What is UX Design?

What is UX design?

UX stands for User Experience and refers to how people feel when interacting with a system, business or product. It can cover a wide range of experiences, from the service in a restaurant, right through to the packaging a product arrives in at your door. We’ll be looking more specifically at how design can affect user experiences on websites. UX designers in this field focus on the following criteria:

• The perceived value of the product or service

• How intuitive or easy to use the website is

• The functionality of the site, does it work?

• Is it visually appealing and a pleasant website to use?

• Is it accessible to people of all abilities?

After using a website, users will consider if their experience ticks all of these boxes and to what degree. This will determine how likely it is that they will become a regular user of that website.

Why is UX important?

Users need a website to be both enjoyable and easy to use to encourage them to return. If, for example, you have an e-commerce website selling products, the checkout process needs to be intuitive for all customers. If, at any stage, customers struggle to fill out their card details or can’t find information on delivery for example, then they can easily abandon the process and take their custom elsewhere. To get customers to this stage, you may have invested heavily in a great product or service, promoted the business through marketing and then directed them to the appropriate product that satisfies their needs. So to lose their custom at this stage is a huge loss when you consider all the time and investment made up to that point.

E-commerce

One of the most vital sectors in terms of UX design is when you are selling online. There are a wide range of systems and layout decisions to consider when designing an e-commerce website. Products not only need to be easily found and purchased, but there needs to be easy access to related products, delivery details and a smooth checkout process. An intuitive shopping flow can result in more impulse buys, less cart abandonment and a higher sale conversion overall. This flow begins with how easy your website is to find and runs right through to the final sale confirmation.

The brand and styling of the website is what you might consider the top layer. This informs users, encourages them to buy, and make them feel like they are in the right place to find products that fit with their taste, budget or needs. Prominent buttons or ‘calls to action’ need to be clear, distinct and use specific wording that makes sure users know where that button is taking them. Generic phrases like ‘Get Started’ can confuse users and make them hesitant to click through.

If you have a wide range of products, consider a search function. While some users like to browse products, it always makes for a good experience for users with limited time or who know exactly what they want to be able to go directly to the correct product. To enhance this, you can then add related or similar products. This may be a similar product, such as a rival mobile phone, or a practical purchase such as a charger to fit the product being viewed by the user.

The difference between UX and UI

UX and UI can often be confused and thought of as being the same thing. While both are important in website design, UI needs to be thought of as the visual surface layer, while UX is the functionality beneath it. UX design is largely created first, in a wireframe style, with no consideration on fonts or colours and grey boxes in place of imagery. This stage can be tested to ensure the site functions correctly, user goals are easy to accomplish, and processes are smooth to use. Once that is set, UI or User Interface design can begin. This is the visual layer set to the brand style and can include call to action button styles, animations, video, white space and typography.

Both are needed in combination for a good user experience. Humans are both rational and irrational and functionality alone is not enough to make a website enjoyable to use. Without the correct style and visuals, many users won’t even give the website a chance. While a beautiful website can frustrate users if difficult to use.

What to consider

While the UX for every website needs to be tailored to the functions of the site and the audience using it, there are some fundamental considerations that all designers need to be aware of.

The first thing that needs to be established, is who is using this website and how they use it. You can’t design a system that will please everybody. Age and how comfortable a user is with technology can make a huge difference. What might be intuitive to a 20 year old, might not be for a 70 year old. Is the text readable, are the buttons large enough or are all buttons clear and tempting enough to click. All of these decisions need to be considered throughout the design process.

Another important consideration is how the website is being consumed. The UX on a mobile phone is very different to a large screen. Anything from issues with drop down menus that don’t fit on a small mobile screen, right through to the placement of buttons within easy reach of thumbs, all need to be planned and tested.

What is the primary goal for users of your website? You need to consider why people are visiting the site and then ensure that the means to begin that process are prominent and the journey to achieve that goal is intuitive and as smooth as possible. Along the journey you can enhance the experience by making related products visible or ensuring delivery details are prominent for example.

Finally, UX is an ongoing process that works most effectively when feedback is taken on board and adjustments are made to the website. Feedback can be gained through direct communication with users, or by digging into the website analytics. If a high percentage of users are abandoning the checkout process at a certain point, then investigate why and tweak the system. If done well, the investment in this area should pay for itself.

Summary

An intuitive and enjoyable user experience, and the development of the navigation structure need to underpin the development of any new website. An effective website design should begin with a wireframe that only takes into consideration navigation and the usability of any process at the heart of a user goal. Once the structure is set then the user experience is developed with visuals. This second step is often referred to as UI or User Interface. The combination of both are what gives users a satisfied feeling when using your website. This then needs to be adjusted and developed in line with user feedback to ensure your website is performing at it’s most effective and maximising it’s benefits to your business.