more likely to trust your brand and engage with your business. This applies even more to online businesses since potential customers can’t visit their physical locations to check out the products.  

Therefore, social proof is the next best thing to help alleviate doubts and build confidence in your products or services.

How to include social proof in your website design: 

• Collect testimonials. Reach out to happy customers and ask them to share their experiences.
• Encourage reviews. Make it easy for customers to leave reviews on your website or third-party platforms.
• Showcase social media mentions. Feature positive comments and reviews from social media.
• Use trust badges. Display security badges and certifications to reassure users that their information, such as credit card numbers and personal details, is safe. 

Examples

Chisos doesn’t simply claim their boots are comfortable — they let their customers discuss it. Their website features a dedicated section overflowing with enthusiastic customer reviews, painting a vivid picture of the Chisos experience. Customers describe slipping on their new Chisos boots and feeling “walking on clouds” or dancing all night without a hint of discomfort. To demonstrate their commitment to quality and transparency, they even provide videos where their boots are “Sawed in Half,” revealing the meticulous craftsmanship and durable construction that goes into each pair.

Source: Chisos

Somewhere understands the importance of social proof, which is why their homepage features a section with customer quotes right below the fold. This way, website visitors can see what others think about their hiring service. Besides this instant social proof, an entire web page is dedicated to customer success stories. Doing so allows prospects to understand better the benefits of working with Somewhere and what kind of challenges they could solve by partnering with the company. So, instead of focusing on promotional messaging, the brand embraces the customer-centric approach and insists on showcasing real-world results.    

Source: Somewhere

7. A Call to Action That Can’t Be Missed

A call to action (CTA) guides users to take a specific, desired action on your website, which is converting. Examples include purchasing, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting you for more information.

Clear and compelling CTAs can significantly increase your conversion rates. They help users understand what they can do on your website and how to achieve their goals.

Here’s how to create a strong CTA:

• Use clear and concise language. Tell users exactly what you want them to do, such as “Get Started,” “Learn More,” “Subscribe,” or “Shop Now.”
• Make your CTAs visually prominent. Use contrasting colors, larger font sizes, or button styles to make your CTAs stand out from the background and other website elements. 
• Place CTAs strategically. Position your CTAs where users are most likely to see them, such as above the fold or at the end of a page. Also, use the exact CTA several times throughout your webpage so readers can see it while scrolling. 
• Test different CTAs. Experiment with different wording, colors, and placements to see what works best for your audience.

Example

Biteable checks all the boxes with their website CTAs. They use different CTAs for every service page, and each is intuitive so that potential customers know what exactly will happen if they click on it. The “Make an announcement video” is unambiguous and leaves no doubt about the outcome. It’s highly visible and perfectly aligned with user intent since someone visiting a page about announcement videos most likely wants to create one.   

Source: Biteable

Final Thoughts

If you want users to stay on your website longer and learn more about your products or services, you need to create a compelling and engaging user experience. To achieve this, you should shift the focus to users, their needs and desires, and design your website with them in mind. Following these user-centric website design tips will help you create a site that will attract and keep your audience’s attention long enough.