No nonprofit, college, or small business likes hearing that their website isn’t performing as it should. Or that their current website design is scaring away visitors.
The truth can hurt!
But hearing what visitors really think about your website can be a good thing. You can learn what features need improving, what people love (and loathe!) about your current design, and how to create better experiences for everyone visiting your site.
It’s a win-win for your organization and the people who engage with it online.
Here’s why user feedback is the best way to create a killer website.
Need help developing a plan to gather user feedback? Reach out to us today!
LET'S CHATWhat Is User Feedback?
User feedback is data from people who interact with your website. That feedback might be qualitative or quantitative. It reveals visitors’ likes, dislikes, and perceptions of your site.
Think of user feedback as a confessional where people tell the truth about your website. If people are critical, don’t worry. They just want to help you improve your site and make it a more user-friendly, accessible place on the internet.
There are various ways to conduct user feedback, including:
- Email surveys
- Focus groups
- Face-to-face interviews
- Surveys (the cheapest and fastest way to generate insights from your users)
Another method is affinity mapping, which helps you organize information about user feedback.
Why You Should Care About User Feedback
User feedback matters because you learn the good, bad, and ugly about your current website design!
You could hire a tester to check for website bugs, usability, security, and performance, but nobody knows your site better than the people who engage with it. These folks know what they like and want from your site — and you should listen to them! User feedback is the No.1 way to improve your site, helping you achieve your long-term strategic goals.
User feedback also tells visitors that you value their thoughts and opinions. That can improve loyalty to your organization and increase donations, sign-ups, and sales. Who doesn’t want that to happen?
What Happens After Collecting User Feedback?
After collecting user feedback, you will better understand what visitors expect from your website. You might discover that slow-loading page times cause visitors to leave your site, for example, or that visitors want more information about the products and services you offer.
At this point, you can make changes to your website so it performs better and satisfies the people who visit it. These changes might involve working with a custom web design specialist like Wire Media to improve accessibility, usability, and SEO.
Final Word
User feedback discovers the truth about your website from the people who know it best—your visitors! You can use user feedback methods like surveys and affinity mapping to learn the thoughts and opinions of website visitors and make changes to your existing design.
Further reading and resources: