UX (user experience) is extremely important for attracting new customers, but also servicing current customers. In website design, it can get overlooked for having a flashy background video or pretty pictures. At the end of the day, can the user easily find what they are looking for and get the information they want?

Websites which have great user experience, contain great examples of how to properly create websites around having a positive user experience. Below are 5 website which knock it out of the park.

1) Barkbox.com

BarkBox does an incredible job of guiding a user through their purchasing decision. Its primary menu is very simple, yet contains the things a customer might want to know. The top left, and the first link which the human eyes will look at (for those who read left to right) is ‘What is BarkBox?’ They’ve broken down how their service works in three very easy-to-understand steps. Additionally, the site does a great job when you’re looking for a bit more info. Perhaps your dog has a food allergy and you want to ask them if they can work around that. Perhaps you want to see some examples of what’s in the box. It’s all there.

2) Amazon.com

The king of functionality is Amazon. It’s hard to guide users to the right product when your site is filled with millions of products, but they seem to do it. While their budget is exponentially larger, there can be some great things to try and incorporate. Mainly, how easy it is to search for products and how well the search turns up products you are looking for. And the search isn’t hidden or small—it is a primary feature. I’ve noticed on quite a few eCommerce sites how broken the search functionality can be so it is nice to see when it works well. While I think Amazon is the king of functionality, I do have some qualms. The site is so busy and there’s so much thrown at you. Also, for its mission to be the most customer-centric company in the world, they make it rather hard to contact them. Lately, I feel Amazon has actually gotten worse in this regard.

3) SquareUp.com

I find that financial institutions usually don’t have good UX. Square is a great example of the process done right. Their site is easy to navigate and includes all of the information, especially the most important information merchants care about—how much they charge per transaction. The signup process is easy and the back-end of their site for vendors is robust.

4) Dndbeyond.com

Yes, yes. This site is for nerds only. Me being one of them. But outside of the geekiness factor, the site does a fantastic job of breaking down tons and tons of information across many thick books into an easy-to-find manner. Their search on their site is great, and the navigation breaks things down nicely. They do use a ladder menu, which I’m not a big fan of, but the menu is thick enough where frustration from dropping off the menu doesn’t happen that much. A common theme for really good UX is great search + well designed navigation. D&D Beyond is no different.

5) Etsy.com

Etsy (a wonky name to say the least) is a great eCommerce marketplace. I think they do a much, much better job than Amazon in many regards. The seller profile/stores are so much better than Amazon’s version of them, and I never feel overwhelmed by the amount of junk thrown at me. The product pages are cleaner, and I feel the user experience is much warmer at Etsy. I think that they nail their target and their product pages should be inspiration for quality UX design.

These are only 5 examples of sites with great UX. Beyond the design, there are many other considerations when creating a great user experience. If the site has easy-to-access contact info, but customers end up on hold or not connecting to someone who can help them—it negates the design of a great website. Thinking user experience first helps decipher all of the choke points a customer might have, and areas where your business can improve. Websites represent a large digital footprint for a user’s experience and should be a focal point of any design.