Saying the world is connected is an understatement. With the average person spending approximately 6 hours a day online, equating to roughly a third of their life, there isn’t time to waste on clunky and outdated web experiences. With over a billion websites for users to choose from, you have to offer users a memorable and functional experience. And the only way to do that is through exceptional & functional User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX).
The difference between UX and UI and why they are important
As Rahul Varshney, co-creator of Foster.fm puts it: “User Experience and User Interface are some of the most confused and misused terms in our field. A UI without UX is like a painter slapping paint onto a canvas without thought, while UX without UI is like the frame of a sculpture with no paper mache on it. A great product experience starts with UX followed by UI. Both are essential for the product’s success.”
UX designers take the complete user journey into consideration, making data-driven decisions and tweaking processes to achieve the site’s goal. UI design forms the skin on the skeleton created by the UX team. UI designers create the look and feel that both complements and enables the website’s flow
Whether you’re revamping an old site or creating something brand new, UX and UI design should be at the forefront of your development journey.
The journey to the centre of the internet
With the goal of UX design being an intuitive user experience, we’re sharing a few statistics to warn/motivate you on your journey to UX perfection. (Or use these in your next client meeting to explain why this is so important! You can thank us later.)
- 88% of online shoppers say they wouldn’t return to a website after having a bad user experience.
- 70% of online businesses that fail do so because of bad usability.
- Only 55% of companies conduct UX testing.
The modern digital landscape demands convenience, and the tech big wigs are ready to deliver. Google’s ranking algorithm is often the hill companies die or rise from and UX design is at the forefront of the tech giant’s new algorithm.
The metrics upon which your ranking success is being based on
- Largest Contentful Paint: measures perceived load speed and marks the point in the page load timeline when the page’s main content has likely loaded.
- First Input Delay: measures responsiveness and quantifies the experience users feel when trying to first interact with the page.
- Cumulative Layout Shift: measures visual stability and quantifies the amount of unexpected layout shift of visible page content.
If looks could thrill
Like in life, having a good personality is often not enough to get users clicking. A strong and memorable look and feel creates the visuals and will keep your site in the back of users’ minds. Creating a lasting impression on users lead to repeat visits and improves bounce rates.
Simply put, UI design is one of the main ways to increase a website’s traffic and therefore move towards higher conversion rates. It is what makes people have a good experience with a site and thus become loyal customers.
The smallest changes in layout, colours and typography are often the deciding factor in the user’s trust and general likeability of your site.
UI & UX trends to keep an eye on
Narrative
A story as old as time. Users connect to emotive and rich narratives, whether this is in entertainment, advertisements, or day-to-day interactions. Emotions create memories and help your brand gain name recognition and trust. Every page of your website tells your story click by click. This narrative unfolds before users, and good UX and UI design could be the difference between Oscar-worthy and straight to video.
Personalized experience
Showing users content that they are likely going to interact with is a sure-fire way to keep users engaged. Building your UX on a user’s geolocation, age or behavioural data helps you gain a clearer picture of what your users want and allows for better content curation for your entire audience.
Data visualization
Giving users insight into their data is essential, but without a clear and concise UX, users will be left scratching their heads. Visualizing visitors’ data in an intuitive and condensed manner allows users to have access to meaningful data without feeling overwhelmed. Modern examples of this include expanding and exploring using features like swiping or tapping, to help create engagement with the data.
Staying up to date with everything UX and UI has to offer is not just dipping your toes in the water. Taking a deep dive into what you can offer your users is a constant exercise and always requires data-driven decision making. At Blue Bean Software we’re always ready to help clients achieve their digital goals and we’d love to help you on your way.
