We at Digibrand want to demystify the UX and highlight how straightforward it really is. In this article, we have gathered innovative tips inspired by UX Design to apply to your website today that will grow your business tomorrow!
What pops into your mind when someone mentions UX Design? Very often the straightforward process of the UX is being over-complicated. We believe there is a simple, yet systematic way in which to understand what solution is best for your website and how to apply UX practice in action.
Basics of User Experience
Let's start from the basics - what is at the core of UX or User Experience? It surrounds every component of your website - from the design and visuals to the backbone of your website's functionality.
As something so important that permeates so many parts, it is easy to overlook the importance of good UX and go with the feeling of your gut - which, in this case, can be misleading. Therefore, if something feels a bit (or a lot) off in your website, you can always ask yourself - have I put enough research into this particular component of my website? How does this element feel or fit in the grand picture of my website?
Think of the UX design as a bowl of cereal
There are so many components that need to be presented to your audience - the website visitors. That is where the UX comes in.
You’ve got the visuals, buttons, micro animations – they all form the product. Then, there is User Interface - the way in which any user interacts with the components of your website. All together these components form a User Experience, which places everything harmoniously and systematically.
What does UX Stand for?
User Experience is a process in which the user meets your product on many different interfaces.
There are three key parameters to consider for quality UX design:
Right in the middle where these components meet, you'll find the key. That overlap is the way in which your website should be built, structured, and designed in order to form the perfect User Experience.
Mixing quality design with the available data
To have a better understanding of how a consumer would interact with a given website, a UX designer completes loads of steps. What is more, this innovative approach builds a cycle, which means your website would constantly advance and follow the consumer.
Think about it as a process from A to Z – Starting from the first lead generation or awareness of your business, to repeatedly returning to your website. At its core, the UX covers the interaction (the experience) of a customer (persona) accessing your platform via various touchpoints.
The process of UX design
The process of UX is like a loop always with room for improvement and it should be applied to your website at whichever stage it is! It is never too late to implement the principles of US design to your website.
At its core, the UX design is based on data. Real-life data (not some hypothetical guess) is the driving force in the process of UX design. The circle is never-ending and there's always something to improve - that is exactly why the research phase in UX design is so important!
Let's look at the UX design process step-by-step.
° 01 Understand
Think of how to move your user forward. The website has a representative function – it is like a business card of your company. UX design research part can be compared to a university thesis. The discipline of UX also has a hypothesis, it occurs naturally as a part of the brainstorming process and this hypothesis is to be proven. The key difference this is a thesis that actually has a greater purpose!
° 02 Research
The research revolves Around the 'persona'. Starting and revolving around the personas who are coming to your website, the UX design is centred around the website visitors. Think about the flow, how users would access and interact with your website and define the motivations of the potential personas visiting your website!
° 03 Analyse / Plan
Analyse the available data and plan out the necessary changes. Remember to compare these ideas with your personas, analyse does it 'feel' right, and complete some A/B testing between your existing solution and your planned changes.
° 04 Design / Develop
Always design and develop your features with the personas you're building your project for - we call it empathy-driven design. Remember that you're not building a website for yourself, you're building it for your customer. Shift your own views through the lens of your customers, and think – does it feel right, is everything in its place, are the components easy to find and understand?
If any of these questions are difficult to answer or the answer is not a definite 'Yes', think about how to improve this feature to be empathetic with your customers.
° 05 Launch
Finally, launch your website or feature and gather new data.
There are plenty of tools that will help you on this and is beyond the scope of this article, but let us know if you would be interested in a separate article on the subject of tools that we use daily to evaluate, gather data, and metrics.
° 06 Re-evaluate and repeat! (or transfer)
Yes, it does not end there. Remember, quality UX is like an evolving cycle, which continuously looks for the best solutions and implements them.
… And we're back to analysis - review previously gathered information from available data and decide what works best!
Finally - what is stopping you from getting improvements on your website?
Remember that UX design is only as difficult as you make it be. If you are stuck in one of the stages of the process, zoom out, re-evaluate your inputs, and loop back once you're confident with the steps.
Digibrand is a balanced team of conceptual thinkers and fearless designers that helps companies to create beautiful and meaningful experiences across digital environments. To ensure a better understanding of the subject, this article showcases examples from Digibrand portfolio.
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