Mega-conglomerates have all the resources to launch all kinds of media and marketing campaigns to push their brands and their products. They probably have teams of highly paid website designers from their offices in San Francisco, Las Vegas, or New York.
But more than 30 million small businesses are also powering the USA economy. Are they able to compete with the multi-billion-dollar companies? It seems that they can, as 2018 data suggests that small businesses account for 54% of all US sales. Small companies rely on aggressive digital marketing strategies, primarily through a well-constructed website for their success.
One of the primary considerations companies look into when developing this digital platform is what is called UI/UX or User Interface/User Experience. If you’re starting a new business and about to create your online presence, this discussion on UI/UX is a useful guide on developing your strategy.
What is UI/UX?
When customers visit your homepage to check out your products and services, don’t take them on a complicated ride by letting them click two or three buttons before they find the answer that they’re looking for. Make the user experience seamless and pleasant by designing your web pages using interfaces that are easy to understand.
A UI/UX designer ensures that a customer’s interaction (the experience) with a product or a service is positive rather than frustrating or annoying, regardless if the customer is tech-savvy or technologically-challenged. In other words, the UI/UX focuses on creating a pleasant and positive experience with a product or service across a wide range of customers.
Enhancing Your Web’s UI/UX
When a customer visits your web pages, they click on links, read your content, and explore images. This process of communication and interaction is your visitor’s experience. Here are a few ideas to consider about creating an excellent UI/UX for your customers.
- Your users are king. You are designing and creating the experience for them, so you need to know who your customers are down to the smallest details. Do single mothers visit your webpages a lot? What sort of services do males, in their 30s, and earning more than $75,000 per year are looking for? The experience you need to create must shift from “what they want” to “what they need.” Get their feedback from customers. You can automate this using customer review forms or by making actual calls.
- Direct and Indirect Interaction. Tinder users will either swipe right or swipe left. That’s direct interaction and quite a decisive yet straightforward user experience. Using your mouse and completing a form are examples of indirect communication. These are the two uses when you’re designing webpages and apps on mobile devices. In Tinder, you are directly interacting with interfaces used for the product, in this case finding a date match, which is the product itself. If you’re buying an insurance policy online, you might fill in an online form, which is not the product. Keep these distinctions in mind when designing your UI/UX.
- Testing. Apart from the QA testing integral to the web development process, do a quick round of tests by asking family and friends to test your design. Tell them to give their feedback or ask questions as they touch or point and click. The goal is to gain different perspectives so that you can go back to your drawing board and make the adjustments.
As you go through this process, you will need to manage your expectations and set a framework on what can be accomplished now versus those that can be done later. These are three key areas to focus on, which should enhance your UI/EX design.