UX Best Practice for Covid-19 Website Notifications
User Experience (UX) best practices that should be considered when implementing coronavirus notifications on your website.
Now more than ever it’s important to keep your customers updated about your operations. During COVID-19 it is to be expected that there will be changes to how your company operates and communicating these changes quickly and clearly to customers is essential.
Over the past few weeks, you will have noticed that more companies have updated their websites to include a coronavirus information banner or modal. This is a great way to keep your customers updated on your coronavirus measures & whether or not you’re still operating.
We’ve highlighted User Experience (UX) best practices that should be considered when implementing coronavirus notifications on your website.
Placement
The placement of your notice is crucial. Your notice should be above the fold, meaning users do not have to scroll to see it.
For The MAC Belfast, we implemented a persistent notification bar across the entire site. The notification is one of the first things the User will notice on the site and will be visible until they hit ‘dismiss’. We ensured the notification was visible but non-interfering when using the site.
Don’t just show your update on the homepage, as many of your Users will land on other pages when they visit your site. Setting your notification site-wide ensures it is visible to all.
Make sure you consider how your notification is displayed across all devices. It is possible that your website permission boxes could be conflicting with your new update notification.
Design
When a user lands on your website, you will want their attention to be drawn to the COVID-19 update. Select a colour that stands out from the rest of the homepage and try to avoid colours that indicate a warning such as red or black.
Airbnb has introduced a light grey notification strip across the top of their homepage.
Including a ‘Call to Action’ button within your notification allows Users to navigate easily to a dedicated page with further information. Ensure that the Call to Action button is descriptive such as ‘learn more’ or ‘find out more information’. Use encapsulation & colour contrast to make your CTA stand out & encourage engagement.
Asda has used green for their CTA button which stands out against the light background.
Content
Spend some time assessing what the most common questions and concerns that your customers are asking during the pandemic. For an e-commerce store, it’s most likely about queries around shipping times and returns.
Pretty Little Thing have used their banner to inform customers that their returns period has been extended & that they are still operating. Their landing page then provides more information on orders, deliveries & what measures they have in place to protect their workers.
Other companies may be experiencing a high volume of queries for their customer service team & will want to give customers an update on wait times or direct them to FAQs. TUI has used their coronavirus notification to let their customers know they are contacting everyone as quickly as possible with a CTA to find out the latest information.
This is a tough time for everyone and it is important to be empathetic in your approach. Try to avoid using buzz words and business jargon. Keep things simple and positive and focus on what customers can do, or what you can do for them.
Since Primark high street stores are closed and they do not have an online store, they are using their homepage to let customers know they are supporting frontline workers & patients by donating care packages. They’ve also included some tips to help you practice mindfulness at home.
We’ve put together some further examples of how companies are using website notifications to provide customers with vital information relating to their COVID-19 response.
For the foreseeable future when customers visit your website, they will be looking for an update about your operations. As these will most likely be changing over the coming weeks and months as the restrictions are gradually lifted, your customers will be seeking reassurance that you are still doing business and taking precautions to keep people safe as well as continuing to deliver exceptional customer service.
Need help informing your customers of the changes to your business on your website during these ever-changing times? Get in touch today.
