Although they are often used synonymously with one another, UX and CRO are two different processes implemented by businesses. Both UX and CRO are employed with the goal of affecting customers’ behavior, but the way they operate is unique.
We’ll show you the differences between UX and CRO while also showing the ways they can optimize your leads online when working in tandem with each other.
What is UX (User Experience)?
User Experience (UX) is simply defined as the interaction between the individual user and the product. It’s how your customers feel on the website. Is the layout easy to follow? Are the fonts readable? If a customer clicks on a menu, is it clear what they will find?
Website developers use their insights into the user experience to create tests and see which outcomes work best. Then, they implement the solution.
What is CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization)?
Conversion Rate Optimization is related to UX, but it is designed to study the behavior of customers on the website. The process of CRO typically manifests in the form of tests; experts hypothesize which elements of the site represent friction points and design tests to determine the best solution to get a customer to complete a specific action.
An example is when customers begin abandoning a sale at the final step when they’re required to sign up for the site to complete the purchase. The CRO team would then find out whether people didn’t want to make the purchase or didn’t want to sign up for the website.
By changing the placement of the signup sheet to the beginning of the process or allowing for guest sales, the conversion rate on that desired behavior, sales, would increase.
1. Engaging Your Customer Base
A primary benefit of implementing UX and CRO in your business is that you can effectively engage your customer base. You can learn about their specific behaviors as customers on your website and find new ways to get them to act in ways that are beneficial to your business.
2. UX Findings Can Help Eliminate Conjecture
Why are customers abandoning items in their cart and leaving the site? On which side of the website should you place your menus and important text? Findings from UX tests can help you eliminate the guesswork and focus on solutions.
3. UX and CRO Help You Understand the User Journey
The combination of implementing UX and CRO processes in your workplace can grant you incredible insight into the customer’s journey starting the moment they click on your page.
You can discover what your customers are hoping to find when they click on your site and see where they encounter pain points and friction that could make them give up and leave the site.
Understanding the user journey is the first step to making a better, more streamlined site.
4. More Tools Leads to Better Understanding
Using tools like heat maps, A/B testing, and visitor recordings, you can see how your customers interact with your site, identify previously unknown friction points, and see which parts of the site are working well. A variety of interesting tools have emerged for UX and CRO analysis in recent years.
5. UX Helps with Multi-Platform Website Designs
Businesses can no longer develop websites only for desktop users. Far more people are using mobile devices these days, so business sites must emphasize a multi-platform approach.
Proper UX design and testing lead to websites that work equally well on desktop and mobile devices. Optimizing such a website using CRO best practices will ultimately lead to a high-functioning site that is accessible from any device.
Implementing UX and CRO processes on your business website can require a high degree of expertise. After all, small changes that you might never think of on your own can have a vast impact on conversion rates and bounce rates on your site.
If you’re thinking about updating your marketing approach to take your business to the next level, then it’s time to call in the pros. WheelHouse Web can help you in areas of web design, SEO, and social media outreach.
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