How to Improve an Existing Website User Experience in 2026

You already have a site: here's how to make it profitable

Rebuilding a site from scratch is expensive and scary. The good news: most sites that "don't work" don't need a full redesign. They need targeted user experience improvement. At Kolonell, we regularly achieve double-digit conversion gains without changing the graphic identity, simply by fixing the friction that drives visitors away.

This article presents our method, step by step, to audit an existing site and improve it with measurable results.

Step 1: measure before touching

You can't improve what you don't measure. Before any change, we establish a snapshot of the current state.

The figures to look at

• Bounce rate: how many leave without interacting?
• Pages per visit and session duration: are people exploring?
• Conversion rate: how many do the intended action (contact, purchase, booking)?
• Load speed: via PageSpeed Insights, on mobile.
• Real journeys: via a tool like Microsoft Clarity, which shows clicks and hesitations.

Without this baseline, you can't prove the gains. With it, every improvement becomes quantified proof.

Step 2: the friction audit

Friction is everything that slows or blocks the visitor between arrival and the desired action. We hunt it systematically.

The most common frictions

• A blurry page goal: the visitor doesn't know what to do.
• A form that is too long or intimidating.
• An invisible or badly placed action button.
• A confusing menu, labels in jargon.
• Excessive load time.
• Unreadable text: too small, poor contrast.
• The absence of a WhatsApp or phone alternative.

Every friction removed is one more visitor who goes all the way.

Step 3: speed, the number one lever

It's almost always the first big win. In West Africa, a slow site loses customers before it even displays.

High-impact actions

• Compress and convert images to WebP or AVIF.
• Enable lazy loading below the fold.
• Reduce the number of fonts and scripts.
• Cache and enable server compression.

Taking a page from 8 seconds to 2.5 seconds can on its own make conversions jump, because half the visitors who were leaving now stay.

Step 4: mobile experience first

Since more than 80% of traffic is mobile in Senegal, it's on the phone that the gains are most profitable.

• Check that buttons are big enough and well spaced.
• Make sure text is readable without zooming.
• Test every form on a real phone.
• Place a fixed WhatsApp button reachable by the thumb.
• Remove pop-ups that cover the screen on arrival.

Step 5: optimise calls to action

The CTA (call-to-action) is where intent becomes action. Often mistreated, it's a conversion goldmine.

CTA best practices

• One main CTA per page, repeated intelligently.
• A label that states the benefit: "Get my free quote" rather than "Send".
• An accent colour that stands out from the rest.
• A position visible on arrival and repeated at the bottom.
• Reduce fear: "no commitment", "reply within 24h" reassure.

Step 6: test, measure, repeat

UX is never finished. After each change, we compare the figures to the starting snapshot.

Useful tests

• A/B tests when traffic allows: compare two versions of a button or headline.
• User tests: watching five real people use the site reveals more than a thousand assumptions.
• Heatmaps: see where people click and where they stop.

Continuous improvement, in small measured iterations, always beats the risky big redesign.

Mini case study: an online shop in Dakar

A shop selling cosmetic products had a functional but unprofitable site: lots of visitors, few purchases. Rather than a redesign, we ran a targeted UX audit.

Diagnosis: slow product page (6.5 seconds on 3G), barely visible "Add to cart" button, five-step checkout, no highlighted mobile payment option. We compressed the images, made the buy button prominent, cut the checkout to two steps, and highlighted mobile money payment. In six weeks, the conversion rate went from 0.8% to 2.1%, more than double, without a single euro of extra advertising or any change to the visual identity.

Do / Don't

• Do: measure before and after each change.
• Do: start with speed and mobile.
• Don't: rebuild the whole site when targeted fixes are enough.
• Don't: change ten things at once without measuring.
• Don't: trust your taste over the data.

Tools we use

• Google Analytics and PageSpeed Insights for the figures.
• Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar for heatmaps and recordings.
• Lighthouse for technical diagnosis.
• Real Android phones to test real-world conditions.

FAQ

Do I need to rebuild my whole site to improve it?

Rarely. Most gains come from targeted fixes: speed, mobile, forms, CTAs. A full redesign is only justified if the technical base is obsolete.

How long until I see results?

The first speed gains are immediate. Conversion effects are observed within a few weeks, the time needed to gather reliable data.

How do I know what's holding my visitors back?

Install a tool like Microsoft Clarity to see real journeys and drop-off points. Heatmaps and recordings reveal frictions invisible in classic statistics.

Where should I start in priority?

With speed and mobile experience. These are the highest-impact levers in Africa, because they affect the majority of visitors within the first seconds.

Does better UX really increase sales?

Yes, and it's measurable. Reducing friction, speeding up the site and clarifying CTAs directly increase the conversion rate, often without spending a cent more on advertising.

Should I run A/B tests?

If your traffic allows, yes: they prove which version converts best. With low traffic, user tests and heatmaps are more useful.

Let's talk about your project. At Kolonell, we audit your existing site and improve it with measurable gains, without an unnecessary redesign. Message us on WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.