The usability of a webshop can be analysed with ease and can be optimised more than any sales channels.
Constant optimisation, enhancement of the user experience and conversion are parts of the lifecycle of a website of high business value. This is especially true in the case of e-commerce platforms, for which the optimisation of ergonomy and content result in quick improvement of generating revenue.
We leave our digital imprints with every single download, click and purchase, providing data that can be carefully analysed. Examining user behaviour and utilising its results help to identify touchpoints, especially the ones that customers might come along as an obstacle during their journey: getting stuck, losing interest or deciding to stop completely. This process also helps to understand what improvements can be made with ergonomic or functional changes, that will then boost income. See below what our UX (user experience) audit covers:
The first step of the audit is a process called heatmapping with which we examine customer behaviour (movement, scrolls, clicks). This gives insight to how customers navigate on the website, pinpointing what functionalities they have trouble using and what are the touchpoints where they might finish their journey.
This part of the audit relies on Google Analytics, screening the performance of global tendencies and helping to understand customer behaviour. For certain pages heatmapping results can be compared to the results of traffic analysis, shedding light to the quality indicators of layouts.
Carried out by our QA team, we perform thorough testing. We scan the pages and trial purchases looking for potential errors, anomalies that might have negative effect on conversion and areas that might need improvements. Results and key learning are then built in to the overall analysis of different types of pages.
Site speed affects user experience and conversion, while search optimisation influences the profitability of webshops. With this in mind, we carry out a technical screening of the most important performance and SEO indicators, even though this would normally not be part of a UX audit.
Based on the complexity and the number of pages examined, we create a document between 30 to 60 pages in length that details key learnings from layout to layout, errors and potential ergonomic opportunities. The report offers exact solutions or functional suggestion based on issues discovered, and analyses the performance of the webshop. As an additional feature the report also includes the SEO imprint of the site. The UX audit outlines specific tasks that can be performed by any design and developer teams. We are happy to present our findings in person and we are also happy create a UX backlog to help optimising conversion.
As a first step we interview the key stakeholders being involved with the operation of the webshop, focusing on business needs and competitors. In the meantime, we apply and install analytic software to the site (adding a tracking code for Hotjar heatmapping, setting parameters for the Hotjar account, checking for the settings of Google Analytics and customising result-oriented conversion goals).
The length of data collection is based on the traffic of the website. While trend analysis requires long-term periods, heatmapping can provide results in a matter of days or a week’s time depending on the amount of relevant visitors to the site. After adding the tracking codes, we’d recommend accounting for 1 to 2 weeks for results.
While we gather data, our QA team performs the functional testing of the site. By the time the heatmapping results are in, we will be aware of potential anomalies that might affect results. Functionality testing is not only about searching for errors. It also incorporates the empirical examination of user experience so already at this point we will be able to suggest changes and enhancements.
Following the data collection period, we delegate 3 members of the OANDER team to every task: a UX designer, a traffic analysis specialist and an SEO specialist. This way we ensure that the report concludes both data-driven analytics and creative design insights. Creating the report usually takes a week, based on the number page types screened.
The report is shared with the client’s key stakeholders who are involved in the day-to-day management of the webshop. The key learnings and the suggestions are then presented in person as well. On demand we also offer support setting up action plans and specifications, with UX /UI design as well as web development given that the webshop in question runs on a technology that is covered by our portfolio.
Our practice is one of the UX/UI studios in the market with the biggest capacity and with over a decade’s experience behind us. We provide support to clients ranging from medium-sized enterprises to businesses on a corporate level. We believe that we can efficiently help webshops to achieve better results.
