Everything today happens digitally. The gambit of online business activity is backed by, among other things, web development. Web development determines the outlook of online forums and is one of the top-level services rendered by a digital agency.
Often confused with web design, web development refers to the building, maintaining and creating of websites. Web design entails the layout, visual appearance and usability of a website. Usability, functionality, branding and design together determine UX website design.
Introducing UX design
UX Design or User Experience Design forms the crux of web design. Think of what made you opt for one website over the other when making a purchasing decision or ordering something? Apart from content, convenience and choice, you were also subconsciously driven by the interface and user-friendliness. These two aspects determine the UX Design.
User Experience Design is often exchangeably used with the terms User Interface Design and Usability. But, the truth is that these are subsets of UX Design. UX Design includes an array of other areas; it caters to the whole process of product integration and acquisition, branding, design and function.
With that said, web design and UX design cater to meaningful experiences offered through relevant products and services, aesthetic interfaces, functional designs and convenient accessibility.
What entails a good UX design?
A good UX understands and caters to users’ needs, likes, abilities and limitations. More so, it should cover all aspects of end-user interactions with a brand or business. These aspects include web presence, social media presence, communication channels – customer care and chatbots – and the products or services offered.
UX design across platforms
When it comes to UX designs, successful ones get replicated across platforms. Among the several factors, this happens due to platform specifications and guidelines. These are alternatively known as Human Interface Design (HID) guidelines.
Brands, businesses and developers need to consider this aspect when contemplating UX. The reason is that every platform has its peculiarities that affect the UX design.
Take, for example, Apple gadgets. The difference between any two smartphone models may be trivial. Compare a tablet to an iPhone, and you will see stark differences in the interface. With that said, the HID guidelines should merit consideration when comparing platforms, and even more so, brands.
Importance and Benefits of UX Design
From a larger scheme of things, the advent of the Internet itself thrives on user design. Had Google not been a convenient search engine or YouTube a simple platform, these would have ceased to exist by now. UX design helps augment the online perception and brand standing of the company. Moreover, it lays the foundations for the brand value delivered in the digital world.
However, a prolific UX Design offers considerable advantages for brands when conducting business activities online.
Increasing Conversion Rates
In the digital marketing context, conversion rate determines the percentage of visitors that have completed the desired goal upon visiting your company website. These desired goals include online revenue, lead generation, email signups and registrations, form filling and completion and making purchases.
The online space is overly competitive, wherein several websites offer the same or similar products. An ecstatic and aesthetic website and an effectively user-friendly interface then become a standout factor. This also helps answer the problem as to why visitors and prospects choose one website over another. According to a Forrester Research study paper, a prolific UX helps elevate the conversion rate by up to 400%.
Low Support Costs
A great UX also entails putting all the relevant information right where and when the end-users need it. More so, it should be easily accessible. If you visit a brand website and get all the desired information about the product or service, you would pick that over others. This scenario saves time for customers and companies as the former need not send emails or wait on the customer care helpline to reach a brand representative.
SEO Optimization
Another avenue where an effective UX design comes to the rescue of brands and businesses is SEO. SEO or Search Engine Optimization caters to an increase in visibility in relevant search pages. When tracking user engagement, UX design plays a very crucial part. The UX design focuses on several factors, among which the major ones are website loading speed, mobile-friendliness and response and overall URL structure.
Examples
You might not be aware, but several renowned brands thrive today on the back of their UX designs.
Airbnb
Airbnb is a renowned online marketplace for lodging, homestays and rentals. Based out of San Francisco, California, it is known for its UX design. The platform connects homeowners and tourists primarily through its UX design. So profound is the interface, usability and function that it operates across 191 countries and 8100 cities. Several case studies cite that Airbnb’s core competence lies in its laser-focused orientation towards improving user experience.
Netflix
Among the extensive gambit of Over The Top or OTT platforms lies Netflix, a streaming service renowned for its collection of award-winning shows, movies and documentaries. What’s more, is its UX design. The defining factor for Netflix is its omnichannel seamless UX design across mobile, television, tablets and laptops.
What You Should Know
Everything today happens digitally. The advents backing the digital paradigm are web development and web design. The former caters to the building, maintaining and creating websites and the latter to the layout, visual appearance and usability.
The UX design forms the crux of websites as it determines why some websites get preferred over others. A good UX design understands and caters to user needs, abilities and limitations. UX design helps determine the online perception and brand standing of the company.
There are several benefits rendered by UX design, including increasing conversion rates, low support costs and SEO optimization. So profound is UX design that globally renowned brands, including Airbnb and Netflix, thrive upon it.