Conversational design for websites

Conversational design is something that can make a big difference to your website, and the online success of your company overall. But what is this? And how can this be used effectively for your business website? Well, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design professionals. From Wigan to Southport, we work with companies across Manchester and the surrounding region to deliver high quality web design solutions that really get results. As a result, we have produced this guide to everything you should know about conversational design and your business website.

What is conversational design?

So, first of all, what exactly is conversational design? Well, conversational design is design that is based on conversation. Finding out the needs and requirements of the user, and then providing content to meet these needs. From Alexa and Google Assistant, to chatbots on social media, and your website, an increasing number of people are opting to directly ask questions of technology, and expect a response.

Conversational design and your business website

Conversational design can be applied to any business website, by simply pre-empting user requirements or questions, and answering them effectively. Or in some cases, using user inputs to determine the right outcome for each user. This is part of providing a positive user experience, but it can go further.

Including conversational design as part of your web design

Conversational design can be used as part of your web design in a number of different ways, including:

  • Anticipating user questions- its an important part of every website to try and provide the content and information that users will require. With conversational design, this means trying to understand questions, how they can be asked, and what they really mean. Applying this to your business website means focusing on your key word research, and building your website around your content.
  • Accepting user input-  conversational design begins with the user input. And your website doesn’t just have to passively provide information, without any room for user input. From simple search bars, filtering tools, and even with recommended products, the user can have control over what they see on screen. Applying this to landing pages will be difficult for some industry areas, but not impossible. Chatbots are a start, but this is simply something that needs more exploration.
  • Understanding user intent- when people ask Alexa a question, they might all use a slightly different combination of words, that mean the same thing. The ability to decipher intent from the speech is what makes conversational design so effective. This can be applied to web design, as you will need to establish what the intent of your user is, not just when they land on your website, but when other things happen to. This includes considering why your users might have abandoned their shopping cart, or left your website after just 2 seconds, or why they clicked on checkout 5 times. Once you understand the intent, you can design more efficient strategies to meet their needs.

For more information or for professional web design support, contact the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester.