Have you ever had to exit a website because you found yourself too overwhelmed or frustrated? If you have, you are certainly not alone. As digital platforms become more rampant in Southeast Asia, users are getting pickier on the operation of a website. Be it shopping in Kuala Lumpur or planning a trip from Jakarta, if the User Experience (UX) design is poor then nothing will last long. The big question is: does your website un-intentionally turning customers away from you?
What Bad UX Design Sounds Like?
At the end of the day, UX Design is about making things intuitive for your users and creating an enjoyable experience on whatever site you are building. A terrible UX experience and your visitors will be frustrated and worst-case—on the way to your competition. Think about making an ordinary online buy, simply the site takes as long as you need to keep it together, or more lamentable — crashes midway. Would you stick around? Probably not.
Here are some of the most frequent bad UX design practices that e-commerce companies in Southeast Asia should steer clear of.
1. Annoying Pop-ups Everywhere
As we all know, the experience is incredibly frustrating — you try to read an article and pop-up ads are covering half of the screen. A specific regional demographic, say Southeast Asian users, are becoming more and more intolerant with these distractions. The last thing any of us want is to be spammed with ads straight away.
Pro-tip: Control Pop-Ups or Use a Time Conditional Plugin Instead Although, ensure you can always close them.
2. Slow Loading Pages
Southeast Asia is a mobile-first region! With the majority of users browsing on a phone, if your site is slow to load, they will hop out before you even realize. People have places to be and they are not going to wait for a page that take 10 minutes just to upload.
Pro-tip: Start with image compression and weed out unused code! But, try to use Google PageSpeed Insights as a tool to check where your site can be improved on the loading times.
3. Clumsy Navigation
Gone through a website where you could not find the thing you were looking for, even after struggling & clicking around for ages. Poor navigation especially for frustrated mobile users. Being unable to even locate the category they wanted may foil sale if a space somewhere were dedicated rather to Recreational Vehicles and Parts for Boats per say.
Pro-tip: Cleared and Easy Navigation. Have a maximum of three clicks for the users to get what they need
4. Not Optimized for Mobile
Mobile now accounts for more than 50% of all internet traffic within Southeast Asia. To not have a mobile-friendly site is to alienate a substantial portion of potential visitors from ever seeing any of your stunning images. Now, in this region, you can barely operate without a mobile-optimized website.
Pro-tip: Your site should be mobile responsive (should adjust to screen size) Use it in different devices to make sure it looks fine and works well.
5. Long, Complicated Forms
No one likes to fill out long forms and that is globally. In particular, the Southeast Asian market is huge on simplicity. Users may not complete a form if the form is too long/too complex.
Pro-tip: Make your forms brief and quick. Keep the request minimal and offer autocomplete where possible.
6. Uncertain Calls-to-Action (CTAs)
Your visitors should not be left to wonder about the next steps. Whether it be “Add to Cart” or “Subscribe to Newsletters,” having a visible and explicit call-to-action ensures that users can specifically navigate through the experience.
Pro-tip: employ forceful, actionable language such as “Buy Now” or “Sign Up,” and make your buttons prominently displayed on your landing page.
7. Auto-play videos or music
They just exist without any credit to where they came from, Picture this, you are quietly scrolling the website and sheesh!!! Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza music video starts playing automatically! Instant mood killer, right? I mean, nobody wants to be surprised when their phone blows up with audio or the same thing happens on their computer.
Pro-tip: Give users control. Give the audience an option to consume content, do not force them.
The Bottom Line
In the fast-changing world of digital in Southeast Asia, competition is fierce and a site’s UX design can be what makes customers or loses them. Avoiding these common pitfalls can help keep your users happier, more engaged and more likely to convert in the end.
If your website suffering from bad UX design and driving people away, just go simple, quick and user friendly and you will start to see more users in no time.
Register now and learn how you can improve your business today. Visit WipData Academy for more courses to upskill/reskill.