In web design terminology, friction is anything which stops a user from completing an action, or which slows down their browsing unnecessarily. Think of it as a speed hump, traffic jam or pothole. It’s not something a web user wants to come across.
Defining what comprises friction on your website, though, can be difficult. What’s a feature and what’s friction? Largely, you’ll need to think like one of your potential customers as opposed to the owner of your business. Largely speaking, friction can be narrowed down to cluttered or distracting visual aspects, new or confusing functions, unnecessary actions or decisions and interface inconsistencies.
This might sound confusing if you’re not technically minded, but its importance cannot be overstated. In short, you’re looking to reduce distractions and the number of steps a user needs to take to complete an action. It’s all about making life simpler and less confusing.
The online world is changing drastically and what used to work for websites won’t necessarily work any longer. If you’re not getting the business through your website that you’d like, it’s entirely possible that there’s friction on your website which is stopping potential customers from buying from you or getting in touch with you.
Consistency and style are becoming more and more important all the time, and these are things that many website owners tend to neglect, instead believing that users want to see all the information at once or that they actually care about the history behind your company. Most of the time, users want to see that the company understands their needs and requirements and is easy to get in touch with.
Understanding and eliminating friction on your website can be very difficult, but we’re here to help. Removing friction will help to motivate your users and increase the business your website will bring in, so its importance cannot be overstated. If you think friction might be holding your website back, get in touch and we’ll see what we can do.
