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On average, users 5.59 seconds Look at the written content on their website. I don’t know about you, but it seems like they don’t spend enough time capturing the user’s interest, let alone conveying the information they want to share and what they want to find.
However, if you follow best practices, you don’t need to bombard users with too much information when they land on your homepage. You might have a ton of great information about your business, but putting it right in front of users when they land on your site can be counterproductive and overwhelm them, causing them to leave your site.
So what’s the alternative? Carefully crafted messaging and content aligned with customer behavior, revealed through a slow, strategic drip-feed called staged disclosure.
Related: Online customer experience isn’t just a buzzword, it’s the foundation of your business. Here’s how to optimize it.
But what is progressive disclosure?
Progressive Disclosure It’s about strategically exposing the information users want or need at the exact moment they want or need it (rather than giving it to them up front). It’s essentially a strategic approach to planning and publishing content throughout the customer journey to maximize engagement and move customers down the conversion funnel.
Here’s an example: For a product-centric website, navigation should lead users through a seamless navigation. If navigation is strategically designed to align with the customer flow, each click becomes a point on the path of progressive disclosure. As users move through your site, they slowly but surely learn about your products or services and find the information they need. This is exactly why websites use and integrate with a well-thought-out navigation system based on logic. Information Architecture It gives an overview of the content and where it will be located on the site.
Why is progressive disclosure so powerful?
The short answer is that the process is customer-centric – it focuses on what the customer wants to achieve, not what the business owner wants to share.
In addition, progressive disclosure ensures that:
- Reduce frictionInformation overload leads to confusion and decision paralysis. By presenting users with information that is relevant to their immediate need, you remove unnecessary obstacles and guide them seamlessly to their goal.
- Increase engagement: Having something to discover sparks curiosity, and when users discover new features, it piques their interest, leading them to explore further and become more involved with your product.
- Build trust: When users feel guided rather than overwhelmed, trust develops. Progressive disclosure respects the user’s time and attention and fosters a positive relationship between the user and the product.
Related: 7 Ecommerce Customer Experience Strategies for Effective Branding in 2024
Do you want to redesign your website to suit your customers?
If you want to rework your website or tailor your content to your customers, here are some considerations to help you ensure you apply the principles of progressive disclosure:
- Map your customer journey. Understand the different stages your users go through, from awareness to consideration to purchase and beyond. Identify their needs and pain points at each stage.
- Information takes precedence. Categorize features and information based on their importance and relevance at each stage of the journey, emphasizing core functionality first and exposing advanced features later.
- Embrace microlearning. It breaks down information into easy-to-understand chunks and delivers it through tutorials, tooltips, and interactive prompts, making learning easier and avoiding cognitive load.
- Use visual cues. Use clear design elements like hierarchy, icons, and animations to direct the user’s attention and highlight important information.
- Collect feedback. Continually analyze user behavior on your site and gather feedback to understand what resonates. Use this data to identify areas for improvement and implement worthwhile changes.
- Communicate using multiple touchpoints. This strategy can be applied to websites, but it applies to all digital communication channels: Most people who visit your website have a specific reason or are researching facts, so consider using other digital channels like SMS or digital cards to communicate more important (or urgent) messages in real time.
Applying progressive disclosure isn’t just about hiding information, it’s about creating a compelling narrative that unfolds as users interact with your brand. Applying this approach fosters trust, increases engagement, and ultimately creates satisfied customers.
Remember, we’re not just selling a product or service, we’re taking our users on a journey, and every step of that journey counts. By exposing the right information at the right time, we transform our users’ experience from overwhelming to empowering, paving the way for sustainable success.