Diagnosis: My website hurts

The website is the image that a company presents to the outside world. Because it is visually appealing, everyone from interns to managing directors can quickly recognise when something is wrong and point the finger at the problem. However, a superficial website ailment often hides a deeper problem that requires completely different measures. Our UX experts present the three most common symptoms and their optimal treatment for you.

Something about our design looks old-fashioned and the boss's haircut used to be more stylish. When discussions about a website refresh begin, the solution seems obvious: Photo shoots are organised, designers freshen up the colours and the look, a new slogan if the opportunity arises? However, saving outdated websites with a beauty makeover is like putting a plaster on a leprosy patient. You hide the misery, but you don't cure the disease.

Behind an old-fashioned web design is usually a brand message that is no longer up to date. The entire company's digital presence expresses the attitude of the old economy: Look what we have to offer. ‘We are a reliable company and you can buy high-quality products from us.’ However, if you only use your website to show off your products and talk about your company, you are missing out on the lifestyle of the digital age - and radiating your outdated attitude through every pixel.

Before you make cosmetic changes to a website, dive into the core of your company. Think about the feeling you want to convey to your customers. What differentiates you beyond quality and product? What emotional values can you use to score points with your target group? And what attitude do you want to radiate as a brand? Getting to this emotional core is often not easy for traditional B2B companies, as you have to break away from the usual clichés and discuss abstract feelings. However, if you do this preliminary work, you can transfer the findings to all aspects of the website: Shapes and colours that express innovation, text and tonality that get to the heart of a differentiating message and a company that moves into the future with an attractive vision. This may not cure leprosy, but it can certainly breathe new life into a calcified corporate culture.

Who hasn't experienced it: websites grow over the years and at some point even the administrator finds themselves in a thicket and no longer knows where the exit was. Especially companies that offer many products or have developed complex structures spend a lot of money at this point to improve the UX. It should be user-centred, simple and now with a checkout that can do everything. In no time at all, the project managers skip a crucial step and find themselves back in the deepest UX jungle. What happened?

As already mentioned, complexity in the UX often lies behind complexity in the basic structures of the company. Tariffs and pricing systems have grown historically, product categories exist ‘because that's the way it's always been’. Instead of streamlining these structures, companies are focussing on explaining more and more and, for the sake of completeness, offering more and more options and possibilities. You don't want to forget to mention something from the range.

Give yourself and your customers valuable time and tidy up. Not just superficially, but right down to the last junk drawer (yes, the one with the scissors, toothpicks and glue!). For a good UX, companies have to let go of ‘the way things have always been’ and forget everything they have learnt about their own internal structures. Really.

Sit down together with a blank sheet of paper and think about what your customers want to find on your website. Do they really need eight different tariffs to choose from - three would be easier, right? Make it as easy as possible for the customer because, just like your digital self, they have a maximum attention span of nine seconds. Only when you have reduced your offer to the absolute minimum, start with the UX.

Here we are dealing with a UX monster that comes across as an inconspicuous little pimple. A checkout that causes many users to bounce. A call-to-action button that is not clearly visible. Acute surface interventions then enjoy great popularity because the solution seems very simple. An intensive scrub here, a moisturising cream there, and the user slithers through the funnel much more smoothly again and happily slips into the shopping basket. Sometimes these selective interface corrections really do work - but if the blemishes start to pile up, you should see a doctor.

Many factors come together at one point to maximise the conversion of a website: Technical functionality is one of them. A clear, user-friendly design also makes a lot of sense. But much more decisive for returning users and large purchases is the ‘joy of use’ and whether a user feels exactly addressed by your general attitude and message. Companies often miss the opportunity to retain users throughout the entire customer journey by clinging to functionalities. The reason? Fixing functions is tangible, creating emotionality is abstract.

If you have the feeling that your website is falling short of its performance potential, technical checks and analytics will of course help you to recognise the weak points. However, to maximise your potential, you should also invest in the emotional brand concept: Which target group do you want to reach and how do you need to communicate to achieve this? What sets your brand apart from others and what unique message will attract your target group? All of this flows into the design of a maximally converting UX - in form, colour, feeling and user flow.

Many small problems can certainly be solved with interface corrections and a new photo shoot. But if you have permanent pain, you should always go to the doctor. Once an arm or leg has fallen off, it's usually too late - so take your website problems seriously and don't skimp on treatment.