User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) are some of the most important elements of web design. Easy website navigation will encourage users to interact with your business and invest in your services. If you’ve ever clicked out of an overly complicated website, you’ve witnessed firsthand the need for these web design features. Here’s what you need to know about UX/UI and why it’s important for your business website.
What is User Experience (UX), and Why is it Important?
User experience (UX) is the process of creating a website that positively affects individuals who interact with it. It incorporates many web design elements like functionality, branding, and visual appearance. In other words, UX is the ability to connect a product with a person and ensure a positive association with that brand.
UX is important because it encourages users to stay on your website. If your business site isn’t user-friendly, potential customers are less likely to follow through with their purchase or inquiry. Every portion of your website navigation needs to be as seamless as possible. This will help you stand out against competitors and increase website traffic.
What About User Interface (UI)?
User interface refers to elements that make up a website user’s experience. The goal of an effective UI is to ensure simplicity for every portion of a user’s experience. Although it sounds similar to UX, they’re technically two separate web design characteristics. UX focuses on the big picture, while UI focuses on complex details like input devices and multimedia user interfaces.
UI is an important part of website functionality. It ensures your site works properly and is complete accessibility to your users. This is accomplished through site responsiveness and organization. Similar to UX, UI must incorporate a delicate balance of appealing visuals and website accessibility. The better your UI, the higher your conversion rates will be.
Why Should You Always Conduct User Testing?
As the name suggests, user testing refers to analyzing your website to ensure it’s easy to navigate. This typically involves a group of test subjects interacting with your site and providing feedback based on their observations. This can include a series of interview questions or survey responses.
Simply put, you should always conduct user testing to make sure your website is ready for launch. User testers can help you solve various initial challenges, such as functionality errors and accessibility obstacles. An objective tester can look at your website from an unbiased perspective. This will make sure your site is user-friendly and promotes customer satisfaction.
How to Improve UX/UI on Your Website
Increase Accessibility
Everyone should be able to interact with your website. Lack of accessibility will leave out people with disabilities, violating the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act). Plus, improved accessibility automatically brings in many more website visitors, leading to potential customers. Make sure your website performs well on desktop and mobile devices. Try to avoid inaccessible web design, such as poor color contrast, mouse-only navigation, and unclear labeling.
Focus on Functionality
As a general rule of thumb, never sacrifice functionality for design’s sake. If you must choose one or the other, your site’s functionality should always come first. Customers are more likely to stay with a user-friendly site than one that’s hard to navigate. You could have the most visually appealing site on the internet and still have low website traffic because of poor UX/UI. Ensure this incorporates every aspect of your website with good grammar, spelling, font choices, page layouts, and link placements.
Utilize SEO
It shouldn’t take a sleuth to find your website. Incorporating SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tools will make sure customers find your website easily and quickly. If a user searches for a specific product or service, your business should be one of the first to pop up on Google. This can be done through selective keywords that correlate with your brand. This should also include a domain name that’s easy to type out if a user needs to review your site details.
Interested in learning how APS can utilize UX/UI to help your website? Get in touch with us today!