When it comes to website design, setting measurable goals is crucial to determine whether your investment is worthwhile. Digital analytics skills can be incredibly helpful in this regard as they allow you to collect, measure, analyze, and report on data from any digital channel.
The specific actions that can be measured on a website, such as completing a contact form, subscribing to a newsletter, or making a purchase, are called conversions. These conversions serve as a benchmark for how successful your website is. By tracking these actions, you can assess the effectiveness of your website and make improvements as needed.
Menus are essential design components that impact website conversions by helping users access different parts of a website and maintain website accessibility. A well-designed menu should be easy to use, intuitive, and visually appealing. Quick menus provide shortcuts to essential sections or pages of a website, allowing users to navigate more efficiently. By creating a clear and user-friendly menu design with effective quick menu actions, visitors are more likely to stay on the website, explore different sections, and ultimately convert.
Our research from one of our clients in the telecom industry found an 86% increase in conversions for highlighted products with the incorporation of quick menus. This implies that quick menus can be a solution or hack to solve usability issues on a website and promote specific conversions on the website.
Furthermore, we conducted follow-up qualitative studies to determine the best implementation approach for the quick menu. Our research began with the hypothesis that “users prefer designs with highlighted menus because they are more efficient at achieving their goals on the website.” In order to test this hypothesis, we created two high-fidelity wireframe designs—one without a quick menu (before iteration) and one with quick menu (after iteration). Participants were then asked to compare the two menu designs and choose their preferred options with reasons.
Surprisingly, all participants who took part in the study chose a design that did not have a quick menu. Their reasons for not choosing the quick menu design were varied, including concerns about the abundance of choices, confusion, and feeling limited in their ability to explore the website. This highlights the importance of careful consideration when implementing a quick menu, and the need to balance the potential benefits with potential drawbacks.
Designers should consider the user’s mental model, goals, and the context of the website when deciding whether to include a quick menu. As one of our sources, EF, aptly put it, “The menu is within reach of the thumb. It’s like they asked to buy the products three times and download the app once.” This highlights the importance of placing the quick menu where it is easily accessible to users, enabling effortless actions and increasing the likelihood of conversions.
However, designers must also address the user’s need for clarity and understanding, as expressed by another one of our sources, GM. They stated, “When I visit a new website, I want to know what they offer first. I need to understand how they ‘sell’ their products before I feel confident in making a choice.” This reminds us that overwhelming users with numerous choices without providing sufficient information can hinder decision-making.
Additionally, it’s important to gather feedback and user insights to improve the design and ensure the best possible user experience. By doing so, designers can create a quick menu design that not only increases conversions but also enhances the overall user experience.
To avoid the risk of quick menu backfiring, there are two rules of thumb to follow. First, make sure that the quick menu design options are relevant to users and help them get closer to their goals. Second, make sure that the options in the quick menu design do not repeat with calls to action (CTAs) that are located close to the quick menu.
The quick menu design must fit the user’s mental model
First of all, when designing a website, it’s important to understand what mental models are and why they matter to users. Mental models are the way people understand how things work and how they’re structured. In the context of a website, mental models help users understand the structure of the site and how to achieve their goals. If a quick menu is not aligned with users’ mental models, it can create confusion and frustration.
For example, let’s consider a clothing website. Based on the data we have, users tend to search for items based on the clothing type rather than the brand. Therefore, organizing the quick menu by brand may not be the most effective approach since it may not be relevant to users in finding what they are looking for. This can cause frustration and lead to a quick exit from the site. On the other hand, organizing the quick menu design by clothing type would likely be more relevant to the target market, aligning with their mental model and ultimately leading to a better user experience.
To ensure that a quick menu design is effective, it’s important to research and understand users’ mental models. This can be done through user testing and analysis of user behavior on the site. By aligning the quick menu with users’ mental models, it can become a valuable tool that promotes usability and conversions on the website. In addition, incorporating microcopy UX writing can significantly contribute to enhancing the user experience of the quick menu.
Quick menu actions should not be adjacent to similar CTAs design
The main problem that can arise with similar measures is confusion about which one to choose. This can make the user experience a paradox of choice, which is compounded by Hick’s Law. Hick’s Law suggests that multiple choices actually require more effort to choose, and the more choices a person is presented with, the longer it will take for them to make a decision.
This can make us feel dissatisfied with our choices, and even worse, it can lead to users not opting in at all and getting bounced off the website. Therefore, it’s important for designers to consider the number of choices they present to users, and use strategies such as visual hierarchy and default options to help streamline the decision-making process and reduce the impact of Hick’s Law.
For example, imagine a web page with several “Buy Now” CTAs spaced close to each other. Even with the same label, the placement, color, and other design elements also carry a cognitive load from the user. As a result, users can find it difficult and confusing to choose.
In the end, all UX solutions come down to the goals to be achieved and the characteristics and needs of your target market. It’s important to continuously adapt to the changing needs and preferences of your users, and this requires ongoing research and analysis using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
By regularly gathering feedback and insights from your users, you can ensure that your quick menu design and other CTAs design elements are optimized for maximum effectiveness and user satisfaction.
If you don’t know where to start, why not reach us out? We will help you to identify areas for improvement and implement effective solutions for your UX strategy. Contact us for more information.